Experience High-speed Racing With Drones Virtually And Real

The “Drone Champions AG” founded in Liechtenstein wants to establish drone racing as a new trend sport. The first official major event of the “Drone Champions League” took place in August amidst the fascinating backdrop of the castle ruins in the Tyrolean Reutte.

In a drone race, flight robots are steered through gates and pylons (gate systems) at a top speed of 140 km / h with millimeter-precise joystick movements. The pilots see the racetrack from a first-person perspective with virtual reality glasses. The "racer" has the feeling that he himself would be sitting in the cockpit of the drone.

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First Drone Champions League in August in Tyrol

The sport became really well known in March this year through the World Drone Prix in Dubai. There was a total of $ 1 million in prize money to be won. At the founding event of the "Drone Champions League" in Reutte, 40 pilots from all over Europe took part in a drone race.

The drones, which weigh only 600 g, are powered by four motors and accelerate from 0 km / h to 100 km / h in approx. 1.8 s. Thanks to the different colored LEDs on the racing drones, the spectator knows at all times where his favorite is on the racetrack. Modern drones are very robust. In the event of a 100 km / h crash, at most small parts have to be replaced, the high-quality carbon housing should not be damaged. Drone racing is increasingly becoming a popular sport, primarily in the 15- to 45-year-old age group, with father-son teams often forming.

Reality and virtual world merge

From 2017, the qualification for the Drone Champions League begins in the virtual Drone Champions Game. This should also give the masses the opportunity to get into drone sports themselves. With the help of the virtual league, the participants should be able to qualify for the real event.

The company Drone Champions AG extends the real drone sport with an associated virtual part in the form of a PC game. The “Drone Champions Game” lets players experience the fascination of drone racing from a cockpit perspective with the help of realistic flight simulation. "With our game, two worlds of experience merge in e-sports: an event is complemented by a virtual game - and both are absolutely identical," explains Weirather. "With the racing game, we want to bring sport into a new dimension of experience and offer the community the opportunity to experience drone races on the PC that are not inferior to the real race." The game should be free of charge and initially available for the PC. Later, it should also be playable on multiple platforms. The racing game is implemented with VR glasses and in 3D.

Virtual qualifying for the Drone Champions League

As in the real race, the players of the Drone Champions Game compete against pilots from all over Europe. You can train your flight skills against a virtual backdrop and prepare and qualify for the Drone Champions League 2017. The four best pilots can then take part in the real race.

The idea came from two flight enthusiasts from Germany and Liechtenstein: Dominik Roch was a scene expert and drone racer from the very beginning, Herbert Weirather was an aviation engineer and aerobatic pilot. The international sports marketer WWP is responsible for marketing and event organization. The Drone Champions League is scheduled for 2017 with ten races. (kj)

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