The Drone Racing League is leveraging aerodynamics research and motion capture technology to ensure its video game-like drone simulator is as realistic as possible.
DRL, the technology and media company that operates a series of races between first-person-view drones, announced a new simulator this week that more closely than ever mirrors the flight dynamics of racing drones. To create a hyper-realistic online drone flying experience, DRL used complex physics models to tune its digital drones and prep pilots for how drones move in real-world racing environments. DRL then tested the physics modeling using the same motion capture technology that animation studios use to match the movements of cartoon characters to those of human actors.
DRL Director of Product Ryan Gury said the company’s investments in technology aren’t unlike, say, how Formula 1 or other top-tier competitive racing circuits might invest in engineering or mechanics. Precision becomes imperative when objects are traveling at high speeds.
“Accuracy is incredibly important, and in our niche and our world, physics is the most important feature of a drone simulator,” said Gury. “We’ve gone through great lengths to get that right.”
DRL worked with a team at Georgia Tech led by Dr. Marilyn Smith to better understand the aerodynamic forces on its drones. Smith serves as director of the Nonlinear Computational Aeroelasticity Lab. Researchers there study unsteady fluid mechanics, trying to predict how the aerodynamic forces on an aircraft change as it alters speed and direction.
Smith’s team ran simulations on a supercomputer to calculate the kinds of forces that affect drones piloted in the real world. They were able to see how airflow changed due to the aircraft’s angle, pitch, and speed. The team conducted tens of thousands of simulations, and accumulated a quarter million combinations of events data in total, covering anything from how the drone hovered to how the propellers behaved during rapid direction changes.
“When you’re traveling 100 MPH down a tiny hallway, the drone has to be exactly where you think it will be,” said Gury.
To ensure that everything in the computer world matched real life, DRL turned to a motion-capture studio called OptiTrack that uses 3D tracking systems to help clients with filmmaking, video game design, virtual reality, and robotics. In a space about half the size of a gymnasium, DRL tested its drones on the same flight paths as they traveled in the simulator. OptiTrack recorded data at 300 frames a second within 0.1 millimeters of accuracy, which Gury said has allowed DRL to “see” where the drone is in the air at any given point in time.
“That allows us to understand the exact positioning of a drone in real life,” said Gury. “That’s the only way to understand the exact position of where a drone would be.”
DRL views its responsibilities to its simulator as two-fold. The digital drones must mimic real flight as closely as possible, thus creating a real way to develop and recruit talent for real races. But the experience must still be fun and customizable, reflective of a video game environment. The simulator is available on the Steam video game platform for $19.99.
Leveraging the fact that this is a digital video game environment, DRL has created a simulator that lets users design their own courses and build new drones. Users can choose from up to 15 unique environments, pull in more than 140 different objects to design a 3D race course, and share their maps with friends.
As for the drone building features, DRL simulator engineers conducted more than 5,000 bench tests for each possible combination of motors, batteries, propellers, and other alterations. That has enabled players to create millions of virtual drone designs from parts built by real manufacturers. Pilots can customize everything from the drone’s size, thrust, and weight, to aesthetic features such as skin and propeller colors. In all of those combinations, engineers have ensured that real-world flight dynamics will check out.
DRL hopes it can grow the sport by democratizing drone racing. The simulator enables novice pilots to learn to fly without having to buy a real drone (or replace it after crashes). The league also uses the simulator to find new talent. It hosts global tryouts via the simulator each year and rewards winners with monetary prizes and an invitation to participate in the real-world DRL season.
With simulator players vying for professional DRL contracts, the league is doing what it can to ensure that the transition from esports tournament to FPV drone racing is as seamless as possible, luring new athletes to the sport and marrying the digital and physical worlds.