Tritium Technical Solutions partners with the awesome team at Flite Test to bring an exciting new combat experience to model aviation.
Air-to-air combat has always been a favorite activity among RC model enthusiast. Until recently the most common setup was to fly with streamers attached to each aircraft and for pilots to attempt to get up close and cut the streamer on the opposing airplane.
Although there have been several attempts to produce a lightweight, outdoor capable laser tag system, none have been successful. Many challenges hinder development. Laser tag systems rely on emitting a light beam which must compete against ambient light, and in outdoor scenarios, this means competing with sunlight. While diode laser systems can be used to produce intense light for this application, they present a significant hazard to hobbyists and children who are operating the model aircraft. Developing a non-laser based system that works consistently in bright ambient light requires very careful tuning and complex software filtering.
Development of the production version of this system is still underway, but the proof of concept units that Tritium produced have showed very promising results in testing. The team at Flite Test filmed a video showing the proof of concept that really captures the fun experience of air-to-air laser tag. Check it out!