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|
Highest governing body | Fédération Aéronautique Internationale |
---|---|
First played | Australia |
Characteristics | |
Contact | No |
Team members | Yes (Depending on category) |
Mixed-sex | Yes |
Type | Air sport |
Equipment | Unmanned aerial vehicle, head-mounted display, remote control |
Presence | |
Country or region | Worldwide |
Olympic | No |
Paralympic | No |
World Games | 2022 |
Drone racing is a sport where participants control drones (typically small radio-controlled aircraft or quadcopters), equipped with cameras while wearing head-mounted displays-also called VR goggles-showing the live stream camera feed. Similar to full-size air racing, the goal is to complete a course as quickly as possible. Drone racing began in 2011 in Germany with a number of amateur drone controllers getting together for semi-organized races in Karlsruhe. [1]
FPV (first-person view) flying means that pilots only see what the drone sees. This is accomplished by live streaming footage from a camera mounted on the drone’s nose. The image is transmitted as analog video (typically 2.4 GHz or 5.8 GHz frequency, 1.3 GHz for distant transmission) to goggles or a monitor worn by the pilot. The remote control, drone, and goggles are all connected via radio and must transmit with sufficient speed and reliability to allow effective control. FPV goggles on the market range from $40 to $800, with the more expensive goggles offering more and better features. Some of these features include receiver diversity, digital HD video, head tracking, multiple frequency settings, band settings, and DVR (digital video recorder) recording functionality. Digital video systems offer much better image quality and are now becoming much more commonplace. [2]
While the pilot always requires goggles, some drone racing organizations insist they should also be used among spectators alike by simply switching the frequency to the channel of the racer one wants to watch. [3] Any drone could be used to race; however, competitive FPV racing leagues require drones to meet certain standards.
For competitions, aircraft are typically separated into classes, separating winged craft from rotorcraft and also categorizing them by size and power. [4] MultiGP, a community of pilots, defines community-produced specifications for aircraft classes. [5]
The Drone Racing League (DRL) makes all of the drones used in its events in-house; pilots are supplied with drones, backup drones, and parts by the league itself, not independently.
DR1 Racing utilizes an open-specification class format that relies on each team in the series to supply their own drones, goggles, and gear. Recently, they added the Pro-Class racing drone, which is currently the largest competitive drone racing format in the world. [6]
Racing drones are designed for speed and agility, as opposed to photography and video drones which are focused more on hovering and stable filming. [7] A photography quadcopter design will typically have four motors configured in an X-pattern, all equally spaced apart. A racing model will typically have its four motors configured in an H-pattern configured to thrust the drone forward, not up. Another specific characteristic of drone racing is the number of propellers’ blades. 3-blade or 4-blade (instead of 2-blade) propellers have a shorter diameter, allowing for a smaller frame with increased acceleration and maneuverability capabilities. Because of their light weight and electric motors with large amounts of torque, drones can accelerate and maneuver with great speed and agility. This makes for very sensitive controls and requires a pilot with a quick reaction time and a steady hand. Racing drones also have their cameras situated at the front of the drone, since the drone always flies forwards and the pilot needs to be able to navigate. Photography drones usually have high-quality cameras situated underneath the drone body with a gimbal, which allows the drone to film from above while hovering.
BMW held the Drone Racing League’s 2018 Semi-Finals race at their automobile museum, the BMW Welt, in Munich, Germany, and sold out the event with 3,000 fans. [8]
MultiGP provides community standards for their chapters to safely design their own courses and also generates individual pilot competition through their Universal Time Trial Track program which ranks pilots worldwide on standard measured courses. [9]
DRL creates complex, three-dimensional racecourses in locations internationally. [10] The Sci-Fi inspired tracks stretch around a mile-long. [11]
DR1 Racing's Champions Series is an outdoor racing circuit, flying in iconic locations around the world. Each location or race uses a mixture of environmental and manmade elements to create the course. The courses for the 2017 season included the Trona Pinnacles, the Mojave Boneyard at the Mojave Air and Space Port, the DHL Bonn Post Tower, Bunowen Castle in Ireland, Spike Island, and Isle of Man TT. [12] DR1's Micro Series uses indoor locations, with thematic elements. [13]
Others such as the U.S. National Drone Racing Championship tend to conduct their races in open areas with less catastrophic obstacles (flags and cones vs. walls and tunnels). [5]
FPV racing organizations create the rules and regulations that govern the sport.[ citation needed ]
The U.S. National Drone Racing Championship took place at the 2015 California State Fair. It was a 2-day event with a $25,000 cash prize that attracted over 120 competitors. This was the first event like this in the US, however other countries such as France, Australia and the UK had previously held similar events. [37] [38] In 2016, the annual MultiGP Championship was held at the Academy of Model Aeronautics' headquarters in Muncie, Indiana where over 120 pilots competed by qualifying through the MultiGP Regional Series which consists of qualifying events and regional finals in 15 regions across the United States.
