Drone competitions have really turned into a sport. The Drone Racing League event has already taken place in Miami in 2016, and later this month the United Arab Emirates will be the first to host a world championship of race drones, World Drone Prix. The qualifying round, held on March 7-8, includes more than 100 teams. Each team consists of 4 or more people: a pilot, a navigator, a technician and the pit stop personnel. 32 participants with the highest score will compete for prizes in the final competition on March 11-12.
The contestants will demonstrate the skills in 2 disciplines – a circuit race and freestyle. For this purpose, the special lighting gate, through which a radio-controlled model aircraft will fly, has been installed on the slopes in Dubai. Quadrocopters are equipped with identical frames and power supplies for them to be under equal conditions. In addition, a camera will be placed on-board of drones to broadcast the image in real time into the pilot’s virtual reality goggles.
The prizes are as follows: the first place winner will get a reward of $250,000; the second place winner will receive $125,000, and the third place pilot will be awarded $50,000. The World Drone Prix 2016 organizers have invested much money in advertising, too. In a promotional video, the drone is competing in speed with a McLaren 650s sports car.
