:00:08. > :00:15.This week: Superfast, super furious at Dubai's world drone pre-.
:00:16. > :00:22.Hydrogen keeping them up, and Eagles taking them down. -- world drone of
:00:23. > :00:49.prix. Drones, drones, drones, a thing of
:00:50. > :00:55.constant fascination and innovation. So much so, that last year, the
:00:56. > :00:58.government of the United Arab Emirates held a contest called
:00:59. > :01:04.jointly good with a massive $1 million prize up for grabs -- drones
:01:05. > :01:07.for good. Teams run the world were invited to compete to demonstrate
:01:08. > :01:12.how their unmanned aerial vehicles could improve people's lives. We saw
:01:13. > :01:18.everything from frog dissipation to window cleaning. -- fog. Not content
:01:19. > :01:24.with feisty's event, to buy is aiming to once again be the centre
:01:25. > :01:29.of drone innovation. We have been back to the UAE to meet the pilots
:01:30. > :01:30.said to turn drone racing professional and establish
:01:31. > :01:44.themselves as world champions. Pilots, starch or rotors. 32 of the
:01:45. > :01:50.best drone pilots from across the globe have gathered here in Dubai
:01:51. > :01:56.for the very first World Drone Prix. At stake, a huge prize pot of $1
:01:57. > :02:04.million. With the first prize a $250,000 for the fastest team. For
:02:05. > :02:09.pilots will fly at the same time, and it will be a knockout type of
:02:10. > :02:15.tournament style. They will be racing custom quad copters around
:02:16. > :02:20.this specially constructed circuit. The pallets must complete 12 laps of
:02:21. > :02:27.the track, nicking at least one pitstop per race to swap batteries
:02:28. > :02:31.-- making. We are in the crew area, backstage if you like, at the World
:02:32. > :02:36.Drone Prix. We will meet some of the teams. This is the Dutch team. Hi,
:02:37. > :02:43.guys. Last year we were just flying in a field and now we are here with
:02:44. > :02:50.the 20 32 in the world. The competition has come in to help
:02:51. > :02:53.these guys set up their rig. This is a drone racing team at work,
:02:54. > :02:58.relaxing just before the races. Is this the pit crew technician doing
:02:59. > :03:05.all of the hardware? Soldering, rewiring things. Those soldering
:03:06. > :03:08.irons will be kept busy because the drones themselves are fitted with a
:03:09. > :03:12.host of electronics including GPS tracking and forward facing cameras.
:03:13. > :03:17.This is where the pilots sit. They will be wearing first person view
:03:18. > :03:25.goggles showing them exactly what the drone itself can see. The palate
:03:26. > :03:29.is assisted by a navigator, who tell them about anything on the track the
:03:30. > :03:36.pilot will not be able to see. -- pilot. This is the team manager. I'm
:03:37. > :03:40.on the team doing a very important thing. You plug it in and replace
:03:41. > :03:47.the battery, and put it back in. If I screw up with this simple task,
:03:48. > :03:52.this is the only job you have, you out of the race, disqualified. The
:03:53. > :03:58.drones will be racing along the circuit. It is the first of its kind
:03:59. > :04:04.constructed anywhere in the world. It is almost 600 metres long, it has
:04:05. > :04:10.the capability to change shape. Some of the track's spines can
:04:11. > :04:13.mechanically move. They won't do that you're in racing as that would
:04:14. > :04:18.make a difficult track most impossible to complete. -- during
:04:19. > :04:22.racing. You have advised the guys on what the track should be like, the
:04:23. > :04:27.circuit itself. What sort of things did you tell them would be a good
:04:28. > :04:30.idea to introduce to the track was like in the previous races we have
:04:31. > :04:36.done, we have only done to the tracks. Now we wanted to introduce
:04:37. > :04:41.elevation, jetted off the ground so it truly be an aerial sport. That
:04:42. > :04:47.tower over there, they will have to go up and over, and it becomes more
:04:48. > :04:52.like a rollercoaster. The lights on the drones make it much easier to
:04:53. > :04:58.follow. The whole thing reminds me of the Tron movies Elizabeth. Before
:04:59. > :05:07.the pilots are let loose, they have to compete in two days of qualifying
:05:08. > :05:12.heats taking place indoors. -- Tron movies a little bit. One little
:05:13. > :05:17.thing goes wrong, and incident, you are out. Success in those heats,
:05:18. > :05:21.they graduate to the big show, the outdoor circuit, where their
:05:22. > :05:30.practice results dictate their starting position. What you think is
:05:31. > :05:35.showing through? I think it is the young kids. With car racing there is
:05:36. > :05:40.a barrier to racing in terms of age, but that doesn't really exist
