Drone Racing - Sport of the Future ?
Drone racing is an exciting new sport, that has become popular faster than no other sport before it. Pilots steer small and lightweight, but high-powered drones along courses with obstacles. They fly through gates and around flags at speeds of over a hundred miles an hour.
They control the drones using VR-like headgear. Every drone has a camera attached to it so that spectators can also view flights either on a big screen or with special headgear.
The races take place either outdoors - in big stadiums, or indoors in old warehouses and sports arenas. Competitions are short because the battery time of drones is limited.
Although drone racing started only a few years ago there are already international competitions that take place all over the world. In professional leagues, drone pilots compete for thousands of dollars. In March, the World Drone Prix was staged in Dubai. A 16-year old British teenager not only one the race but also received a prize money of 250 000 dollars.
Television and other media have become aware of drone racing. ESPN, an Amercian sports channel, will be broadcasting international drone races starting this August. Races are also recorded and uploaded to YouTube and other video platforms where they can be viewed over and over again.
The first drones that hit the markets were heavy and expensive. Today they have become much cheaper so that more and more people buy them and take up their new hobby.
Drones were originally used in the military to make surveillance images of enemy territory or send bombs with pinpoint accuracy. Recently, Amazon has considered using drones for making deliveries.
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Words
- although = while
- attach = connect
- aware = to know that something new exists
- broadcast = to send out a programme on TV or radio
- channel = television station
- compete = here: to take part in a race against other pilots
- competition = here: race
- consider = think about doing something
- delivery = bringing products to the homes of people
- drone = an object that can fly by a person controlling it on the ground
- headgear = something you wear on your head
- high-powered = with a lot of strength or energy
- hit = here: come to
- image = picture
- lightweight = not heavy
- limited = here: only a short time
- media = radio, newspapers, TV, internet etc..
- military = army
- obstacle = something that makes moving around more difficult
- originally = at first
- pinpoint accuracy = here: exactly where you want something
- popular = much liked
- receive = get, win
- recently = a short time ago
- speed = how fast somehitng is
- staged = took place
- steer = move into a certain direction
- surveillance = to watch something carefully
- territory = land
- view = watch
- VR = virtual reality = images and sounds that make it seem like you are in the real world
- warehouse = large building used for keeping things before they are sold