Can a 30kg battery-powered drone go from 0-100kph in less than a second? With a top speed of 200kph? And can it lift 300kg? The answer to these questions is yes, says Chris Ballard, ceo of Melbourne-based Freedom Drone Sports.
His company has been developing giant racing drones in the last two years and is now spruiking a new racing league to be established next year called Freedom Class Giant Drone Racing.
Ballard revealed this in Melbourne at the Sports Analytics Conference where he said the current brand of FPV racing had a restricted future as a spectator sport to cross to mainstream because people couldn’t see small drones well enough from a distance.
The company has released a brief video of the Freedom Class Drone Version 1.0, in which a drone with a cylindrical shaped fuselage and a 1.5 metre span was shown lifting a bale of hay.
This prototype has since been superseded by Version 2, a completely different-looking tilt-wing model.
“The 2.0 is the next evolution of the Freedom Class,” Ballard told Drone Magazine. “Through increased aerodynamics and integration of systems, this aircraft is a serious step forward. To reach top speed, we had to reduce our aerodynamic profile significantly.
“We upgraded all of our electronics and software to overcome issues we found with V1.0. We are also introducing better systems to facilitate racing, one example being a battery box system for quick changes during a pit stop.”
The V1.0 used “a serious amount” of off the shelf batteries. For V2.0 the company created a custom Lipo solution with individual sensors to monitor the power levels and output of each cell.
The new version will be demonstrated next year. The date is yet to be announced as “it will be coming off the back of some other very exciting projects through Freedom Drone Sports”.
“We are in the planning stages of some international level events to be held inside Australia next year,” added Ballard. Presumably this will include some Freedom Class racing.
While Freedom Drone Sports also has divisions for education, consulting and knowledge, drone racing is the spearhead. “We are developing these giant drones for racing purposes,” said Ballard.“Through racing, we are significantly increasing the reliability and safety systems of these aircraft, as well as pushing the limits of what available technology can achieve.
“There will be commercial spin offs over time, across a range of areas, from commercial, industrial, and emergency services to name a few. “Just imagine these being stationed along beaches to work with lifesavers, able to very quickly get to and bodily lift or drag anyone who required saving.”
So, have similar drones been developed in other countries yet? Not exactly, says Ballard. “There have been some large-sized drones developed for mapping and filming purposes, but these aircraft are developed around efficiency. Typically, they might approach a quarter of the power levels of our Freedom Class. As such, we are unique in the drone world, as we build around power and speed,” he said.
“Freedom Class aspires to be the ultimate class within drone racing – the largest, fastest and most powerful, with the best racers from around the world. It is now becoming a propriety eponym when it comes to people referencing giant drone racing,” Ballard claimed.
“We are in the process of making this into an international series and viable career path for many professions within the drone industry.
“We want to build a high level of visual content that is easily picked up and understood by anyone, from no background in drone racing through to experts,” he added.
Source: Drone Magazine
Holy cow, those things are hugeee, soon we will have drones for pod racing like in Star Wars xD
I read about it. It sounds great too. I took part in drone racing from last 1 year. It’s awesome game. Everyone enjoy this game. There are so many companies who arrange drone racing game. Now a days, drone racing trend is growing and so many competition arranged every year.