The world of sports is constantly welcoming new ideas and the Olympics would be proof of that with trials of new disciplines happening each 4 years, but this new sport might surprise you even more than what you would normally see. Indeed, drones racing will apparently be among us soon, with the Drone Racing League being a new project that has been started and backed by some investments to bring this as a new technology sport to a mainstream audience.
As fast as actual cars, these drones will be looking to bring a different sense of speed and sense of excitement to spectators. Just like Formula One cars, drones will be able to sport a camera for all the action, and the speed, to be enjoyed by spectators. There already seems to be some excitement when it comes to watching drones runs around the web with videos being posted on YouTube. Drone can go fast and can crash as well, and that's what the audience seems to enjoy.
A spectacular view
Seeing a ride through the first-person view seems to be the main attraction here, and drones can crash as well so some disasters might be of interest as well. Drones racing is naturally meant to happen on carefully prepared tracks and the options are just about infinite when it comes to the obstacles and locations around which the races could happen. The first-person view could then be put to good use if the races happen in visually-pleasing environments and even virtual reality googles are being mentioned as options to both control and watch the races. This could indeed be one of the first opportunities for virtual reality googles to be used in the mainstream, and really transform this hobby into a different kind of experience.
Will the pilots become popular? That would be a weird question since the activity seems to happen mostly through first-person view. This certainly takes away from the fun of buying some tickets and going to watch a race at the track yourself, but if all the efforts are put on the television/video product, the end result could still be great. The same pilots and drones should return so that the audience get to pick their favorites over time. In this case, technology could come in the way of making the pilots really relatable, but with the web and the trends that we see build every day, we never know.
Introducing a new way to race
This could certainly be an interesting take on racing since such a mix of flying and first-person view is hardly available right now. Rarely did flying become so relatable as when you watch one of these machines fly. However, there could be some problems when it comes to explaining to the audience what drone racing is really about, aside from the fact that it is visually impressive. What makes a good driver and what a high-performance drone is made of is really unknown by the public as of now, and if this new sport wants to stick around, people are going to need to be educated about it so that they can enjoy it from their living room. There's also a team that can work with the driver to provide the best drone for the race, and the public could become interested in what that is all about as well.
Then on the flip side, drones aren't necessarily cars, and we don't use them on a regular basis, so that passion could be quick to die off in that sense, although drones have been said to be useful to our future such as when it comes to delivering packages in remote places.
But drone races could be a great way to "visit" and witness places from around the world if the races are put together in some exotic locations or if those who build the tracks are creative enough. Drone races seem to be a very ambitious project, and it's going to take some efforts from all sides to make it happen in the way that will impress a mainstream audience. For now, most of the public barely know what drones are all about and if they should be interested in them.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZwL0t5kPf6E
Interaction could be a great way to help the mainstream audience in understanding drones and appreciating the races. For instance, the pilots could get involved in explaining what they do and why it's so addictive. It can be hard for the people who have never controlled a drone to understand the feeling, but hopefully the voice and face of the pilot in an interview could make that easier. It all depends how the current league projects have their vision set for the future.
Overall, drone racing is an exciting take on one of the hottest upcoming gadgets around. Drones might not be really a part of our reality yet, but that doesn't mean we shouldn't be able to enjoy the thrill of controlling one, even if it's remotely through a broadcast. Hopefully we get to learn more around what this is really about and what potential this new racing sport really has. As for the time frame, that's still only for speculation for now, since this concept could still be several years away from reaching its full potential.
References
https://www.glozine.com/technology