:05:41. > :05:43.with this kind of racing? You can be ten or seven years old as long as
:05:44. > :05:48.you have the skills and the control. You can also be in a
:05:49. > :05:55.wheelchair and still compete. It doesn't matter. Qualifying is over
:05:56. > :05:59.and the British favourite sales through. He is joined by the team to
:06:00. > :06:03.watch out for, the Dutch, as well as the cool as ice Russians -- sales
:06:04. > :06:12.through. As fast as these things are, keeping
:06:13. > :06:18.them up in the air for any length of time is a problem. Pilots can get
:06:19. > :06:22.through 40 batteries in a day. You generally only get 15 or 20 minutes
:06:23. > :06:25.life out of each one. But a UK company is now working on a way of
:06:26. > :06:28.increasing flight time from minutes to hours, and we have had an
:06:29. > :06:39.exclusive look at the first fleet. I have been flying drones for a few
:06:40. > :06:43.years now on ago Matt, and even managed to crash one. Behind the
:06:44. > :06:48.scenes, we are always aware of how little time we have to get the
:06:49. > :06:54.perfect shot before we run out of batteries -- years now on
:06:55. > :07:00.programmer. Now they could be a solution to increase my time.
:07:01. > :07:04.Intelligent energy in Loughborough have been experimenting with
:07:05. > :07:10.hydrogen fuel technology. We have been giving exclusive access to
:07:11. > :07:15.their flight tests. This is the first time we have been flying them
:07:16. > :07:22.with a hydrogen fuel cell. It is a joint they have modified. The fuel
:07:23. > :07:26.cell and fuel weighs about 1.6 g. It can flight for up to two hours on
:07:27. > :07:30.one fuel cell, about six times longer than the average with a
:07:31. > :07:34.normal battery. Refuelling with compressed hydrogen is faster too,
:07:35. > :07:39.taking just a few minutes, compared with three charging a battery.
:07:40. > :07:44.Intelligent energy have been testing hydrogen fuel cell technology here
:07:45. > :07:47.since 2001, but are focused on drone flights for the last 18 months. Tell
:07:48. > :07:53.us how this works. This is the fuel tank. This is where the hydrogen is.
:07:54. > :07:59.These two on top at the fuel cells, and we have a fan that takes a small
:08:00. > :08:03.amount of heat, but also holds the airflow. You combine hydrogen with
:08:04. > :08:08.oxygen from the air blowing through this fence, and it produces
:08:09. > :08:11.electricity. While hydrogen is the most abundant element in the
:08:12. > :08:15.universe, on Earth, it is mostly used in heavy industry, which is
:08:16. > :08:19.where this company sees the drones being most useful. Straightaway in
:08:20. > :08:23.the industrial industry, we're looking at agriculture, well and
:08:24. > :08:28.gas, mapping forestry, and any other industry that needs drones for
:08:29. > :08:32.inspection or otherwise -- wheel and gas. We will get into the consumer
:08:33. > :08:42.space, but initially our target market is the commercial market. It
:08:43. > :08:45.reduces costs considerably. The company expects to have the fuel
:08:46. > :08:47.cells ready for commercial use in the next year but will have to wait
:08:48. > :08:55.longer for a consumer version. It was bad news this week for the UK
:08:56. > :09:01.gaming industry as Sony announced the closure of Revolution studio is.
:09:02. > :09:06.It was perhaps best known for its work on the PlayStation title drive
:09:07. > :09:10.club. It was also the week that Apple and the FBI was supposed to
:09:11. > :09:17.meet in court for a hearing over the battle to unlock the phone of San
:09:18. > :09:21.Bernardino gunmen. However the case took an unexpected turn when the FBI
:09:22. > :09:26.announced it may have found a way to unlock the phone without the help of
:09:27. > :09:31.Apple. It was not all legal battles for the tech giant, as they launched
:09:32. > :09:36.a new phone, iPad and a series of watch straps. But the most
:09:37. > :09:41.interesting thing about their press conference was a recycling robot
:09:42. > :09:46.named Liam. There was also the week that Twitter turned ten, John
:09:47. > :09:49.Hopkins showed off a drone they can live underwater for months, and an
:09:50. > :09:54.artificially intelligent dear wondering around the world of grand
:09:55. > :09:59.theft auto became an art installation, and then an Internet
:10:00. > :10:05.sensation. But perhaps the most intriguing bit of tech this week
:10:06. > :10:09.came from Stanford University, where the team have built software that
:10:10. > :10:13.allows you to create real-time facial re-enactments, meaning you
:10:14. > :10:17.can effectively map your worlds and expressions on to somebody else's
:10:18. > :10:26.face. Getting them to say anything you want. -- your words.
