Aaron Gordon’s 2017 Slam Dunk Contest didn’t go exactly as planned — he didn’t progress past the first round of competition — but the engineers who helped create one of the night’s most memorable moments had a far better experience.
Gordon and robotics engineering company L.A. Drones, in partnership with Intel, pulled off a first in sporting history by utilizing a drone on Gordon’s first dunk.
L.A. Drones’ engineers used the Intel Curie to create the custom carbon fiber claw attached to the drone — Gordon’s point guard — high above the rafters of Smoothie King Center in New Orleans. The company developed every component of the claw, including the remote claw control and the receiver in the claw itself.
“It definitely was surreal. It took until after the event to actually take that deep breath and go ‘wow, that just happened,’ ” L.A. Drones co-founder Blake Asbury told The Drone Dish.
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Asbury also added that he was glad Gordon was finally successful on his fourth and final attempt, which netted a score of 38 out of a possible 50 points, the third lowest score attained in the entire competition.
“Thank God he made the last dunk or else, who knows if we’d be even having this conversation right now,” he said.
Fellow L.A. Drones co-founder Austin Smith said that if the event went poorly on their end — if the claw malfunctioned or remote control rendered dead — the backlash could have been potentially career-ending.
“(It was) most definitely (one of the most high-pressured jobs we’ve had) … If you screw up there, it’s potentially game over,” Smith said. “Career-wise — company-wise — it’s a make or break situation, 100 percent.”
Thankfully for Asbury and Smith, their worries were ultimately assuaged by the results. For L.A. Drones on Feb. 18th, in rapper Ice Cube’s parlance, it was a good day.
“That was awesome, that was a dream come true,” Smith said.