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09 August 2023
By Sam Karp
In my previous article <a href="https://www.thedroningcompany.com/blog/introduction-to-fpv-drones" target="_blank" rel="noopener">&ldquo;Introduction to FPV Drones&rdquo;</a> I went over the basics of what FPV is, as well as a few steps that you could take to get started learning to fly FPV. Today I&rsquo;ll be diving a little deeper by giving a few suggestions on how to actually get started flying. Well, flying in a simulator at least. In my experience, this is the easiest and fastest way to get started with FPV.
In this article I&rsquo;ll cover what FPV simulators I use, controller recommendations, what the different flight modes are, as well the basics of how different stick inputs affect the drone. Let's get started!
<h5>FPV Simulators</h5>
<img src="https://media.thedroningcompany.com/images/tincy/w7sSsqLPkvF9cD7NWacYxucSTCE4Tkopp83RRCGa.png" alt="" width="686" height="373" />
FPV Simulators are an essential part of learning to fly FPV. Flying in the virtual world is a safe and risk-free space to practice and enhance your skills as a pilot. If you crash in the real world you risk causing damage to not only your drone, but also to public/private property. In the simulator you can crash as many times as you like and simply press a button to start over and try again.
In addition to being a much safer way to learn FPV, flying in the simulator also means you&rsquo;ll only need a controller to get started. Overall this will help you get a better feel for if you want to pursue FPV, and if you don&rsquo;t like it? Well, you&rsquo;ve only spent around $100 on a controller and you haven&rsquo;t spent hundreds if not thousands of dollars on expensive equipment just to find out that this isn't for you. Although I do have a hard time believing that you won&rsquo;t be immediately hooked like I was.
Here are my recommendations for great simulators to get you flying in no time.
<a style="color: #ba372a;" href="https://store.steampowered.com/app/410340/Liftoff_FPV_Drone_Racing/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Liftoff FPV Drone Racing</a>. This is the simulator that I&rsquo;ve put the most time into at close to 50 hours. The physics are close enough to the real world that most people won't really be able to tell the difference, it has plenty of content and some amazing drone customization if you want to really dial it in and get as close to the real thing as possible.
<a href="https://store.steampowered.com/app/1682970/Uncrashed__FPV_Drone_Simulator/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Uncrashed FPV</a>. This, in my opinion, is the most graphically impressive FPV sim out there. It&rsquo;s kind of bare bones with only a handful of environments and tracks. But it&rsquo;s very pretty and great for practicing freestyle. For that reason alone I have over 20 hours flown in this one.
<a style="color: #ba372a;" href="https://www.velocidrone.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Velocidrone</a>. I&rsquo;ve never personally tried this one, but I know plenty of people who swear by the physics in this sim. It has plenty of environments and tracks and you really can&rsquo;t go wrong with this one.
<a style="color: #ba372a;" href="https://store.steampowered.com/app/641780/The_Drone_Racing_League_Simulator/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">DRL Simulator</a>. This is the official simulator of the Drone Racing League. I feel like that&rsquo;s all I really need to say about it. It has plenty of content, drone customization and even a tutorial that will teach you how to fly. If it&rsquo;s good enough for the DRL it&rsquo;s good enough for me.
<a style="color: #ba372a;" href="https://store.steampowered.com/app/1278060/FPV_SkyDive__FPV_Drone_Simulator/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">FPV SkyDive</a>. This is the only free FPV simulator on the list, so if you don&rsquo;t want to shell out an additional $10-$20 for a simulator this is a great starting point. Just keep in mind that it is free, so it won&rsquo;t be as polished as some of the other sims on this list, but it will definitely get you up and flying!
<h5>FPV Controllers</h5>
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In my experience the best way to get started flying is by picking up a controller that can be used both in an FPV simulator, as well as to fly your first FPV drone. A controller will be your primary interface with the quadcopter by taking your inputs, then sending them directly to a receiver mounted on the drone. There are a variety of different receivers that each use a different RF protocol. Typically when starting out you&rsquo;ll be using a standard 2.4ghz protocol such as FrSky or FlySky. These receivers are fine for beginners, but more advanced pilots should look into something along the lines of TBS Crossfire, or the open source Express LRS (ELRS) for a more stable, longer range connection. As you look for a controller, try to find something with a &ldquo;4 in 1 transmitter&rdquo; built into the radio. This will give you the most flexibility starting out, and more often than not, there will be a module bay for an external RF transmitter to allow you to upgrade later if you want to.
<a href="https://tinyurl.com/mphw55fw" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Radiomaster TX 16s Mk2</a>. Fantastic full featured controller. This has become the standard for a lot of pilots and I&rsquo;ve been using the slightly older Mk1 for years. It has fantastic full sized &ldquo;hall effect&rdquo; gimbals for precise control, a large color display, and it comes with ELRS or a 4 in 1 transmitter built in. It is a little on the large side, so keep that in mind if you have smaller hands as it could be uncomfortable for some. $200.
<a href="https://tinyurl.com/54ybetys" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Radiomaster Boxer. </a>Very similar to the TX 16s but more compact and it has a smaller black and white screen vs the TX 16s&rsquo;s large color display. If I had to start from square one with FPV this is the controller I would get. It&rsquo;s not too expensive, it has the same fantastic full sized &ldquo;hall effect&rdquo; gimbals as the more expensive TX 16s, and it still comes with ELRS or a 4 in 1 transmitter built in. $140.
<a href="https://tinyurl.com/42bs6s7m" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Radiomaster Zorro</a>. The Zorro is a great option for anyone looking for more of a &ldquo;gamepad&rdquo; style controller. It&rsquo;s much more compact than the other controllers I&rsquo;ve mentioned and you also have the option for either ELRS or a 4 in 1 transmitter. The only downside is that it uses smaller gimbals. I wouldn&rsquo;t consider it to be a deal breaker; they're still great gimbals, but in general larger gimbals will give you slightly more control over the drone. $120.
