Many people know drones as sophisticated weapons to be used only in war zones. But this is not the case anymore. The use of drones from military purposes has expanded. Drones are now extensively used for commercial as well as personal purposes. Some drone users have taken it to the next level. These fun loving drone users use their drones to race each other. They have made it a matter of pride and a way to check who owns the better drone. This has resulted in the arrangement of dedicated tournaments related to drones with high prize money. Usually drones are equipped with 4 motors and usually of the configuration of "X" or "+", but in this particular case, the configuration which is being implemented is of the form of alphabet "H" so as to accomplish forward movement not the upward thrust as in the case of delivery or photography drones.
The main aim of this type of racing is to provide high speed to the drone and use the speed and maneuvering skills to outpace the other drones. In future, it is predicted that drone racing would very much be as popular as formula racing. Big companies will be vying to sponsor such events. In general, FPV or first person view is preferred that means the participant whose drone is racing will be able to see only what the drone's front camera can see. To achieve this, the camera is placed on the nose of the drone or on its front and is used to transmit high radio wave signals to the participant and hence further commands are being supplied by the user. This way drone racing becomes a very exciting race including the mental co-ordination of participant along with high end skills used in making the drone.
The first person view (FPV) lets the viewer experience flying with great speed and maneuverability, passing the hurdles in between. It increases the level of difficulty to a much higher level as compared to the normally used third person view.
Although this racing was first invented in Australia now it is getting popular in other countries too where people are getting familiar with this prestigious technology. The selection of drone material and the motor is as such to meet the requirement of high speed and to overcome crashes which are quite inevitable during the race. There are many organizations which organize these kinds of events such as DRL (Drone Racing League), U.S. National Drone Racing Championship and many others. These organizations provide their own drone materials in order to level the playing field and verify the skills of pilots across a large number of participants. Drone racing provides excitement not only through pure speed and agility, but also though the robustness in the design of these drones. Nowadays it is quite common to use the materials having high strength to weight ratio for making drones lightweight. This technology can be very expensive. Even though this kind of racing has thrilled many, connectivity and data transfer rates for FPV video provides a hindrance behind the success of this sport.