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| Pilots practice drone flying skills during a workshop at the DJI Arena in Yongin, Gyeonggi Province. / Courtesy of DJI Korea |
By Yoon Sung-won
YONGIN, Gyeonggi Province ― DJI Arena is offering a rare venue for drone racing and for those who seek to sharpen their drone flight control skills at their leisure.
The Shenzhen-based company opened the world's first indoor drone flight center here last August.
Before DJI Arena, the model plane airfield in Gwangnaru Hangang Park, eastern Seoul, was the only place in the capital city where people could fly drones without needing permission. According to Korea's aviation law, drone flights over public facilities, crowded areas, and in metropolitan districts north of the Han River is prohibited for national security and public safety.
Even without people around, nighttime drone flights are also not allowed, a measure that has something to do with Seoul's longtime standoff against belligerent Pyongyang. The two are still technically at war because the three-year Korean War (1950-53) ended in a truce, not a peace treaty. Even at the Gwangnaru drone park, it may not be easy for beginners to learn drone skills outdoors with winds disturbing the flight.
"DJI Arena will help foster the local drone culture and will play an important role in the Korean market for consumer unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs)," DJI Korea's country manager Moon Tae-hyun said.
"The opening of DJI Arena is our commitment to the development of the local UAV market. Our goal is to make aerial technology more accessible, reliable and easier to use for anyone who wants it."
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| A young drone pilot controls his vehicle using a controller and display goggles during a racing event at the DJI Arena in Yongin, Gyeonggi Province, in February. / Courtesy of DJI Korea |
The 1,395-square-meter arena has a circuit with various obstacles and multiple light-emitting diode bulbs for pilots who want to test their skills. Remote cockpits where pilots can monitor the flight route through a screen in the first-person view are also set up. Visitors can also fly drones outside the building.
The facility has a maintenance room with charging docks and a workstation for minor repairs.
Like motor racing circuits, the facility can provide a place for professional and amateur drone flight competitions.
DJI and Korea Aero Models Association (KAMA) said they plan to jointly open a drone race competition in this facility on June 24. The event is open to everyone who has a drone. Participants are to wear goggles that provide a first-person view of the flight route so they can fly their dronse faster than their competitors on a course full of hurdles, DJI said.
"As drone flight is increasingly becoming a leisure sporting event, we are receiving more visitors from more diverse age brackets," a DJI Korea official said. "We expect to see talented drone pilots in the upcoming racing event."
Earlier in February, DJI and the UAV association hosted their first joint drone racing event at the arena, drawing 60 teams.
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| Flags and hurdles used for drone flight training and racing events are placed at the DJI Arena in Yongin, Gyeonggi Province. / Courtesy of DJI Korea |
The popularity of drone racing has been on the rise. On the back of over 2,500 KAMA members, dozens of such drone racing competitions have taken place nationwide since 2015.
The arena is open not just for organized events but also for individual and group visitors. Each booking session is for three hours and the entrance fee is 20,000 won per person in each session, the company said. Group lessons and private training programs are also available on a reservation basis.
Aiming at helping pilots improve their skills through training, DJI has worked with augmented reality technology firm Edgybees to launch a mobile app called "Drone Prix." The app offers a drone flight game through a virtual obstacle course.
Not just virtual competitions through networks, pilots can also use the app at the arena where they can find actual hurdles seen through the mobile screen to hone their skills, the company said.
"We wanted to create a new experience for pilots combining the joys of flying with the thrills of gamification," Edgybees CTO Menashe Haskin said. "Drone Prix augmented reality provides an immersive experience that combines virtual obstacles with real-life piloting skills."