<a href="https://tinyurl.com/5ea75xhe" target="_blank" rel="noopener">BetaFPV Lite Radio 3</a>. This is the controller I would point you towards if you aren&rsquo;t too sure that you&rsquo;ll like FPV and maybe you just want to buy a controller to test out flying in a simulator. It&rsquo;s cheap, it works, and if you do decide to keep flying FPV you&rsquo;ll be able to use it with your first drone. Since it&rsquo;s so small and lacks a screen you&rsquo;ll probably grow out of it quickly, but it would make a decent controller to dip your toes into the world of FPV. $60.
<a href="https://tinyurl.com/hwpnchat" target="_blank" rel="noopener">DJI FPV Controller v2</a>. This is a controller that I can only recommend if you know for a fact that you&rsquo;ll be flying something with DJI&rsquo;s digital FPV system. Either DJI&rsquo;s Avata drone, or something with their 03 Air unit. The Controller V2 is great, very similar to the Radiomaster Zorro in terms of size, but it will only work with DJI products. I will say that it is an extremely seamless connection to set up if you are flying DJI, but if you think you&rsquo;ll fly anything else, maybe look elsewhere. $200.
<a href="https://tinyurl.com/3d53wzp3" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Honorable Mention: </a><a href="https://tinyurl.com/3d53wzp3" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Radiomaster Pocket.</a> As of right now this radio is available for PreOrder. So I unfortunately don&rsquo;t have a ton of information about it. It looks to be another fantastic controller from RadioMaster, almost a shrunk down, more compact Radiomaster Boxer. If this is available by the time you&rsquo;re reading, pick this up instead of the BetaFPV Lite Radio 3. It&rsquo;s cheaper, has more features, a screen, and if it&rsquo;s anything like other controllers from Radiomaster, it will last a lot longer. $55.
Keep in mind these are just my suggestions. There are tons of great controllers out there, but I&rsquo;m just aiming to get you started with a few options that I know will work well. All of the controllers that I&rsquo;ve listed (minus the DJI controller v2) have an external RF module slot, and the option for either built in ELRS, or a 4 in 1 transmitter. Starting out I would just grab the 4 in 1 as it will work most standard 2.4ghz receivers, and down the line you can always get an external ELRS or Crossfire module for longer range.
<h5>Understanding Stick Controls</h5>
<img src="https://media.thedroningcompany.com/images/tincy/NGPmwqafIOunnwOuA9374J8cZQue1VToRqlFVfec.jpg" alt="" width="437" height="427" />
Image courtesy <a style="color: #000000;" href="https://oscarliang.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Oscar Liang.</a>&nbsp;
Our resident drone expert Chris &ldquo;The Drone Geek&rdquo; Fravel has an excellent article on understanding the basics of drone operation and stick movements that you can check out <a href="http://www.thedroningcompany.com/blog/drone-flying-for-dummies" target="_blank" rel="noopener">here</a>.
I&rsquo;m going to do my best to convert what he talks about into FPV.
There are four axis of control on any aircraft. Roll, Pitch, Yaw, and Throttle.
Roll is controlled with the right stick by pushing left or right. This will roll the drone to the left or right.
Pitch is also controlled with the right stick, but this time by pushing forward or backwards. Think of pitch as either pushing the nose down, or pulling it up.
Yaw is controlled with the left stick by pushing left or right. Think of yaw as spinning the drone similarly to how you would turn your head
Throttle is controlled with the left stick by pushing forward or backwards. This controls how much power is sent to the motors. This stick will be slightly different from all the other inputs as it won't spring back to the center. Instead, it starts all the way at the bottom at 0%, holds its position, and gives you the full range of motion to 100%. Throttle control is one of the more difficult things to get the hang of when first starting FPV, especially if you&rsquo;re coming from something like the Mavic where the &ldquo;throttle&rdquo; is less of an actual throttle and more of a &ldquo;go up or down&rdquo; command.
Flight Modes
Keep in mind that how far you push the stick, the drone will react differently depending on what flight mode you&rsquo;re using. Here are the different flight modes you&rsquo;ll most likely run into when flying FPV.
Acro. This is the bread and butter of FPV. Acro provides full manual control of the drone. There is no self leveling, putting control completely into the hands of the pilot. If you tilt the drone forwards and release the stick, the drone will maintain the angle you&rsquo;ve set it in. If you hold the stick in any direction the drone will continuously tilt in that direction until you let go. So if you shove the right stick all the way to the left, the drone will do barrel rolls to the left until you release the stick. There is a learning curve to it, but if you&rsquo;re going to learn FPV, this is the mode you should either start with, or at least work your way up to. It offers by far the most amount of control, and once you get the hang of it, it&rsquo;s the most fun.
Angle. Angle mode works most similarly to something like the DJI Mavic. This mode will automatically level the drone when the pilot releases control of the sticks. This offers a bit of a safety net when flying, but try not to rely on this too heavily. When you&rsquo;re in angle mode the drone won't tilt beyond a set limit, while this makes it easier to pick up and fly, in the long run it limits your overall control of the drone and you won't be able to perform a lot of the maneuvers that FPV is known for.
Horizon. Horizon mode is the awkward middle child between Acro and Angle mode. Much like in Angle mode the drone will automatically level itself when the pilot lets go of the sticks, however when the pilot tilts the sticks past a certain threshold, the drone behaves more similarly to Acro allowing for the drone to do things like barrel rolls and loops. But it&rsquo;s still not as precise as Acro mode.
Other flight modes do have their use case, a lot of tiny whoop pilots prefer to fly in angle mode for instance, but for the most part try to learn how to fly using Acro. It will give you the most control over the drone, and if you&rsquo;re aiming to race, fly freestyle, or fly for cinematic purposes, Acro is the way to go.
<h5>Conclusion</h5>
So that&rsquo;s everything you need to know to get started flying in an FPV simulator. I&rsquo;d recommend practicing at least 30 minutes a day for a week or two before venturing into the real world. The simulator is a fantastic tool for learning how to fly and you should try to utilize it as much as possible before moving onto flying something like a 5&rdquo; FPV drone. Again, crashing in the simulator is free, so take your time and embrace the learning curve. Crash as much as possible in the digital world before flying IRL. Once you get the hang of it, It&rsquo;ll feel like second nature and before you know it you&rsquo;ll be hooked!

