Drone racing new sport of future

New York: Be it in the field of security or improved studies of land and atmosphere, drones have proved their mettle in every way, and with advancement in technology now they can be pitted against one another in a race.

"There has been a growing excitement around the prospect of a new sporting league where competitors race that very futuristic sounding vehicle -- a drone," a report in The Verge said on Saturday.

A drone is a remote-controlled, incredibly agile, little flying machine that can move at speeds of over 160 km an hour, and unlike most racing sports -- cars, horses, dog sleds -- would have no human on board.

The "pilots" stand with goggles on and control the drone based on a live video feed from a camera on the drone's nose. This is called first person view racing.

But what is so different about it? Besides the fact that drone-racing poses no risk to humans, the developers do a mix of first and third person views to grab eyeballs.

"This means that sometimes you are watching from the perspective of the drone, zipping through turns and blasting along straight ways while other times you are watching from the sidelines as the drones whiz by," the report said.

To add to the excitement and making them visible against a background at high speed, the US-based Drone Racing League covered each drone in colourful LED lights and matching rotors, so that they pop against the background.

"They also introduced a lot of crazy atmospheric elements -- drones crashing through glass lightbulbs! Drones rising through thick fog! Drones chopping up innocent plants! -- which work well in an edited montage, but might not pan out in an actual race," the report said.

The pre-season of the league was held on July 11, 2015, and the Level 1 round will be held on February 22, 2016.