As with many new technologies, it is not long before some enterprising individual finds a way to turn that technology from a tool to a form of entertainment such as racing. Sail powered boats became racing schooners in the 19th century. Horse riding led to horse racing. The car quickly became the race car.  So why would the development of drones be any different? After all, drones have their history in radio controlled airplanes and helicopters which have been raced for decades. Now we have the birth of drone racing on ESPN with the creation of their new show in cooperation with the Drone Racing League.

The Drone Race

Do not expect some high powered, high adrenaline race like the pod racing from Star Wars Episode I, though no one would be upset if pod racing became a thing. This will be a drone race where league officials say that the drones will zig and zag through obstacle courses at 80 miles per hour. Not autonomous at the moment, they will be controlled by six human controllers wearing a virtual reality headset.

Cameras mounted on the drones will give the human controllers the ability to have a pilots view as they steer through the course using a controller similar to what you would find on an Xbox or a PlayStation. To ensure that TV audiences will be able to see the action, the races will be prerecorded and edited. The broadcast will show a mix of drone footage and stationary cameras set to record the race.

The race will not be like the battle bots from Robotwars in 90s where machines built by different design teams battled for supremacy. These drones will be identical quadcopters stripped down to a minimum and measured down to the ounce. The 25 pilots will be using identical drones so not so much as performance of the drone as skill of the pilot will be the draw.

So far the set up will pit pilots against each other on obstacle courses in the Hard Rock Stadium in Miami, a lab in New York, a paper mill in Ohio, an auto plant in Detroit and a abandoned mall in L.A. The drone races are expected to be broadcast on ESPN2 as well as Sky Sports in the UK and Ireland.

Drone Racing Reality TV?

Though the show is pitting drones against each other in mazes and obstacle courses across the country, the drones are not the big draw for the contest. The birth of drone racing on ESPN will have more of a reality TV feel to is since the series is expected to concentrate more on turning the pilots into the characters that the TV audience will end up rooting for.

This means that it will have the feel of Big Brother, the drama of pro wrestling, and the technology of Star Wars all mixed in to make a new kind of reality show. The pilots will of course have their dynamics.  With the bad guys and the good guys. Who knows, there may be dramatic twists with double crosses and triple crosses as the series develops.

That begs the question, will the series become scripted to bring in ratings, or be allowed to flow freely? As much as one wants to hope that the races will be fair and free from tampering, as ratings rise and certain character match ups occur and the personalities of the pilots become a plot line, will the results of the race also be pre decided for the maximum draw in the advertiser wars?

ESPN has already announced that cameras will follow several of the pilots to their homes asking them what brought them into drone racing. As certain characters endear themselves to audience and others make a habit of making the audience mad, will there be interesting plot twists and developments. Is it possible that in future years, people will compare drone racing to pro-wrestling in its scripted matches, or will it evolve into a NASCAR style event where we do have drivers we follow, but the results are anything but predetermined.

Evolution of Drone Racing

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Despite the hype, drone racing is not entirely new. As stated earlier, drone racing has evolved from RC controlled plane racing. Back then pilots manned bulky RC controllers and stationed from the ground led their RC planes over airfields or other open areas much like the larger air plane races that have developed over the years.

Then the major drawbacks to the sport really taking off was technology. The radio controllers only had a limited range. The pilots had to imagine being in the cock pit of the plane so the tricks and race were confined to line of sight only. Once the airplane was out of sight from the ground pilot, it was difficult if not impossible to continue the race.

And as far a spectator sport, it lacked the draw that drone racing will offer. Spectators were stuck sitting outside as tiny planes raced around a path. Since the planes were smaller, they were hard to follow. Stuck to predictable paths and limited aerobatic skills, the races lacked the excitement that drones are capable of.

Should it remain an unscripted race, then it is no doubt that drone racing will soon evolve to a point where the human equation could be removed altogether. Already there is a group call Roboracer that is developing driverless race cars that drive themselves around courses. It will be only a matter of time before the TV audience will crave the speed and excitement of racing that can be only seen with the daring of AI machines that are fully capable of feats and stunts a human just does not have the reflexes for.

Final Thoughts

The birth of drone racing on ESPN should offer an exciting program to their lineup. The public has already shown an interest in alternative sports, and this should be no different. The mix of human drama and interaction coupled with the excitement and the daring of drones. The longer that ESPN can draw in viewers, the better. Which means that those out there that are hoping for a pure race free of influence of advertisers and ratings may very well be disappointed in the show.

However, the show will possibly have one positive aspect to those interested in the advancement of drones. It will show a skeptical public that drones are not the menace or threat that certain advocates are contending. Secondly, it will push the technology to new limits. ESPN will be pushed to bring more and more advanced drones into the mix. These new advances will find their way into other drones that will enhance our lives in yet to be seen ways.