Introduction to FPV simulators and controllers

31 July 2023
<img src="https://media.thedroningcompany.com/images/tincy/X0GVloj0z7wFKRxUaJAyaOgI7XWmDMYGQWCjNR1k.jpg" alt="" width="87" height="87" />
By Sam Karp
[Editor's Note: Sam Karp is The Droning Company's newest columnist. He is an FPV drone expert, so please watch for his upcoming column, Sam Karp on FPV.] 
If you&rsquo;re interested in the constantly evolving world of drones you&rsquo;ve probably heard the term &ldquo;FPV&rdquo; get tossed around, or maybe you&rsquo;ve seen some mind bending footage of FPV pilots on social media. But what exactly is FPV? And how does it differ from a traditional drone like the DJI Mavic? Well, you&rsquo;ve come to the right place, in this article I&rsquo;ll be breaking down what FPV is, what makes it different from other types of drones, and finally, the first steps I would recommend to anyone who&rsquo;s interested in diving into the world of FPV.
<h5>How is FPV Different from Other Drones?</h5>
&nbsp;So this is the biggest question I get asked and I&rsquo;ll start by defining what FPV is. FPV drones, or First Person View drones, get their name from the fact that you fly the quadcopter using a pair of low latency goggles that make you feel as if you&rsquo;re sitting in the cockpit of the drone. This gives an incredibly immersive and exhilarating experience.
Most of us are familiar with DJI and their Mavic series of drones. These drones are commonly praised for their ease of use, stability in the air, advanced sensors, GPS, and having a gimbal stabilized camera system. This makes them perfect for aerial photography, stable video, as well as other things such as radio tower inspections. The primary difference between this type of drone and FPV (With a few exceptions) is actually their lack of these advanced sensors and GPS systems. FPV drones have no automated features so it relies solely on the pilot's ability to fly. This allows for incredible agility and acrobatic maneuvers creating the possibility for shots that would be impossible with any other type of drone.
<h5>Different Types of FPV Drones</h5>
When it comes to FPV there&rsquo;s tons of variation in the types of drones that pilots build and fly.
The two most common are 5 inch freestyle/racing drones, and Cinewhoops.
Five Inch Freestyle drones are the most common. They&rsquo;re insanely powerful and relatively light weight. These are the types of drones that you&rsquo;ll see doing crazy acrobatic maneuvers, chasing drift cars, and diving down cliffs and waterfalls. They&rsquo;re also the most common size for FPV racing and in general they&rsquo;re the most fun to fly.
<img src="https://media.thedroningcompany.com/images/tincy/LlsUoeuLSoghVSrta2SWDSnRxv7ADrH2jM1SpsmQ.jpg" alt="" width="462" height="462" />
Cinewhoops on the other hand are specifically designed to be smaller, have prop guards for safe flying indoors and around people. These drones are known for slow, cinematic flying. Making them perfect to fly through a house for a real estate video, filming an event, or any kind of close proximity flying.
<h5>Flight Times</h5>
If you&rsquo;ve flown any DJI drone before, you&rsquo;re probably used to upwards of 30 minute flight times, maybe even longer in the case of their newer offerings.
FPV drones will generally have a much shorter flight time due to their higher power consumption and smaller batteries. On average you can expect anywhere from 4-8 minutes of flight time depending on your setup.
You also need to be much more mindful of when to land an FPV drone. Unlike DJI, FPV drones won't tell you an estimated flight time remaining. That&rsquo;s something the pilot needs to keep track of by keeping an eye on the battery voltage. A fully charged Lipo cell will be at 4.2v, and fully depleted it will rest at 3.2v. Lipo batteries can be finicky and if you drain them past the 3.2v threshold it can cause damage. We&rsquo;ll get into proper battery info and how to take care of them in another article, but for now the general rule of thumb is to land at 3.5v per cell. So if you&rsquo;re flying a 4s battery, that would be around 14v. A 6s battery would be 21v. This keeps you well within a safe range to make sure your batteries are healthy, and in a pinch you&rsquo;ll still have a little extra juice to fly home.
<h5>Digital vs Analog</h5>
There are two ways to receive a live video feed from your FPV drone. Either from an Analog Video signal, or a Digital Signal. They each have their pros and cons, so let's have a look.
FPV has traditionally been flown using an analog video signal and is still the preferred video transmission for pilots who race FPV competitively. The primary benefit to analog video is its extremely low latency, typically around 20ms. When you&rsquo;re flying around a race track at 80Mph latency is extremely important. The downside to analog is the video quality received in your goggles. Typically it&rsquo;s only a resolution of 480p
This is where the more recent jump to a Digital FPV has been beneficial. Digital video systems, such as DJI&rsquo;s 03 Air Unit, are capable of a much higher resolution. In the case of the 03 Air Unit you&rsquo;re looking at a live feed with a resolution of full HD 1080p. The difference in resolution is night and day. It feels like looking through a GoPro, rather than looking at an old CRT Tv. The only issue with this bump in resolution and video quality is the increased latency that comes with it. To get that bump in resolution, you go from 20ms of latency, to 30ms of latency. Now for the vast majority of people a 10ms difference will go unnoticed, but for pilots who compete in racing it can be a big deal.
My recommendation for most people would be to go with digital. It can be a little pricey to get into, but the overall boost in quality is well worth it.
<h5>How to Get Started</h5>
As a beginner to FPV, be prepared for a steep learning curve and a few crashes along the way. Crashing happens, it&rsquo;s part of the learning process, and part of FPV as a whole. If I were starting from scratch with FPV these would be the steps I would take to learn how to fly.
&bull; Start with a simulator. Like I said earlier, you will be crashing. There&rsquo;s no avoiding it, and it&rsquo;s much cheaper to crash in an FPV simulator like Liftoff or Uncrashed FPV than in the real world. In order to use a simulator you will need a controller. I highly recommend picking up something like the RadioMaster Boxer, or RadioMaster Zorro. For beginners I would pick up the versions with the 4in1 transmitter. This will give you the most flexibility for pairing to traditional 2.4ghz receivers. And both the Boxer and Zorro have module bays if you ever upgrade to something like Crossfire or Express LRS.
&bull; Once you&rsquo;re comfortable enough flying in the simulator, move onto flying something small in the real world. Something like the Emax Tinyhawk or any other 1s &ldquo;Whoop&rdquo; type drone. Emax actually makes a ready to fly beginner kit that comes with a controller you can use in the simulator, as well as basic analog FPV goggles and the Tinyhawk itself..
&bull; Now that you have several hours in the simulator and experience flying in the real world, it&rsquo;s time to move up to 5 inch freestyle. Several companies sell ready to fly FPV drones that are fairly simple to set up and that&rsquo;s probably the easiest route to go, however I&rsquo;ve always been a huge advocate for building your first full sized FPV drone. There&rsquo;s definitely a lot that goes into building an FPV drone and I&rsquo;ll have another article soon going in depth on how to do so, but just know that if you do build one, you&rsquo;ll be fully equipt with the knowledge on how to repair it when you inevitably crash and break something.
<h5>Conclusion</h5>
FPV drones have carved out a niche in the drone industry. Offering hobbyists and professional pilots an exhilarating and immersive new way to capture footage. While they differ significantly from traditional drones, FPV provides the freedom for creative aerial maneuvers and unique shots. Whether you&rsquo;re a beginner or a seasoned professional, embarking on an FPV journey will give you an experience like no other.
<a href="https://www.thedroningcompany.com/pilot/samuel-karp" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Click to visit Karp's Pilot's Profile</a>
<a href="https://www.thedroningcompany.com/blog/pilot-s-story-samuel-karp" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Click to Read Karp's Pilot's Story</a>
<h5>Watch One of Karp's Videos</h5>
<iframe style="width: 665px; height: 374px;" title="YouTube video player" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/mzddaYPtnD4" width="665" height="374" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe>