:10:27. > :10:33.Today, I've gone back to school. I'm learning to programme the new chip
:10:34. > :10:38.on the block. The data is going from the computer into the Microbit. This
:10:39. > :10:42.week, the BBC has finally unleashed the Microbit. Announced last July,
:10:43. > :10:47.the tiny programmable computer is being given free to a million
:10:48. > :10:51.schoolkids in the UK in the hope it will inspire a new generation of
:10:52. > :10:55.programmers. As wild as your imagination. In just a few minutes,
:10:56. > :10:59.it is possible to learn to create short programmes that anything into
:11:00. > :11:05.a name badge, Robo racer, or a spacecraft! We're learning how to
:11:06. > :11:11.turn the Microbit into a dice so when you shake it you get a random
:11:12. > :11:15.number between one and six. Problem is, it is currently giving a number
:11:16. > :11:20.between zero and six. But everyone is trying to solve that problem. Get
:11:21. > :11:26.rid of that pesky zero. Type dice in there. The Microbit is not a fully
:11:27. > :11:33.fledged computer, like a raspberry pipe. It is more like an
:11:34. > :11:39.introduction to the idea of programming, a much more simple
:11:40. > :11:42.affair -- pi. It has a Bluetooth connection and electronic connectors
:11:43. > :11:47.that Atlantic control other devices. But even if it is not directly
:11:48. > :11:51.competing with other budget computers, the Microbit has arrived
:11:52. > :11:53.later than promised, which may make it difficult to incorporate into
:11:54. > :11:59.lesson plans for the remainder of the school year. It is using
:12:00. > :12:05.everything I've learnt at school except it is opening me to more
:12:06. > :12:10.opportunities such as allowing me to use LED on the Microbit. Because it
:12:11. > :12:14.is small, you can take it anywhere with you as well. Excellent. Thank
:12:15. > :12:24.you for coming. Did you enjoy it? Yes! Well done, everyone. Toby does
:12:25. > :12:28.prove as inspirational as the BBC Micro, and a whole microcomputer
:12:29. > :12:30.revolution of the 1980s. That is why I got into this in the first place
:12:31. > :12:43.-- let's hope it does. With reports of near misses with
:12:44. > :12:49.aircraft, invasions of privacy and security breaches, drones aren't
:12:50. > :12:54.always welcome flyers. This month alone, they have been two incidents
:12:55. > :13:00.at major airports, one in one in LA. To avoid any danger to these, the
:13:01. > :13:06.authorities need to find safe ways of bringing the drones out of the
:13:07. > :13:09.sky. Short of shooting them down, where they could fall
:13:10. > :13:15.unpredictably, innovative ideas are needed, and we start with this one.
:13:16. > :13:17.Nature's low-tech solution that the Netherlands police force invited me
:13:18. > :13:39.to see in action. Before seen that with my own eyes I
:13:40. > :13:43.was concerned that the eagle was going to be delicate for the drone,
:13:44. > :13:50.but actually it really took control of that thing. The eagle has learnt
:13:51. > :13:58.to pick up the drone and, much like it would with any prey, bring it
:13:59. > :14:04.down to the ground. And the company behind this project say it shouldn't
:14:05. > :14:07.harm the eagles. While these birds aren't going to become a fast
:14:08. > :14:12.response solution to any situation, the idea is that they will be
:14:13. > :14:16.trained and based around high risk areas like airports or big events.
