People to race their drones in the first global Drone Racing League
This is a race straight out of Star Wars! If you remember, young Anakin Skywalker win the Boonta Eve Classic podrace on Tatooine, you will know the excitement that comes with it. Now a league from New York is planning a global race with drones.
The New York City-based Drone Racing League (DRL) was launched yesterday and will kick off with six events in 2016 throughout the world. The first event will be in Miami on Feb. 22 and the second will be in Los Angeles in mid-March. Locations haven’t been finalized for the remaining four events, but locations under consideration include Detroit; Auckland, New Zealand; and Mexico City.
For you to understand what drone racing is all about see the GIF below :
All the DRL drone races will be in closed-door locations. DRL’s first official race was in the Dolphins’ stadium, and its next one will be in an abandoned mall in Los Angeles—and after each event, the DRL will produce a series of episodic videos of the races.
DRL plans to add funk to the racing arena by lining the buildings in bright neon lights and pumping in dry ice fog. This make the course and the drones a bit easier to spot with the naked eye, and also a video to watch for aficionados.
Drone pilots will wear goggles that show a live video feed from the perspective of the drone they are controlling. The winner will be decided on skill rather than speed because all drone pilots will get the same, custom racing drone called the DRL Racer 2, which can go as fast as 80 miles per hour.
“We’re committed to building the best drones, most inspiring courses and creating the ultimate proving ground for the world’s greatest drone pilots,” says Nicholas Horbaczewski, the founder and CEO of DRL, in a statement announcing the new league.
The league is also using a competitive structure similar to downhill skiing to ensure pilots get a fair shot. Other drone races have had qualifying heats, but the DRL will have multiple heats per race. Season winners will be decided by the racers with the most points after all the events are complete.
We sure will get our own Anakin Skywalker from the DRL drone race!
Also read: Watch this teeny DARPA drone fly at 45 miles per hour in a warehouse
