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Drone racing: A new sport

November 14, 2016

People all over the world are starting to pit their drones against each other in races. Pilots tune their quadcopters and fit them with cameras. Now the first professional competition offers six-figure stakes.

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Image: worlddroneprix.com

Drones can race each other at speeds close to 100 km/h. A 3D image projection in a head-mounted display makes the pilots feel almost as if they were sitting in the cockpit. Racers spend hours tuning quadcopters and spend thousands of euros on batteries, motors propellers and special cameras. What began as a hobby has now evolved into an international spectator sport. The World Drone Prix was held in Dubai in May 2016, with over 200,000 euros in prize money at stake. Elaborately produced online videos are spreading this new sport around the world.