:14:17. > :14:23.This man on a mission to bring down the unwonted drones has plenty of
:14:24. > :14:29.other ideas as well. The company has come up with deposit billet --
:14:30. > :14:32.possibility to block the signal that controls the drawing and another
:14:33. > :14:41.company has come up with the idea to block or disturb the GPS code of the
:14:42. > :14:46.drone that flies. And that's a concept that one firm in Ohio have
:14:47. > :14:52.been focusing on. The drone defender uses radio frequency disruption,
:14:53. > :14:56.which, if it works, should provide a portable long-range solution to
:14:57. > :15:01.guide the drone out of the sky. But it is not that simple. Although 50
:15:02. > :15:04.have been sold in the US, laws against interfering with radio
:15:05. > :15:11.frequency mean that they can only be used by federal authorities. The
:15:12. > :15:17.Netherlands' police force have also been looking at a device called the
:15:18. > :15:23.Drone Catcher. Another drone which uses its on-board camera to help it
:15:24. > :15:30.trigger a tiny net to safely parachuted its target down to the
:15:31. > :15:33.ground. After an incident in Tokyo last year where a drone carrying
:15:34. > :15:39.radioactive material was flown on to the Prime Minister by the roof, the
:15:40. > :15:43.police have taken action. A drone squad will be on call to use a
:15:44. > :15:52.rescue drone and net to set up to prevent such incidents. And, back in
:15:53. > :15:58.the UK, this, the shoulder mounted skywalk, has been developed. It is a
:15:59. > :16:03.launcher which fires a programmable cell containing a net and
:16:04. > :16:06.parachute. Using lasers and gyroscopes to track the drone it
:16:07. > :16:11.then predicts the flight path to deploy the net at the right time.
:16:12. > :16:21.So, whether these solutions take off or not, the problem doesn't seem to
:16:22. > :16:27.be going away. Bullseye! That was Lara. With me is Jonathan Nicholson
:16:28. > :16:33.from the Civil Aviation Authority in the UK. Hi. Surely it can't be that
:16:34. > :16:38.safe to fire a net at a drone and bring it down? Can it? There are a
:16:39. > :16:42.number of solutions you could use to make short drones are used safely in
:16:43. > :16:46.the UK. That could be one of them, it needs a lot of research to figure
:16:47. > :16:50.out what we can or can't use. What if there's somebody underneath the
:16:51. > :16:58.drone when it's coming down? Less safe than it up their. One thing we
:16:59. > :17:02.look at is geo- fencing. Aircraft or drone reaches a certain point in the
:17:03. > :17:07.sky where it shouldn't be, the drone stops. Another technical solution
:17:08. > :17:12.you could have is a way of tracking drones in real time, so you are
:17:13. > :17:15.aware of where they are, you could potentially track them back to it
:17:16. > :17:19.user and certainly that could be an alerting system for if a drone was
:17:20. > :17:23.coming to close to an airport or a piece of airspace they aren't
:17:24. > :17:29.allowed into. Explain at the moment what happens if a drone is spotted
:17:30. > :17:33.near an airport. We've seen airports actually shut, as in close their
:17:34. > :17:38.operation centre, if they think there are drones around. In other
:17:39. > :17:42.cases the pilot could report the drones to air traffic control and
:17:43. > :17:47.they could alert police. It sounds like a bit of a fax to track down
:17:48. > :17:52.this drone pilots, contact authorities and by the time the
:17:53. > :17:56.drone has disappeared. -- faff. The police have a lot of things at their
:17:57. > :17:59.disposal. There are always police patrolling the airfield and there
:18:00. > :18:03.are helicopters in the UK that can be sent to look at issues. So it
:18:04. > :18:07.could be a quick reaction and certainly we don't want drone users
:18:08. > :18:12.to think that they can get away with using them illegally, got they
:18:13. > :18:17.can't. People have been prosecuted and ultimately, if they are caught
:18:18. > :18:24.using them close to an airfield and within a mile to a -- an airport,
:18:25. > :18:30.you could be imprisoned. Thanks. Back to Dubai where things are
:18:31. > :18:36.hotting up in the question of victory at the World Drone Prix.
:18:37. > :18:41.Sundown. The World Drone Prix semifinals are about to begin.
:18:42. > :18:46.Last-minute tweaks have been made and fighting talk rings out across
:18:47. > :18:51.the circuit. Speed is my game, so I think we will do pretty well. We've
:18:52. > :18:57.got it covered. I didn't come here for second. We've got this! Pilots,
:18:58. > :19:04.navigators and pit crews take their positions. This is it. Is going
:19:05. > :19:11.down. The World Drone Prix kicks off in earnest. And bear off! -- they're
:19:12. > :19:18.off. Time for me to get in on the action
:19:19. > :19:22.as well. When I pop these goggles I will see what the pilots can see now
:19:23. > :19:28.as they race in the finals of the World Drone Prix. Pop the goggles on
:19:29. > :19:33.and I get a pilot's I zoom off the track. This is standard definition,
:19:34. > :19:36.not HD. In HD there would be too much latency and the pilots have to
:19:37. > :19:41.see exactly what's happening at the moment it is happening. We've just
:19:42. > :19:49.had a crash! That is what they call game over.
