There is no doubt that drones and drone racing are taking the world by storm. The number of people who are into droning has grown exponentially. In addition to this, those who are turning this hobby into a sport are increasing as well. It is safe to say that in a few years you will see the drone become a mainstream item, with plenty of them in your skies.
How Did Drone Racing Begin
It seems like time has flown for those who do First Person Viewer (FPV) racing. Back in 2009 and 2010, there was an upswing in people who were mounting cameras on a drone and donning their own goggles to view their flight. Quickly enough, the average joe wanted to get his buddies flying with him. This eventually ended up being a race to see who could go around an obstacle course in the fastest time. Thus beginning the sport of drone racing.
Drone Sports Became Mainstream in 2016
The world’s first World Drone Prix happened in 2016. Fifteen year old Luke Bannister was the first winner and represented “Team Tornado X-Blades Banni UK” for the win. He was awarded a quarter of a million dollars for his awesome performance. This was one of the first really large drone events with this particular one having over 2000 spectators. Although there were a few FPV racing events before this one in 2016, the large prize drew out the major players. Canadians had their own event one year earlier named the Canadian Drone Nationals. This race drew over a hundred pilots with Jon Casey of New Mexico being crowned the winner.
Drone Racing Continues to Grow in 2020
Here in this new decade, we see the popularity of these amazing flying wonders starting to accelerate. Not only are human pilots getting in on this sport, but machines are as well. Artificial intelligence is beginning to weave its way into the drone racing scene. These are drones that will not be controlled directly by a human pilot. This means that algorithms will be providing the role of the pilot for upcoming racing drones.
This is an exciting way to get the world of programming into drone sports and to push the envelope in what a computer program can make a drone do. We should soon be able to see pilots from around the world sending in their drones to fly for them. In other words, pilots will send in their smart racing drones instead of needing to travel the world themselves. Our world is definitely changing towards machines having more control every day, and sports droning is going to be part of this trend as well.
The Future of Drones
The future of drones, especially smaller ones, has been arriving step by step. One detail to remember is that your weights and sizes are going to decrease. For instance the military has built drones that are the size of dragonflies. Will racing drones get down to this size? Because the FAA has rules about flying drones, it may become so. Basically, the weight of the drone will determine if the drone will need to be registered with the government. This is for drones that are over 250 grams of weight, or .55 pounds. This means most racing drones will have to be registered as most are over this weight. Some drone racers opt to go for smaller drones to not need the registration process. Micro FPV racing is already gaining traction in the world and is sure to get more popular, thanks to the FAA rulings.
Smaller Drones Will Become More Important for Drone Racing
There is a huge expansion of what drones have been able to do thanks to new technology. Like all other technology, it just keeps getting more advanced. Those who are pilots of a racing drone will be enjoying these advances with increasing frequency as old barriers to size and power are broken. Micro FPV racing can be your new goal if you are a person who loves to fly a drone in a competition. These may be smaller, but that can be an advantage. Your smaller frame and camera can be accompanied by some powerful electric motors to give your larger racing drones a run for their money.