WHAT IS FPV DRONE RACING
Drone use has increased exponentially over the last few decades due to their ease of use, manoeuvrability, and efficiency in so many aspects. The growth in drone use has largely been seen in the commercial sector for applications such as climate change monitorisation, delivering goods, aiding in search and rescue operations, and in audio/visual productions. However, flying recreational drones has become increasingly popular as well. As one might imagine, flying drones recreationally has evolved to include drone racing.
First-person view drone racing is a new type of competitive racing sport that involves small robots flying around a circuit, often filled with obstacles. The pilot stays on the ground and flies the drones with a headset that allows them to view as if they were seated in the drone itself, hence the name, first person view (FPV) racing. Of course, the ability to fly and the manoeuvrability of the drones makes it so that the courses are three-dimensional, with obstacles that need to be flown around, under, over and even through.
DRONE RACING ORGANISATIONS
FPV drone racing has grown so popular that a number of drone racing competitions and associations have been created in recent years. These various FPV racing organisations create rules and regulations to offer fair racing to its pilots.
MultiGP is one of the most popular organisations with chapters located around the world, governing and sanctioning racing events on an international level. With 760 chapters globally and over 30,500 registered drone racers, it the largest drone racing league in the world.
The Drone Racing League (DRL) dubs itself, “The global, professional drone racing property for elite pilots.” What is interesting about the DRL, similar to Formula 1 racing, it is extremely focused on streaming and televising the races to the public via some of the largest outlets in the world such as NBC, Fox Sports, Sky Sports and even Twitter, while allowing online viewers to access the first-person view of the pilots themselves.
Additionally, the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI), also known as the World Air Sports Federation, is the world governing body for air sports and is recognised by the International Olympic Committee. It coordinates the organisation of the FAI Drone Racing World Cup and the FAI World Drone Racing Championship.
THE APPEAL OF FPV DRONE RACING
AFFORDABILITY
SAFETY
THE FUTURE OF DRONE RACING
Where the FPV drone racing goes from here is anyone’s guess. However, the rapid rise in the sport over the last decade has resulted in some big money investments. T-Mobile has recently invested in the DRL with a 5G partnership.
Commenting on the partnership, Neville Ray, president of technology at T-Mobile said, “We invested in DRL to fuel innovation in two large and growing markets—drones and tech-powered sports—and we can’t wait to supercharge both with T-Mobile 5G.”
With some of the largest corporations in the world involved in transmitting the DRL’s racing league and partnerships with behemoths like T-Mobile, there is clearly an audience for the sport. Combine that with the accessibility and safety of the sport, as well as low barriers for entry to the sport, it would appear that the future is bright for FPV drone racing.
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