Introduction to Fpv drones

26 June 2023
It's no surprise to drone professionals and cinematographers that the film industry has been enthusiastically deploying drones for years now to capture stunning "big screen" shots that were impossible or incredibly expensive without drones. But, according to a recent analysis of the commercial-drone industry by SkyQuest, audience thrills are not the only element cinema drones bring to the table.&nbsp;
In fact, the use of drones for big-time and independent movies, other subjects documented by videos, and still photography is perhaps the most-significant driver of a drone industy that could reach $62.54 billion in just seven years.
Hooray for Hollywood, indeed!
Let's look at a couple of exiting film scenes made possible by drones&mdash;and unrestrained imagination...
<h5>Red Notice (2021)</h5>
<iframe style="width: 667px; height: 375px;" title="YouTube video player" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/zZBdVk3KFTk" width="667" height="375" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe>
<h5>&nbsp;Snow (Mountains in Switzerland, 2023)</h5>
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<h5>Shooting Ambulance (2022) with Drones</h5>
<iframe style="width: 662px; height: 371px;" title="YouTube video player" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Y7fOHLDN8Y4" width="662" height="371" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe>
<h5>Transmission (2023)&mdash;One Take FPV Drone Shot</h5>
<iframe style="width: 654px; height: 368px;" title="YouTube video player" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/8EsjNUIgZVE" width="654" height="368" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe>
<h5>Fast X (2023)</h5>
<iframe style="width: 649px; height: 365px;" title="YouTube video player" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Tn4JTY1Lo0g" width="649" height="365" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe>

Cinematography Driving Commercial Drone Market to $63 billion by 2030

Product News

23 May 2023
This article is an introduction to <a href="https://www.mepsking.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">MEPS</a>, which is a group of professional and passionate engineers, designers, FPV enthusiasts, product testers and marketing personnel. MEPS' new power system space series&mdash;which is mainly used in the field of FPV&mdash;is a series of motors with greatly optimized design, power, and durability. The <a href="https://www.mepsking.com/sz2306-fpv-brushless-motor-for-5inch-freestyle-drone.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">FPV Brushless SZ2306</a> motor, for example, is super lightweight and stronger and more durable than most FPV motors in its weight class.
<img src="https://media.thedroningcompany.com/images/tincy/zs5tjQ63sD27wus1VPxpW8nEpNHYVK5FOXpAW58j.png" alt="" width="698" height="197" />
<h5>Features &nbsp;of &nbsp;the &nbsp;SZ2306 </h5>
Freestyle Specialist. Provides ample power and stability for fast-paced flying, making it an ideal choice for those who want to push freestyle flying to the next level. Quick acceleration. Rapid response. High efficiency.
Innovative Design. Remarkable durability with a uni-bell covering&mdash;and super-low cogging torque&mdash;achieves the perfect combination of performance and aesthetics.
Better Material. 6082 aluminum alloy and N52SH arc magnets increase efficiency and shorten motor response time, allowing the motor to run as smooth as silk.
Individual Pre-factory Test. Ensures quality and reliability. Super-dynamic balance control provides a smooth and responsive flying experience.
Three KV Options (1750, 1950, 2450). Different KVs match different batteries and propellers for different flying styles.
Efficient FPV Freestyle Experience. Racers can easily operate any style, such as barrel rolls, gaps, and backwards dives.&nbsp;
Matching Recommendation. Model SZ2306 is suitable for the 5-Inch quadcopter. We strongly recommend racers combine this drone motor with high-quality 35A AIO brushless FC and 5-Inch props.
<img src="https://media.thedroningcompany.com/images/tincy/arkffhD4zdHXtdp21TU2VPPIwOhoU5AQCraptVSU.png" alt="" width="639" height="396" />
<h5>SZ2306 Basic Parameters</h5>
<img src="https://media.thedroningcompany.com/images/tincy/dA1v7Bj0JpJZFf8b1o353K21M9elE1Y5zG4qo8OO.png" alt="" width="675" height="404" />
<h5>SZ2306 Size</h5>
<img src="https://media.thedroningcompany.com/images/tincy/GLjTPN0ZBDUMC8D0rDs1oVbcW3r2BWqz2v4CBu0i.png" alt="" width="713" height="145" />
<h5>Specs</h5>
<img src="https://media.thedroningcompany.com/images/tincy/w1oadCpt4KMM9fxFFWpyKEzVItsVhO1HVVSp91OL.png" alt="" width="700" height="531" />
&nbsp;

