Drone Racing's Search for Mainstream Sport Status

A tiny toy version of a racing drone, called Little Whoop, flies around skateboarders at a DR1 promotional event for drone racing. Credit: Alexander Robertson Tiny drones capable of fitting in the palm of a human hand zoomed around skateboarders doing ramp tricks inside a converted Brooklyn warehouse. The scene might have been mistaken for an underground gathering except for the club-style lighting, large Mountain Dew logos projected on the walls, and a DJ pumping music throughout the cavernous space. The "Day of Drones" promotional event was advertising an upcoming drone race hosted by DR1 Racing, one of several organizations hoping to make drone racing into the next big mainstream sport with televised racing championships and corporate sponsors. The human pilots who control the racing drones wear first person view (FPV) goggles that allow them to see the forward view from a tiny camera mounted on their drones. The resulting experience can seem like a pod racing scene out of "Star Wars: The Phantom Menace" or the speeder bike chase from "Return of the Jedi," especially when the drones race through custom-built racetracks with glowing lights. As a result, drone racing attracts a mix of real-life daredevils, gamers and tech enthusiasts who typically build their own racing drones to maximize flight performance and speed. Even first-timers got the chance to try flying tiny toy drones—smaller than the typical racing drones—during the DR1 Racing event held at the 1896 Studios in the Bushwick neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York on Aug. 3. "I like to jump out of airplanes, I like to drive cars really fast, ride motorcycles, anything that my mom says would kill me," said Chris Thomas, founder and CEO of MultiGP, during a panel discussion at the "Day of Drones" event. "Those things that are fun are usually dangerous... I finally found something that's really fun but not really dangerous." Corporate sponsors and media networks have already begun throwing their support behind drone racing in the attempt to transform the niche hobby into a mainstream activity. DR1 Racing has the sponsorship of Mountain Dew and broadcast partners such as Discovery Channel and the live-streaming online video platform Twitch. But DR1 Racing is not the only organization trying to make drone racing big. In an unrelated venture, ESPN signed on to televise the 2016 U.S. National Drone Racing Championships that took place on Governors Island in New York City from Aug. 5 - 7. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XnutpyvMiUE