aDRONEaline

WHO
Austin Wright

THE PITCH
aDRONEaline will offer an indoor drone racing
experience where customers can learn to fly
First Person View drones all year round.

Austin Wright entered Top Tank with the hopes of opening a downtown store in a larger warehouse- style space that would expand his Topeka presence and create spaces that would offer opportunities for competitive drone racing and for school field trips where young people could learn about the drone industry.

Regardless of the outcome of Top Tank, Austin planned to move forward with his concept to establish drone racing locations in Topeka. However, that vision shifted after meeting representatives from the Topeka Pilots Hockey team at a kids’ science fair downtown. He talked with them about testing his drone camera technology on their helmets to allow fans to experience the game from a player’s point of view.

“Fans rent goggles that allow them to see what the camera on the helmet sees,” Austin said. “It brings a whole new level of entertainment to the game.”

With the help of Lamar Hunt, Austin is now working to take that technology into football helmets. He sees the future of drone technology as a huge opportunity for technicians, programmers and gamers. Austin hopes to be on the cutting edge of that technology.