MEPS FPV Brushless Motor 

FPV Drones

Recently, we ran a story on the University of Zurich's Robotics and Perception Group, and how its AI drones pretty much smoked human FPV champions in a race. <a href="https://www.thedroningcompany.com/blog/autonomous-drones-threaten-the-end-of-human-fpv-racers" target="_blank" rel="noopener">You can read the original story here</a>.
Now, thanks to this article about the host Tattu pilot team of world champs Thomas Bitmatta (2018 MultiGP International Open World Champion), Alex Vanover (2019 DRL World Champion), and Marvin Sch&auml;pper (Swiss Drone League Champion), we have an even deeper dive into what happened when humans battled AI at the University of Zurich this past June.
<h5>WATCH!</h5>
<iframe style="width: 672px; height: 378px;" title="YouTube video player" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/u58zbH-ckOU" width="672" height="378" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" data-mce-fragment="1"></iframe>
<h5>&ldquo;A Single Lap of 5.112s, Repeated Three Times, Is Beyond Human Reach&rdquo;</h5>
Flying First Person View (FPV) is one of the largest difficulties of operating in a race. The pilot can only get the first view through the FPV glasses and manually operate the flight. Operational stability is low, and the pilot can only see the state of high-speed movement, so a test pilot's ability to adapt to situations is essential.
<img src="https://media.thedroningcompany.com/images/tincy/zuazxMZTm8DBTw2MRaUXe25kxLJF3fYMUwQ9kkc4.jpg" alt="" width="700" height="584" />
Above: The AI Drone
In this experimental race, with a week to go before the showdown, the three champion pilots came to the event location in advance, constantly training to familiarize themselves with the course, as well as working with the lab to collect data on eye movements and more. Meanwhile, the test track and drones were specially made for the AI system, as AI Drone has 36 cameras and sensors&mdash;all to allow the AI to accurately figure out the best route to get the fastest overall finish time.
&ldquo;I think on one lap, a human can be faster, but on three or more laps, the AI will win," said Sch&auml;pper. "For example, an AI drone can do a 5.112s lap time three times behind each other cause they can just repeat one lap. But a lap time of 5.112s and three repetitions is unachievable by humans. On the track we were using, Thomas got down to 6.26s using the Tattu 4.0 battery, but he managed a 6.066s run using the Tattu R-Line 5.0!"&nbsp;
<img src="https://media.thedroningcompany.com/images/tincy/s6an9UfhvcW7EqZs2cGhCMkIuRD4tWryGlfmbDpE.jpg" alt="" width="700" height="466" />
Above: Tattu 5.0 Battery
The human pilots constantly adjusted their strategies and upgraded their equipment to get faster times.&nbsp;
On June 11, the showdown between AI Drone and the world champions was played out at Swiss Drone Days.
The first round started in the morning, with pilots racing one-on-one with AI Drone in multiple attempts to challenge the fastest lap times.
After several rounds of racing, Vanover's fastest lap time was 6.7s, Bitmatta's was 6.3s and Sch&auml;pper scored 5.6s. AI Drone's fastest time in three rounds was only 5.1s. However, during the duel with Vanover, AI Drone had a glitch, hit the gate, and fell down. Vanover had figured out a way to get his drone to stay in the middle of the traversing gate, but the AI Drone's sensors detected an obstacle and couldn't get through. So, the drone flew in the other direction, and caused a crash.
In the race course, the possibility of FPV collisions are high, as the pilots adjust speed and attitude to bypass obstacles and no-fly zones. In AI drones, navigation, guidance, and control are completed through artificial intelligence flight control.
The second round unfolded in the afternoon, which was an image recognition session where both the pilot and AI Drone could adjust the FPV's battery, motor, and propeller for better results.
This time, AI changed the machine, removing the 36 sensing cameras covered in the body and instead installing one camera in the head of the drone, which is equivalent to replacing 36 brains with one brain. The results of this round changed, Vanover and Bitmatta were 5.6s, Sch&auml;pper hit 5.44s, and AI Drone, affected by the light recognition, managed only 5.6s. Sch&auml;pper finally surpassed AI Drone in this round!
During the competition, the AI constantly adjusted its algorithm by observing the pilot's flight path and eye reaction. Tattu's pilot only beat AI Drone in one score&mdash;glory to defeat!
All in all, AI intelligence eventually outperformed humans, but the machine still has limitations, and as technology advances and conditions allow, machine replacement for humans has become possible.
<img src="https://media.thedroningcompany.com/images/tincy/TyzQf9CUCcuBMcGDySvyMmYG1YHBytLerUvuXA1g.jpg" alt="" width="741" height="494" />
Above: Pilots and team members.
<a style="color: #ba372a;" href="https://swissdronedays.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Click for More on Swiss Drone Day</a>
<a href="https://www.genstattu.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Click for Info on Tattu</a>
<a href="https://www.gensace.de/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Gensace</a>
<a style="color: #ba372a;" href="https://www.grepow.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Grepow Rechargeable Batteries</a>
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Behind the Scenes: Tattu Race Champions Beaten by AI Drones

