Teen Wins $250k In First World Drone Prix

I suppose drone racing is right now at the point where Thresh won his Ferrari 328 GTS Cabriolet that was owned by the legendary John Carmack at the Red Annihilation Quake tournament all the way back in 1997. Boy, it is going to be 20 years since then next year, and that more or less paved the way for professional computer gaming to grow from strength to strength. The same can be said when British teenager Luke Bannister picked up a $250,000 prize in the first World Drone Prix.

Held in Dubai, the weekend competition saw a total of a million dollars in prize money being awarded to the winners. Cited to be the “biggest drone racing event in history,” it saw many different teams participate, where there was a certification process to go through prior to participation, as teams needed to have a pilot as well as crew to assist in swapping the drone battery during mid-race pit stops, while pilots played their part by wearing goggles to view a live camera feed from their drones, using the Force – nay, skill and experience to guide them around the race’s unique, shape-shifting aerial track.

Fifteen-year-old Bannister who was the pilot for team Tornado X-Blades Banni UK had racked up a year’s worth of racing experience, and he shared, “You have so much freedom — you can fly over, under and through trees and around things — it’s brilliant.” The prize money will be shared with all 43 people in the Tornado X-Blades Banni UK crew.

Edwin Kee
Categories: Robots
Tags: Drones