Drone racing — a sport that offers some of the thrill of flying without the fear of dying — is buzzing its way onto Governors Island this summer, thanks to ESPN.
The TV sports network is slated to televise its first drone event, the 2016 National Drone Racing Championships, on Governors Island in August, after recently announcing a multi-year deal with the International Drone Racing Association.
Drone racing, in case you're not up to speed, is an event where competitors bring the small, fast, multi-propeller aircrafts that they've built to an expansive, twisting course and see who can zoom past each other to the finish line the quickest.
Oh, and there's also the whole futuristic goggles part. Racers watch their drones zip through the sky with a live video camera that's mounted to the front of the drone — so they get the perspective of what it's like to be inside their little unmanned aircraft, propelling through the air at upwards of 50 mph.
They get the video feed in their First Person View (FPV) goggles. So drone racing crews (yes, they have repair crews, like NASCAR) have that dystopian-future look down:
Photo courtesy of IDRA
The racing event on Governors Island will take place from Aug. 7 through Aug. 9 and have a "summer festival atmosphere" according to the IDRA. You'll find food, drinks, a drone-making and racing area for kids, and — of course — drone vendors.
The races will be streamed live on ESPN3. Then later, each event will broadcast in one-hour specials on ESPN.
Visitors are welcome to check out the races on Governors Island by looking up — or, if you have your FVP goggles handy, you too can get the full drone-athlete experience, and follow along with the sky view.
According to the chairman of the IDRA, the growing popularity of the sport, in part, has to do with the whole virtual superhero thing.
“Drone racing gives anyone the ability to fly like a superhero,” said Scot Refsland, chairman of the IDRA in a statement. “Because everyone can experience the thrill of racing as if they were sitting in the drone cockpit, the sport is skyrocketing."
Here's a promotional video of a little of what's in store for the "most epic" drone race:
