Tech

We went to the 'NASCAR for drone races' — here's what it was like

Danielle Muoio and Leanna Garfield

2016-03-07T16:09:00Z

The New York City Drone Film Festival ran for its second year, but it introduced a new feature for the first time: the Drone Racing Expo.

The NYC Drone Film Festival is the world's first event dedicated to celebrating "drone cinematography." Drone hobbyists from around the tri-state area gathered for races and battles — and it was awesome.

Here's a look inside:

The Drone Expo drew more than 5,000 people to the Liberty Science Center in Jersey City, making it one of the biggest shows on the east coast, Paul Hoffman, CEO of the Liberty Science Center, told Tech Insider.

The event brought together a total of 150 hobbyists to celebrate their drone photography or participate in the drone races or battles, Hoffman said. Twenty of those hobbyist came specifically to race.

Drone battles happened "sumo wrestling style" where two people competed to be the last one flying, Hoffman explained. To win, you have to knock the other drone to the ground.

Outside, the drone hobbyists raced using First Person View (FPV) goggles.

A camera placed on top the drone fed footage to the FPV goggles, so it felt like the racer was flying on the drone.

The goggles are also used by the Drone Racing League, the first professional drone racing network.

"Flying with the goggles — you're in it, you feel like you're part of the quad itself," Mike Hornfeck, a 26-year-old racer on drone team Safety Third, told Tech Insider.

"It's kind of like the NASCAR of drone racing. We just want to go fast," Atakorn Tangtrakul, a 41-year-old racer on team The Flying Ramen, said.

Similar to March Madness, there was a drone racing bracket. They competed until only a one-on-one face-off was left.

It's not drone racing without some crashes, but racers got creative with quick fixes. Hornfeck re-melted hot glue on his drone using a lighter.

And sometimes fancier tools had to come out...

But racers had an intimate knowledge of their drones since almost all of them were custom-made. Hornfeck said he started racing a year ago in Florida and taught himself how to build a drone.

"Drones are opening up a whole new world," Hoffman said.

Drones