FPV drone-racing pilots...
Well, your days may be numbered.
You had a good run, of course. You've honored yourself in a sport where human pilots must navigate complex courses with speed and precision&mdash;all while relying solely on a video feed sent from a camera on the front of the drone to the pilot&rsquo;s VR headset. Bravo.
But it's probably time to retire. Take up extreme snowboarding, perhaps?
You see, a year ago, autonomous racing quadrotors from Davide Scaramuzza&rsquo;s <a class="rm-stats-tracked" href="https://rpg.ifi.uzh.ch/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Robotics and Perception Group</a> at the University of Zurich (UZH) <a href="https://www.media.uzh.ch/en/Press-Releases/2021/Drone-Race.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">proved they could beat the world's fastest humans in a drone race</a>. Losing that race didn't do you in, however, as the autonomous racing drones relied on a motion-capture system to provide high-resolution position information in real time (along with a computer sending control information). Lucky for you that this wasn't a fair fight...
But why?
An autonomous drone has several advantages over humans in such a race. First, it has near-perfect state estimation&mdash;thanks to a motion-capture system that covers the entire course. In other words, the drone always knows exactly where it is, as well as its precise speed and orientation. Experienced human pilots develop an intuition for estimating the state of their system, but they can&rsquo;t watch their own drone while racing because they&rsquo;re immersed in first-person view the entire time.
The second advantage the autonomous drone has is that it&rsquo;s able to compute a trajectory that traverses the course in a time-optimal way, considering the course layout and the constraints imposed by the drone itself. Human pilots have to practice on a course for hours (or even days) to discover what they think is an optimal trajectory, but they have no way of knowing for sure whether their racing lines can be improved or not.
<h5>SEE A UZH DRONE WITH A MOTION-CAPTURE SYSTEM AND OFF-BOARD COMPUTATION&nbsp;</h5>
<iframe style="width: 679px; height: 382px;" title="YouTube video player" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/PLMgMqMrQ98" width="679" height="382" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe>
<h5>A FAIR REMATCH</h5>
So, earlier this month, a trio of champion drone racers traveled to Zurich for a rematch. This time, the autonomous drones were denied a motion-capture system&mdash;nothing was off-board. It would be simply drones and humans using their own vision systems and their own computers (or brains) to fly around a drone racing track as fast as possible.
What made this rematch a more equal competition where humans and robots could compete fairly, but doesn&rsquo;t ask the robots to be less robotic or the humans to be less human-y?
No external help.&nbsp;No motion-capture system or off-board compute. Arguably, the humans have something of an advantage here, as they are off-board by definition, but the broader point of this research is to endow drones with the ability to fly themselves in aggressive and agile ways, so it&rsquo;s a necessary compromise.
Complete knowledge of the course.&nbsp;Nothing on the course is secret, and humans can walk through it and develop a mental model. The robotic system, meanwhile, gets an actual CAD model. Both humans and robots also get practice time&mdash;humans on the physical course with real drones, and the system practices in simulation. Both humans and robots can use this practice time to find an optimal trajectory in advance.
Vision only.&nbsp;The autonomous drones use Intel RealSense stereo-vision sensors, while the humans use a monocular camera streaming video from the drone. The humans may not get a stereo feed, but they do get better resolution and higher frames per second than the RealSense gives the autonomous drone.
<h5>READY. SET...</h5>
Three world-class human pilots were invited to Zurich for the rematch. Thomas Bitmattaup (two-time winner of FRV racing's MultiGP International World Cup), Alex Vanover (2019 Drone Racing League champion), and Marvin Sch&auml;pper (2021 Swiss Drone League champion). Each pilot had as much time as they wanted on the course in advance, flying more than 700 practice laps in total.
On a Friday night in a military aircraft hangar outside of Zurich, the races began.&nbsp;
<h5>FAIR FIGHT: WATCH THE BLUE AUTONOMOUS DRONE BEAT THE RED HUMAN-PILOTED DRONE</h5>
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With a top speed of close to 50 mph, the vision-based autonomous drone outraced the fastest human by 0.5 second during a three-lap race&mdash;where just one or two-tenths of a second is frequently the difference between a win and a loss.
This victory for the vision-based autonomous drone is a big deal, so human pilots beware...
<blockquote>"This demonstrates that AI-vs.-human drone racing has the potential to revolutionize drone racing as a sport," said Scaramuzza. "What&rsquo;s clear is that superhuman performance with AI drones can be achieved, but there is still a lot of work to be done to robustify these AI systems to bring them from a controlled environment to real-world applications."</blockquote>
