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Krefeld. The countdown is slowly running down. Fog is in the air and lights are blinking everywhere. The tension is palpable. Four teams get ready to fly through a 50 meter long course with ten stations. The highlight: All participants sit in different places around the world. The interactive drone race takes place digitally – and yet at the same time and feels very close.
“At dronevent, teams and private individuals have the opportunity to test their group dynamics in a playful drone flight. Thanks to DRONEREMOTE, this can also be done from home. ”- Ralph Kamp
Ralph Kamp, managing director of dronevent, came up with the idea of using smart drones for team events together with drone expert Josef Metz. The two got to know each other during a drone training course and discovered that this type of team building was not yet available on the German market. Kamp, who owns an advertising agency, was immediately hooked. The first indoor drone team event was held in January 2018. “We have developed various campaign formats that the teams can carry out together,” explains the Krefeld native. For example, an obstacle course must be mastered with the quadrocopter, target drops must be carried out or coordinated in a team using control pad flight maneuvers. “Indoor we can also teach beginners to fly drones more easily. We also work with stable quadrocopters weighing between 100 and 250 grams, which cannot cause any major damage, ”explains the managing director.
The dronevent crew faced a completely new challenge in March of last year. Team events could no longer take place in the same way due to the pandemic. But for Kamp the new situation was a positive challenge: “We sat down and thought about how we could get our product on the Internet,” he reports. After three months of development work, the digital alternative to analog racing was ready: DRONEREMOTE!
At dronevent, teams and private individuals have the opportunity to test their group dynamics in a playful drone flight. Thanks to DRONEREMOTE, this can also be done from home.
Like a playground with drones
While computer scientist Benedikt von Querfurt and other programmers took care of the web interface, Kamp and the rest of the team worked on an obstacle course. “When we moved into the hall, there was still a lot of building material lying around: old pallets, fences and much more. We used all of this to build a drone racetrack, ”he describes. The result is a 50 meter long route on which ten obstacles with names such as “Killer Curls” or “Hells Gate” await. “We even built in wind and fog,” reveals Ralph Kamp. The advantage: the course can be played from anywhere in the world. The event is moderated and accompanied by a dronevent employee using a video conference. Four teams can fly at the same time with two players each, while all the others follow the action via webcams. The drivers change after each race lap. The record for the 50 meters is currently 1:27 minutes. What the team at dronevent has developed in the hall on Gahlingspfad is an absolute world first. “I have never seen a drone race with teams over the Internet anywhere else,” says the managing director, not without pride.
Combination of technology and team building
The combination of technology and team building is well received: the digital event was booked many times last year and provided variety in the dreary corona lockdown. But the analog team building options are now enjoying greater popularity again. Be it the indoor drone race or a drone building workshop, where the team receives a kit made of Lego components and has to assemble their own plane first.
The dronevent crew is also active outside of team events. For example, she is currently working on a special show with the Krefeld drone magician Jean Olivier: “Using smart indoor positioning technology, we can bring perfect choreographies with up to 25 drones to the stage,” explains Ralph Kamp. With these remote-controlled “swarms”, fascinating light shows can also be realized indoors – for a flying wow effect.
Dronevent GmbH
Gahlingspfad 53, 47803 Krefeld
www.dronevent.de
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