Old school BMW racer
Auto and Drone racing make natural partners, auto have been racing for over a century and have deep expertise in areas such as aerial wind dynamics how to test and how to implement design changes that will allow cars or drones to go faster. We would bet that this is the start of a trend where any number of racing teams might partner together with drone racers in the quest to get faster and faster drones.
Engadget writes, “BMW is working with the Drone Racing League (DRL) to break the record for the world’s fastest drone set by the DRL itself last year. BMW will loan its technical expertise and wind tunnel at its Aerodynamic Test Center to help the league break the 165.2 mph Guinness world speed record it set with its DRL RacerX drone. The automaker is also bring a DRL race to its BMW Welt exhibition center and museum in Munich, Germany.
The Drone Racing League has grown rapidly, thanks to a deal with ESPN and new, more spectator- and competitor-friendly DRL Racer 3. The new model, used by all pilots to ensure races are strictly a test of pilot skill, is more crash resistant and easier for spectators to follow.
BMW’s linkup with drone racing might seem a bit odd, but the company said drone racing isn’t that far removed from motorsports. “[It] is a very competitive type of racing, characterized by the interplay of extremely high-performance material and digital technology,” said BMW Brand Experience head Jörg Reimann. DRL hinted that the Munich race will happen in BMW’s international automobile museum near Olympiapark.”
Republished from Engadget.
In this article: BMW, DRL, DroneRacingLeague, Drones, gear, Racing, robots, SpeedRecord, WindTunnel