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Autonomous Drones Threaten the End of Human FPV Racers

Tiny FPV drones, flown by pilots using a headset for maximum flight control, can capture truly thrilling "racing" footage or other fast, furious, and astounding aerial videos. But FPV drones typically need to be light and nimble, which means conventional-sized drones are not optimum. In addition, pilots who seek to further lighten the load have jury-rigged stripped-down cameras to their drones.
It's somewhat reminiscent of the hot-rod era, where mechanically savvy WWII veterans returned home, and looking for something to do, started taking apart old roadsters, transforming them into mean street machines.
The Do-It-Yourself (DIY) brigade of drone pilots has not gone unnoticed by GoPro.
The company's new Hero 10 Black Bones [$499 or $399 with a one-year GoPro subscription] is super bare bones, and it's perfect for FPV flyers&mdash;if you have some skills to adapt the "naked" GoPro to your rig.
<img src="https://media.thedroningcompany.com/images/tincy/sfPU3gIx9i05lbOivqzxaRouOu2hJDiCQGPp5XhR.png" alt="" width="672" height="462" />
<h5>WHAT'S MIA?</h5>
The Hero 10 Black Bones doesn't have a battery, a display, a speaker, a metal chassis, or GPS and it's not waterproof. The lightweight casing offers some protection against crash damage, but don't expect the Bones to survive an epic smash up.
<h5>WHAT ARE THE "PROS?"</h5>
The biggest advantage of jettisoning practically all of the features of a standard GoPro is that the Bones weighs in at just 54 grams, making it an awesome passenger for FPV drones with 3-inch, or even 2.5-inch, propellers. The Bones also has new vents and a heatsink that offer cooling while the camera is shooting.
<h5>PREP&nbsp;</h5>
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To get the Bones mounted and working requires using the supplied socket on the back of the camera to connect to a battery using a GH 1.25 3-pin connector. The input voltage you need is 5V to 27V, which can be delivered by just about every LiPo battery pilots current use on FPV drones. You can use a standard GoPro mount adapter or a single-screw boss to get the device onto your drone. Getting the most out of the bare-bone Bones necessitates using some apps, and you can control the camera directly from your drone's controller (again, as long as you have some wiring and/or soldering chops).&nbsp;
<h5>WHY?</h5>
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Offering a seriously stripped-down anything&mdash;much less an add-on drone camera&mdash;is usually not an awesome business plan for those looking to impact the public market. But GoPro is committing to niche markets&mdash;and may continue to do so&mdash;as well as studying the behaviors of its customers. The company realized many of its cameras were already being cut to pieces&mdash;removing unneeded components and voiding warranties in the process&mdash;by FPV pilots looking to lower weight and maximize flight time. GoPro decided it could do a better job for these types of users if they did the slash and burn themselves.
&ldquo;You&rsquo;ve seen the rise of videos like flying into the bowling alley&mdash;or even the latest Tesla Gigafactory video&mdash;and those are all done by people who took the time to try to make a GoPro lighter,&rdquo; GoPro's Pablo Lema reported to <a style="color: #ba372a;" href="https://www.theverge.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">theverge.com. </a>&ldquo;We&rsquo;re pretty uniquely positioned to attack unique verticals in image capture that other companies frankly don&rsquo;t or wouldn&rsquo;t have the appetite or tech to be able to. We also know the customers for a Hero 10 Black Bones aren't going to shy away from a soldering station. Attaching motors and control circuitry is how they build their drones to begin with."
<h5>WATCH OSCAR LIANG HERO 10 BLACK BONES AERIAL TEST</h5>
<iframe style="width: 699px; height: 393px;" title="YouTube video player" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/xqchGQK7Td4" width="699" height="393" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe>
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<h5 id="pe0YH9">Product Details</h5>
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<li class="paragraph paragraph-small">5.3K60, 4K120 + 2.7K240 video resolutions</li>
<li class="paragraph paragraph-small">Includes Player + ReelSteady desktop software</li>
<li class="paragraph paragraph-small">HyperSmooth 4.0 stabilization is built-in</li>
<li class="paragraph paragraph-small">Control with onboard buttons, Quik app, The Remote&sup2; or drone transmitter</li>
<li class="paragraph paragraph-small">Using HERO10 Black Bones requires some soldering. Soldering equipment not included.</li>
<li class="paragraph paragraph-small">Includes free SD card</li>
<li class="paragraph paragraph-small">Available in the U.S. only</li>
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New "Naked" GoPro Hero10 Black Bones Made for DIY FPV Pilots