:19:50. > :19:53.Not just the pastime of amateur hobbyists, it's a serious game with
:19:54. > :19:57.a serious amount of dedication and preparation. Everything from the
:19:58. > :20:01.materials, the processes used and is considered. The technology in the
:20:02. > :20:06.drones is actually very leading edge. The materials they use for
:20:07. > :20:11.example are the best magnets money can buy. You just pump throttle and
:20:12. > :20:20.the thing goes from zero to 100 kilometres per hour in about one
:20:21. > :20:25.second. Each motor is controlled by a small microprocessor, which is an
:20:26. > :20:28.art form in itself come to get that algorithm right. For the customising
:20:29. > :20:34.the drones allows them to pull some serious moves. We put it like this,
:20:35. > :20:38.it stays like this. You can reverse, do everything you want. Flips,
:20:39. > :20:49.flight, almost you don't have limits. And in this tournament there
:20:50. > :20:56.are a lot more serious rules. You need to get air gates. Normally you
:20:57. > :20:59.fly to and you get a penalty but now if you don't get through the air
:21:00. > :21:03.gates you will be disqualified. If you hit somebody you are
:21:04. > :21:07.disqualified. Very tough. Traditionally, the close-knit
:21:08. > :21:12.community sport. We find things like this, the Thompson family, from
:21:13. > :21:19.Australia. They are made up of a grandfather, dad and son. I am Sam,
:21:20. > :21:25.this is my son and my father. I bent this prop, which made the whole
:21:26. > :21:29.thing shake like crazy. That's fine. This is way better than I was
:21:30. > :21:34.expecting and it has been really long and draining and to be honest
:21:35. > :21:38.I'm quite glad it is over for us. While it has certainly been
:21:39. > :21:43.physically demanding, it's also been surprisingly very emotional. The co-
:21:44. > :21:47.organiser says the rapid rise of the sport has been overwhelming. About
:21:48. > :21:52.two years ago when we started the World Drone Prix we were dreaming
:21:53. > :21:57.our wildest dreams. You imagine this track. The first time my friend was
:21:58. > :22:06.flying and gave me the goggles I cried. This is it. The final. The
:22:07. > :22:11.tension in the air is palpable. Confidence has diminished. Game
:22:12. > :22:18.faces are on. Time for maximum focus. How do you feel going into
:22:19. > :22:28.this race? Absolutely terrified. Pressure? It is fine. And bear off!
:22:29. > :22:45.-- they're off! Come on! I was watching him and the
:22:46. > :22:49.video was perfectly clean. When you lose you will blame something other
:22:50. > :22:56.than yourself. Well, there's a lot on the line, that's for sure. So,
:22:57. > :23:00.the final race has been run but there is a little bit of confusion
:23:01. > :23:13.as to who has actually won. Ladies and gentlemen, the track race award
:23:14. > :23:17.is going to... Tornado, from the UK! And it is a sweet victory for this
:23:18. > :23:23.15-year-old British pilots, as he scoops the whopping $250,000 first
:23:24. > :23:27.prize which he will share with the rest of his team. How does it feel
:23:28. > :23:33.to be the winner? Amazing and I couldn't have done it without my
:23:34. > :23:40.team, who are amazing. The dream come true! So honoured!
:23:41. > :23:49.And during the World Drone Prix and other first was announced in Dubai,
:23:50. > :23:51.the world federation of future sports, which aims to take
:23:52. > :23:59.sportsmanship to a new digital level. Robot Wars, driverless car
:24:00. > :24:02.races and ping-pong bot battles are amongst the contest areas
:24:03. > :24:05.considered. It seems this World Drone Prix is just the beginning of
:24:06. > :24:11.many sci-fi sports destined for desert you all is. Anyway, that is
:24:12. > :24:14.all we've got time for. -- desert duals. Follow us on Twitter
:24:15. > :24:17.throughout the week. Thanks for watching and see you soon.