When it comes to drone-racing goggle, Fat Shark is king. For years, they’ve been the defacto leader in the field, providing the most advanced consumer-grade analog goggles for those who need to see their drone’s point of view (POV). For the most part, the analog standard has been working out well. Or, rather, well enough. Fat Shark is about to change all that, and is boldly moving into the digital frontier of the drone-racing goggle market. According to Engadget, this fall the company will release a $350 Base HD all-digital goggle set, with 720p fidelity on a “Liquid Crystal on Silicone” (LCoS) display to provide adequate brightness, clarity, and contrast. The Base HD set offers users a 28-degree field of view (FOV), which is more than enough when it comes to racing unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) around a pre-determined track.
Currently, drone racers are flying by the seat of their pants when it comes to constructing make-shift POV feeds of their own, going so far as to strap GoPros onto their UAVs as a last resort. Fat Shark wants their new set of goggles to set the standard for digital feeds at low latencies for all consumers demanding an improved version of the current goggle landscape. First Person View (FPV) is one of the most important aspects of the drone racing world, as it’s your eyes and ears (well, mostly the former) when it comes to being in control of your UAV and having as much information as possible to take the lead. Without a crisp digital feed or an adequate field of view, you may easily fall behind once this thing hits the racing market, as it seems like a new benchmark for those involved in the field.
Why is it so imperative that things move from analog to digital? Well, for starters, it’s commonplace for racing events to halt races due to interference in the analog systems, nevermind the unreliable, grainy data it suffers to provide one with. The frequencies are shared amongst competitors, and not always equally fair to all involved, unintentionally favoring some over others. With digital feeds, these can all become fairytales of a time long past, and clarity, efficiency, and reliability can comprise the new standard. This thing is intentionally designed to work with systems such as Connex ProSight in order to minimize any potential latency issues. According to Engadget, the Base HD set ships this fall, and will function flawlessly with your DJI drones, and any controller that is HDMI-out ready, allowing you to use the goggles for your video or photography drones, too.