A drone to be part of sport events like the Tour de France and the America's Cup.
This project was done in teamwork together with Florian Mack. The drone is inspired by bees. The plan was to create a remote-controlled part of a team during sport events. The drone supports the team and records amazing pictures for the audience with its camera. In addition to that the drone has an advertising function. It represents the sponsoring brands and catches the attention of the audience.
First of all it is built for racing events on water or land. Especially long distance races, where it is difficult for the spectator to get close to the athletes and teams like the Tour de France or the America's Cup. The drone should give the audience the feeling to be part of the race.
The drone needs a carrier which brings the drone to the area the race takes place. The flight mode consumes a lot of energy, so it is necessary to charge the batteries by docking a bigger vehicle. Depending on the kind of sport event there are two different systems. First a middle sized vehicle, like the broomwaggon of the Tour de France. Second is a team tender, a boat used to support the teams at the Americas Cup.
For the Americas Cup we designed a tender. The tender carries the drone in passive mode and charges the batteries. The tender is a big swimming source of energy without an own engine. It's like a buoy which can be pulled by the drones. The tenders swims vertically in the water and when it is pulled it leans forward until a specific angle is reached.
