An airborne look at the Supercup

27 August 2021 – During the Supercup 2021, the DFL deployed a micro drone for the first time. No larger than the palm of a hand, these flying objects are ultra-lightweight by design, carrying only a barebone camera and the most essential technical components. This makes them breathtakingly agile; but controlling them requires utmost dexterity and lots of practice. One of these tiny devices took TV viewers for a brief flight through the SIGNAL IDUNA PARK in Dortmund. The journey went through indoor spaces such as the team dressing room, the players’ tunnel leading towards the pitch, and above and below the south stand.

Anyone who has ever tried to pilot a drone knows how difficult it is to make it go where you want it to. But the drone specialists from OneShot HERO have mastered the art of manoeuvring their devices indoors, even in confined spaces with bottleneck openings no larger than 15 by 15 centimetres. While flying, the high-resolution video camera on board delivers views no other camera technology can achieve.

The pilots wear “First-Person View” (FPV) video goggles, allowing them to follow the video the camera transmits wirelessly in real-time. The pilots control the drone by hand only, and the video signal is also transmitted to the control room for further processing.

This technology enables entirely new perspective and scenes, providing viewers watching at  home with a unique and spectacular impression of what is going on at the stadium. The DFL intends to explore further ways of using micro drones in future.