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Andre Borschberg gave the keynote address at the second FAI International Drones Conference and Expo in Switzerland, where he said that the world of drones would “open a new world” in aviation. 

The pilot, who with Bertrand Piccard famously circumnavigated the world in a solar-powered plane in 2015/16, was talking about the increasing role of drones in the world of aviation in front an audience of drone industry professionals at the EPFL in Lausanne. 

The second FAI International Drones Conference and Expo kicked off in Lausanne on Friday – with a session on the new world of Drones and Sport.

Speakers from across the world of drones converged on the Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne in Switzerland to hear about the latest cutting-edge developments in the drone ecosystem.

“The magic of drone sports is firing imaginations around the world,” said FAI President Frits Brink as he welcomed delegates to the first day of the three-day conference.

A unique marathon event took place in Berlin on 26 August 2018 – not for runners, but drones.

Teams from across Europe came together to participate in the third DroneMasters Dronathon, the only marathon for industrial drones. 

The pilots navigated the drones – which had to be built for applications in industry – around a horseracing track in Berlin-Karlshorst 30 times in order to achieve the classic marathon distance of 42.195km.

Officials from the FAI were present.

Meeting at the Drone Days (at which the FAI will be presenting the second International Drones Conference and Expo), 64 top drone pilots will compete against each other in the EPFL Drone Racing Cup.

The audience around the specially-designed track will witness spectacularly fast races as drones navigate at speeds of up to 150kmph.

When drones race they can hit speeds of 150km/h in seconds. That makes watching a drone race exhilarating as up to six drones at a time race through the course. But it also makes it a potential technological nightmare – how do you score a race where everything is moving so quickly?

A key aspect of a successful drone race is safety – for spectators, race officials and pilots. Racing drones can go from 0-150km/h in seconds and typically have four propellers spinning at high speed, which makes them potentially dangerous flying objects. In a large competition like the upcoming 1st FAI Drone Racing World Championship in Shenzhen, China for example, preparation and planning starts months in advance – and top of the agenda is safety.