A British teenager has won $250,000 (approx. Rs. 1.67 crores) for finishing first in the inaugural World Drone Prix hosted in Dubai. 15-year-old Luke Bannister’s team, Tornado X-Blades Banni-UK defeated Dubai Dronetek and 150 other teams to win the prize. Drone racing has become quite popular in recent years and the World Drone Prix is one of the biggest events in the sport with a prize pool of $1 million. The drones were raced along an outdoor track with a camera mounted on the front. The racers used headsets to look through the camera for a first-person viewpoint and fly through a series of illuminated hoops.
A few days ago, YouTube user Tollymaster, literally took drone flying to new heights after he flew his DJI Phantom 2 drone up to 11,000 feet and posted a video to YouTube. However, unlike Luke Bannister, Tollymaster may be looking at a fine instead of a prize as his feat was illegal. Many countries have restrictions when it comes to the maximum height a drone can fly. The Phantom 2 drone is usually programmed to restrict itself within 1,500 feet and the hobbyist may have altered the firmware of the drone to make it reach that altitude.