BENGALURU: Just before the break of dawn almost every weekend, Siddharth Kaumanduri, a class 12 student from the city makes his way to one of the dried lake beds in Kanakpura or Sarjapur Road with a group of his friends.
The air around around the lake bed soon begins to buzz with the sounds of mini rotor blades from a number of quadcopters that dot the sky above. The flyers test their skills on temporarily built tracks that includes a number of obstacles such as race gates and frames deviced from rods.
This has been Siddharth’s routine for the past two years since he started flying these machines. Most of this time the activity was for the fun and passion of flying drones. However, for the past six months, flyers have been concentrating on honing their skills for the Indian Drone Racing League or IDRL, as it is popularly called.
Is League a Big Deal?
The IDRL is the country’s only and first league for drone racing. Since its inception last year October in Mumbai, it is mostly pilots from Bengaluru who have dominated the league.
There is a general excitement about the league when you talk to the pilots especially since there are not many avenues to showcase one’s flying skills. “When I started, racing drones was just taking off. So it is definitely a big deal to race in a league like this,” says Siddharth who has taken part in almost all the races of the league.
He came second in the in first race that was organised at the IIT, Gandhinagar, third in a mini race organised in Bengaluru and fourth in another race at the Vellore Institute of Technology.
Another flyer, Sourav Karmakar, a tech strategist at Schneider Electric has also competed in a few of the IDRL races. He picked up the hobby from his father who used to fly miniature planes and now practices regularly with drones.
“I cannot compete very regularly in the IDRL because of work commitments,” he says. “I competed in the very first race and the highest position that I have got so far is fifth. A league like the IDRL was most awaited for flyers like us.”
Bengaluru on Top
A quick look at IDRL race rankings will reveal the dominance of flyers from Bengaluru. The top three positions are occupied by flyers from the city. Many other flyers from here are also all over the list that has some 250 pilots from across the country.
In all, as many as eight races have been completed that were held in various venues and still five more are yet to be completed. Karan Kamdar, founder and president, IDRL says, “Presently there are as many as 400 pilots as part of the league and we still have to register many more. Pilots from Bengaluru have been very active and have done well in the league,” he says.
The Race
The idea for the race originally started in August 2016 with a website and registration form. Then after the announcement there was a barrage of interest from across the country. There are qualifiers rounds that are based on the speed with which a pilot completes the race. The qualifiers will usually have three laps, and the pilot with the best timing gets the highest scores.
Every track is different and has a number of obstacles. The point system is divided into scores ranging from 15 to three. After every race, each pilot will score points based on their performance.
The participants fly in ‘first person flight’ mode where they wear goggles with a first person view like a virtual simulation. The drones are fitted with cameras maneuvered by using the controls. The drones usually fly at very low heights.
“Since the events happen at various venues we try and reimburse some of the expenses such as travel. So far as lodging is concerned we try and make arrangements with the institution where the event is being held,” says Karan.
The first seasons of the league will complete in October and more plans are being made for the next season that will start immediately.
More Enthusiasts
The league has generated interest among a number of more pilots in the city. Emil Paul, project manager at HCL has been flying drones for the past six years but has not got a chance to compete in the league.
“Through a league like this I think one will get a sense of how good one is compared to other pilots. It is a place to interact with other pilots, share knowhow and give and take tips about drone components, controllers and practice sessions. I hope to compete in one of the races very soon,” he says.
Rules
Flying drones in India can still be quite tricky as the laws relating to the matter are still not clear. There have been a number of arrests for flying them. The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has banned flying drones for commercial purposes in October 2014. Subsequently in April 2016, it came out with a draft policy for operating drones. Some of rules in the draft are a unique ID for drone owners and restrictions on flying beyond 200 feet.
There are also different categories of drones based on weight on which restrictions are made. For example, no permissions are needed to fly drones below two kgs. Karan says that there are in reality no rules as they are still in the draft stages. Experts however, advise flying drones be done in the outskirts.