If there is one place in the world to host the World Drone Prix, it’s Dubai. With $1 million worth of prizes, the city is only looking to the future and is one of the few places that embrace the futuristic technology.

At the World Drone Prix, four pilots at a time sat in racing-style seats, their eyes covered by goggles allowing them to watch a feed from a camera on their drone. The drones raced on a course behind them, zipping along a white track that occasionally reached up to pinch at the speeding aircraft for 12 laps with the skyscrapers of the Dubai Marina behind them.

This year, a team led by a 15-year-old pilot from England took first place on Saturday.

Luke Bannister of Somerset led Tornado X-Blades Banni UK to win a $250,000 purse, part of $1 million in prizes handed out in the inaugural edition of this race as a Cabinet-level minister announced the start of the WorldFuture Sports Games in December 2017.

But this is just the beginning… Next year the contests will include robotic swimming, running, wrestling and car racing as well as drone flying.

Racers had to take at least one pit stop in the race, with crews leaning down to change out batteries. Pilots also had to decide whether to take short cuts, sometimes seeing their drones crash into the ground or into each other to the shouts of spectators.

Across the United Arab Emirates the technology enthusiasts have used drones in a range of activities, from inspecting buildings to calming a frantic Abu Dhabi window-washer in 2014 caught 10 stories up after his scaffolding got stuck. However, the casual drone-flyer has also caused problems:

Since February, drone owners have been required to register with the UAE’s General Civil Aviation Authority. Authorities also ban hobbyists from putting cameras or lasers on their drones.

[source: mashable]