MultiGP is a global, professional, drone racing league with over 1000 chapters internationally including locations such as Australia, Asia, South Africa and Europe.
The British Drone Racing League (BDRL) has recently setup and will operate a number of professional events. These events are currently being organized and will follow compliance from the CAA. [39]
DRL is the only league so far that has established major outside sources of funding. [40] DRL has raised more than $30 million in venture capital backing from entities across the sports, technology, and media spaces. Some notable investors include Sky, Liberty Media (also owners of Formula 1), MGM, CAA, Hearst, WWE, Lux Capital, and RSE Ventures. [41] [ non-primary source needed ] In addition, DRL has a number of high-profile sponsors, including Allianz, BMW, the US Air Force, and Swatch. [42] It also has other lines of business, including a licensing deal with Toy State, a toy manufacturing company best known for its Nikko remote control car line. [43] Finally, DRL has content licensing deals with networks around the world, including ESPN and Disney XD in the United States, Sky Sports in the UK, OSN in the Middle East, and Fox Sports in Asia. [44] [ third-party source needed ] This funding has been crucial to the development of the league and allows them to advertise and hold their races in better venues that will attract larger crowds.
Other smaller and less established leagues have found it difficult to find funding. At events like the one held at the California State Fair, funding comes from the state and from ticket sales at the event. Along with the difficulties of finding funding, it creates problems of finding good venues that create a challenge for the pilots and also have key turns and straightaways, adding to the exhilaration of these events. US Army veteran Brett Velicovich has been involved in the launch of drone racing at the Dew Tour. [45] Outside of DRL and DR1, which has Mountain Dew as a sponsor, most smaller events are sponsored by FPV manufacturers such as Fat Shark, ImmersionRC [46] and HobbyKing, [47] DYS, T-Motor, EMAX, [48] Team Black Sheep (TBS). [49]
Drone racing can be also simulated on computers via drone flight simulators such as EreaDrone [50] (recognized by the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale [51] ), Velocidrone, [52] Liftoff, neXt, DRL Simulator, etc. Players can use game controllers such as an Xbox or PlayStation controller; however, some radio controllers support plug and play as well.
Donington Park is a motorsport circuit located near Castle Donington in Leicestershire, England. The circuit business is now owned by Jonathan Palmer's MotorSport Vision organisation, and the surrounding Donington Park Estate, still owned by the Wheatcroft family, is currently under lease by MotorSport Vision until 2038. It has a capacity of 120,000, and is also the venue of the Download Festival.
The Fédération aéronautique internationale is the world governing body for air sports, and also stewards definitions regarding human spaceflight. It was founded on 14 October 1905, and is headquartered in Lausanne, Switzerland. It maintains world records for aeronautical activities, including ballooning, aeromodeling, and unmanned aerial vehicles (drones), as well as flights into space.
Peter John Collins was a British racing driver. He was killed in the 1958 German Grand Prix, just weeks after winning the RAC British Grand Prix. He started his career as a 17-year-old in 1949, impressing in Formula 3 races, finishing third in the 1951 Autosport National Formula 3 Championship.
Road America is a motorsport road course located near Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin on Wisconsin Highway 67. It has hosted races since the 1950s and currently hosts races in the IndyCar Series, IMSA SportsCar Championship, Sports Car Club of America GT World Challenge America and Trans-Am Series and the MotoAmerica Superbike Championship.
The Ontario Honda Dealers Indy Toronto is an annual Indy Car race, held in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Originally known as the Molson Indy Toronto, it was part of the Champ Car World Series from 1986 to 2007. After a one-year hiatus, it has been part of the NTT IndyCar Series schedule since 2009. The race takes place on a 2.874 km (1.786 mi), 11 turn, temporary street circuit through Exhibition Place and on Lake Shore Boulevard. Toronto is classified as an FIA Grade Two circuit.
