As live sports broadcasting evolves, few technologies have captured the public’s imagination like first-person view (FPV) drones. These agile machines are transforming how we experience events, putting viewers directly into the action. We sat down with technology expert Oscar Vail to discuss the innovations seen at the Winter Games, exploring how these custom-built drones are piloted, the unique challenges of operating in harsh environments, and the delicate balance between capturing thrilling footage and ensuring athlete safety.
First-person view drones are now chasing skiers and lugers, offering viewers a thrilling new perspective. Can you walk me through how piloting with goggles differs from traditional methods and what specific challenges this creates for operators during a live, high-speed broadcast?
The difference is night and day; it’s the distinction between observing and participating. With a traditional drone, the operator is on the ground, head tilted up, watching the machine in the sky. It’s a disconnected, third-person experience. FPV completely changes that dynamic. The pilot wears goggles that show a live feed directly from the drone’s camera, essentially putting them in the cockpit. This allows for an incredibly intuitive and precise level of control that’s simply not possible otherwise. The challenge during a live broadcast, especially with something as fast as a luge run, is the immense pressure. You’re not just flying; you’re performing a high-speed dance with an elite athlete, and you only get one take. There’s no room for error when you’re trying to capture that perfect, exhilarating shot.
Some athletes report not noticing the drones, while others have had close calls. What specific design considerations and pilot training protocols are in place to ensure athlete safety without compromising on the dynamic, close-up shots that make this technology so compelling?
Safety is the absolute priority, and it’s a multi-layered approach. The key is collaboration. Organizers, like the Olympic Broadcasting Services, worked directly with athletes during the design and implementation phase. The goal was to create a system that enhances their performance from a visual standpoint, not one that becomes a distraction or a hazard. The drones themselves are custom-built for the task; some are as small as ten centimeters and weigh under 250 grams, minimizing their physical presence. While we hear about close calls, it’s a testament to the pilot’s skill and the technology that athletes often don’t even notice them in the moment. The training is rigorous, focusing on mastering the drone’s capabilities to maintain safe distances while still achieving those heart-pounding shots that make this technology so revolutionary.
Operating in cold mountain environments presents unique technical hurdles, like rapid battery drain. Can you elaborate on the custom modifications made to these drones for the Winter Games and describe the logistical process for managing power and equipment during back-to-back events?
The cold is a brutal and relentless enemy of battery life, and it’s one of the biggest operational hurdles at any Winter Games. These aren’t off-the-shelf drones; each of the 15 units deployed is a custom build, specifically hardened for this environment. While the exact proprietary modifications are confidential, they involve specialized insulation and battery chemistry designed to perform better at low temperatures. Even with these enhancements, the power drain is severe. The logistical process is a constant, high-tempo rotation. For every single race, there’s a fresh battery going in. The ground crew operates like a pit crew in motorsports, managing a constant cycle of charging, warming, and swapping batteries to ensure there’s always a fully-powered drone ready to fly at a moment’s notice.
Viewers sometimes notice a constant buzzing sound, which is linked to the drone’s speed and power. Could you explain the trade-offs between a drone’s performance, its size, and the noise it generates? How do you balance the need for high speed with minimizing auditory disruption?
That buzzing sound is the physics of performance made audible. There’s an inescapable trade-off between speed, size, and noise. If you need to keep pace with a skier flying down the mountain, you need immense power and thrust, which means smaller propellers spinning at incredibly high RPMs. A small, powerful system is inherently going to be a noisy one. If you wanted a quieter drone, you would use larger propellers that spin more slowly, but then you’d sacrifice the agility and top-end speed required for these sports. It’s a constant balancing act. The production teams aim to find the sweet spot: a drone powerful enough to get the shot, but not so large that it becomes a visual obstruction, and they manage the resulting audio in the broadcast mix. The priority is capturing those dynamic images that were impossible just a few years ago, and for now, a little buzz is part of that package.
What is your forecast for FPV drone technology in sports broadcasting?
I believe we are just scratching the surface. What we’re seeing now is the foundation for a complete revolution in how we view sports. As battery technology improves and drone systems become more efficient and quieter, their use will become even more widespread and seamless. We’ll see smaller, even faster drones integrated into a wider variety of sports—imagine following a soccer ball from the player’s vantage point or tracking a gymnast through a complex routine. The next frontier will be integrating augmented reality overlays directly into these FPV feeds, providing viewers with real-time stats and biometric data. The ultimate goal is to erase the line between watching the game and feeling like you are in it, and FPV technology is the single most powerful tool we have to achieve that.
