Gamification of drones

Image Credit: DJI (dji.com)

What is the gamification of drones?

Gamification of drones is the next step in taking drone flying to the next level and keep people interested in flying. Gamification has been proven to offer positive results in all kinds of sectors including online retail, education and even banking. Flying drones is already a huge amount of fun, so adding that gaming element to keep people flying is a no-brainer.

Gamification of drones is something that has been done in lots of different ways and creates a really immersive fun experience. With enhancements in augmented reality (AR) and flight controller apps the gamification of drones has been made possible in many different ways.

Examples of gamification in drones

These are some of our favourite examples of gamification of drones.

Parrot Mambo

Image Credit: Parrot (parrot.com)

The Parrot mambo is a good example of the hardware gamification of drones with its physical accessories. Its a very low tech solution, you setup your own games like picking up objects with the grabber or knocking them over with the cannon.

Spider Drone

Spider drone was a movie inspired drone from SpiderMan Homecoming. Spider drone is controlled using an iOS or Android smart device using a dedicated app. Built in to the app is a mode to play flight games. The app keeps a flight log and has different games and objectives to help improve flying skills.

Star Wars Propel Drones

Image Credit: Propel (propelrc.com)

The Star Wars Propel drones as well as being awesome miniature replicas of the movie vehicles offer some fun games. You have the choice to join the light or dark side and have laser battles with up to 12 other pilots.

DJI Spark and Tello

Image Credit: RyzeTech (ryzetech.com)

The DJI Spark and Tello don’t have built-in games but they are both setup so you can fly them with a Bluetooth games controller. This offers that familiarity of a games controller for flying a drone and makes the whole experience a lot more accessible to newcomers.

What is the future of drone gamification?

With the rise in popularity of drone racing it makes total sense to bring some of the fun in to something a little more accessible.

Gamification of drones is still a relatively untouched market and there is so much potential for some amazing integrations of it. Having FPV allows for some great AR integration. Computer graphics can be laid over the top of what the drones camera can see. This can offer anything from flight readouts to creating checkpoints and objectives in real world spaces.