Dubai marked this weekend a new milestone in history by becoming the new drone capital, with the celebration of World race drones in an outdoor circuit designed specifically for the occasion. And adding to that the announcement of the World future Sports to be held in 2017 in the city.
A total of 32 teams from 19 countries traveled to the emirate to have the opportunity to take a piece of the million dollars in prizes handed by the organizers. The competition, which ended on Saturday night, revealed the name of the first ever world drone racing champion: Luke Bannister, from Somerset, England, led his team (the Tornado X-Blades Banni UK) to victory, and took home $250,000 in prize money.
It was held at the “Skydive Dubai” complex, one of the main facilities of skydiving in the world next to the luxurious Palm island, including some of the tallest skyscrapers in the world. As part of its commitment to this new sport and to promote the unmanned aircraft technology, the World Racing Drone Organization in Dubai has built the first outdoor circuit on the planet.
The course is seven kilometers (4.3 mi) and is tailor-made for this world title, a test that evaluates the ability and skill of the pilots in command of the drones, which in some moments of the competition get to fly at a speed exceeding 100 kilometers per hour or over 62 miles per hour.
The track is surrounded by bleachers for spectators and is equipped with a system that allows the sudden appearance of obstacles or even the closure of the track, to measure the responsiveness of the pilots at the controls of the unmanned aircrafts. The awards are divided into 19 different categories including best team on track, best lap time, best team in freestyle, best drone builder and a prize for the best team to be voted by the public.
During the Grand Prix in Dubai the city confirmed the celebration of the first ever World Future Sports Games to be held in December 2017, which will include among others, running robots and swimmers, plus autonomous racing cars and other disciplines.
The first initiative of its kind in the world that presents innovation and futuristic technology applied to sports competitions. Future World Sports Games were announced when Dubai Future Sports were presented as a new economic sector driven by innovation and supported by a new entity, the World Federation of Future Sports, based in Dubai. The first edition of the World Future Sports Games will be held in Dubai in 2017 from December 28th to the 30th. The Games will take place over three days every two years, in all the different areas of future sports, participation will be open to individuals, companies, academic institutions and research centers worldwide.
The future Games will contemplate nine unique competencies and games employing modern technology and artificial intelligence; unmanned racing, robotic football, racing tracks robots, unmanned drone racing, swimming robot competitions, table tennis robots, robotic fighting, racing and competition between ciber athlon drones. Basically every incarnation and more of the current olympics games and reimagining those with robots drones and in general robotic help.
“Today, we begin a new phase in our progress towards the future by launching these unique initiatives that are based on the success of our global platforms, the UAE Drones for Good Award and the UAE AI & Robotics Award for Good. Dubai will activate the future sports as a catalyst to encourage innovation, research and development throughout the world, ” said His Highness Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of the Kingdom of Dubai and chairman of the Dubai Executive Council and chairman of the Trustees of the Dubai Museum of the Future Foundation.
The World Federation of Future Sports will work with specialized international federations to create an integrated global system to support the Future Sports Sector organizing science and technology in different parts of the world. It will help attract thousands of researchers and professionals from around the globe to create an economic value worth billions of dollars.
The World Federation of Sports of the Future is an initiative of the Dubai Museum of the Future Foundation that aspires to be an incubator of innovative ideas.