The World Championship Air Race is a series of air races sanctioned by the World Air Sports Federation (FAI). Originally established in 2003 as the Red Bull Air Race, and created by Red Bull GmbH, the event involves competitors navigating a challenging obstacle course in the fastest time. Pilots fly individually against the clock and have to complete tight turns through a slalom course consisting of pylons, known as "air gates".
Nikko R/C is the largest toy-grade radio control manufacturer in the world. The company's licenses include those from Dodge, Ford, Volkswagen, Chevrolet, Porsche, as well as proprietary designs. In 2014, Nikko was acquired by global toy company, Toy State. In 2017, Toy State created a new arm of the Nikko brand, Nikko Air. In 2019 Nikko Toys Ltd. became the new home of the Nikko RC brand.
The British motorcycle Grand Prix is a motorcycling event that is part of the FIM Grand Prix motorcycle racing season.
First-person view (FPV), also known as remote-person view (RPV), or video piloting, is a method used to control a radio-controlled vehicle from the driver or pilot's viewpoint. Most commonly it is used to pilot a radio-controlled aircraft or other type of unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) such as a military drone. The operator gets a first-person perspective from an onboard camera that feeds video to FPV goggles or a monitor. More sophisticated setups include a pan-and-tilt gimbaled camera controlled by a gyroscope sensor in the pilot's goggles and with dual onboard cameras, enabling a true stereoscopic view.
Samuel Deane Lowes is a British motorcycle racer who competed in the Moto2 World Championship with ELF Marc VDS Racing Team aboard a Kalex since 2019. From 2024, Lowes remains with the same team ownership which moves into a new class of racing, World Superbikes, using a Ducati Panigale V4 R.
Vince Irie is a singer-songwriter born and raised on Aruba. Vince Irie gained notoriety in The Netherlands when he appeared on the 4th season of The Voice of Holland in 2014. Since then he has released the singles Ik Wil Jou, Prachtig, Unfaithful and Take It Easy
The International Drone Racing Association, Inc. (IDRA) is a professional racing organization that sanctions and governs multiple drone racing events. IDRA's major events and series' include the 2017 Challengers Cup, 2016 World Drone Prix, 2016 North America Cup, 2016 GiGA World Masters, and the 2015 California Cup.
The 2017 FIM MotoGP World Championship was the premier class of the 69th F.I.M. Road Racing World Championship season.
MultiGP is a global drone racing league that governs and manages radio-controlled drone racing competitions. With over 14,000 members and 544 chapters worldwide, MultiGP is the only drone racing league with clear and available methods for participation and advancement within the league. MultiGP governs and sanctions drone racing events across the world, provides turn-key race production services, and works with groups to grow the sport of drone racing.
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The 2018 FIM Moto2 World Championship was a part of the 70th F.I.M. Road Racing World Championship season. Franco Morbidelli was the reigning series champion, but he did not defend his title as he moved to the MotoGP class.
FPV Canada is the Canadian drone racing organization which includes franchise chapters in most major cities across the nation. FPV Canada's major events include Montreal Drone Expo and Canadian Drone Nationals 2016, Vancouver Drone Expo 2017 and Canadian Drone Nationals 2017.
Fat Shark, founded in 2007, manufactures FPV headsets for drone racing. Their headsets utilize radio technology to show the user a live video feed that is broadcast from a drone. Fat Shark headsets have been showcased at the Consumer Electronics Show Drone Rodeo in 2015 and 2017. In 2016, Fat Shark received a Terry Award by the for first-place FPV item, an award voted on by hobbyists through HobbyKing. Multiple Fat Shark products were recommended for hobbyist drone pilots in the 2017 Drone Enthusiast list of "Best FPV Goggles & Gadgets." Fat Shark holds an annual drone racing event called the Fat Shark Frenzy and Drone Olympics in Ontario. and was a major sponsor to the first annual U.S. National Drone Racing Championships in 2015.
The Drone Racing League (DRL) is a professional drone racing league that operates internationally. DRL pilots race in first person view with identical, custom-built drones at speeds above 80 mph through three-dimensional courses. News publication Quartz described DRL as feeling "like from Star Wars" with "hopes [of becoming] the Formula One, NASCAR and MotoGP of drone racing."
The 2020 FIM Moto2 World Championship was a part of the 72nd F.I.M. Road Racing World Championship season. The season calendar has been significantly affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, leading to the cancellation or postponement of many races.