Tech

We went to the 'post-apocalyptic' L.A. mall that was transformed into a drone racing track

Paul Szoldra

2016-03-21T19:57:18Z

The second event for the new Drone Racing League features drones ripping around an abandoned "post-apocalyptic" mall at 80 miles per hour.

While the DRL made a big splash for its first event at Sun Life Stadium (where the Miami Dolphins play), it decided to hold its next race inside a now-desolate mall in Hawthorne, California.

"We just thought it would be a really cool place," said Nick Horbaczewski, the founder and CEO of Drone Racing League. "It feels post-apocalyptic already."

The mall has sat abandoned for almost two decades, but over the weekend it was transformed into a drone race track, with lighting, props, and viewing areas that gave it new life.

Here's what it looked like inside.

The Hawthorne Plaza Mall has been abandoned for nearly two decades, so the outside looks a lot like what you might see on "The Walking Dead."

Though the inside isn't much better. Graffiti artists have had their run of the place for quite a while.

And it's fairly dangerous, since parts of it are literally crumbling away.

But it makes a pretty good place for high-speed drone racing.

"You can do it almost anywhere," said Horbaczewski.

DRL is calling this place "L.A.-Pocalypse."

Before any racing can happen, Horbaczewski and his team built a "track" for the drones, using lighting and pass-through checkpoints.

Some of the pass-throughs are pretty basic, like this one.

But others feature more depth and look wild as the drone goes through it.

Drone pilots are wearing goggles that give them a first-person perspective. "It’s as if you’re sitting in the cockpit of the drone," said Horbaczewski.

As they look through the goggles, they control the drones with remote controls like this.

And on race day, those checkpoints can come pretty fast.

drone race

One of the drone pilots, Travis McIntyre, or "M0ke" as he's known, explained that drone racing has been around for quite a while. Amateurs have raced for years in fields and parking garages, but it was never "quite as cool as this," he said.

"The only way to test them is to bring them to a proving ground like this," Horbaczewski said.

Drones start off on these "launch pads" on the starting line. For the mall race, it'll be four at a time. 3, 2, 1 ...

GO!

Just like NASCAR stock cars, DRL's carbon fiber drones are built exactly the same, except each craft has different colored lights so you know who's flying.

The drones have about 100 lights onboard, which makes it easy to follow along in third person.

Once they start flying, the drones will head through the checkpoints and make their way around the mall.

And there is plenty of lighting to guide the way.

The drones will head through checkpoints on the first floor ...

... and they'll quickly make their way up the second and back around.

And just in case any drones go wild, there is netting set up to protect the pilots.

You won't be able to see the L.A. race until DRL posts up the video in April, but you can check out a taste of how the Miami race went below.

Drone