An extremely talented&mdash;though unidentified&mdash;drone pilot recently captured some stunning footage at Telsa's Gigafactory Berlin-Brandenburg in Germany. The FPV drone buzzes through machinery in action producing the Model Y model&mdash;just watch how the pilot maneuvers the drone through the stamping presses as they fashion hoods, doors, and other parts. Besides the skill of this pilot, the daredevil acrobatics were made possible by an immersive headset that monitored the drone's live-stream camera feed.&nbsp;
SEE IT!
<iframe style="width: 718px; height: 404px;" title="YouTube video player" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/7-4yOx1CnXE" width="718" height="404" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe>
Just opened last week, the <a href="https://www.tesla.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Tesla</a> Gigafactory Berlin-Brandenburg is located in Berlin, and the vast space is estimated to produce up to 500,000 autos and millions of battery cells annually.&nbsp;
Aspire to be just as skilled as the Gigafactory pilot? Check out The Droning Company links below...
<a href="https://www.thedroningcompany.com/blog/how-to-become-a-drone-pilot" target="_blank" rel="noopener">https://www.thedroningcompany.com/blog/how-to-become-a-drone-pilot</a>
<a href="https://www.thedroningcompany.com/blog/how-to-become-a-commercial-drone-pilot-step-by-step" target="_blank" rel="noopener">https://www.thedroningcompany.com/blog/how-to-become-a-commercial-drone-pilot-step-by-step</a>
<a href="https://www.thedroningcompany.com/blog/how-to-find-a-drone-job" target="_blank" rel="noopener">https://www.thedroningcompany.com/blog/how-to-find-a-drone-job</a>
<a href="https://www.thedroningcompany.com/blog/pass-the-faa-part-107-commercial-drone-pilot-test-" target="_blank" rel="noopener">https://www.thedroningcompany.com/blog/pass-the-faa-part-107-commercial-drone-pilot-test-</a>
<a href="https://www.thedroningcompany.com/blog/7-steps-to-become-a-certified-drone-pilot" target="_blank" rel="noopener">https://www.thedroningcompany.com/blog/7-steps-to-become-a-certified-drone-pilot</a>

Unnamed Pilot Takes Spectacular Flight Through Telsa Gigafactory in Berlin-Brandenburg

Drone Racing Video

Video Reel of the Week

The 2022 Drone Racing League World Championship took over the airspace in front of T-Mobile Arena during the January 7-10 Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. The Las Vegas round was the finale of the DRL World Championship Season, and was run on an outdoor course along the Las Vegas Strip, with the speeds of the drones reaching up to 100 mph through large obstacles.
WATCH!
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Drone Racing at 100 MPH During the 2022 DRL World Championship in Las Vegas

Drone Jobs

What's better than watching an awesome drive by <a href="http://www.rorymcilroy.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Rory McIlroy</a>?
Having that shot followed by a drone.
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<a href="https://www.pgatour.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The PGA Tour</a> will use drones to follow golf shots at the Genisis Invitational tournament on February 17-20, and fans want more, more, and more!
CHECK IT OUT!
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