Flying Cameras Everywhere at the Winter Olympics

Robotic cameras buzzed across venues in Northern Italy, following lugers, skeleton pilots, bobsledders, alpine skiers and speedskaters. Fans at the sliding track in Cortina d’Ampezzo applauded each precise turn and soft landing, sometimes shouting, “You’re No. 1!” for the drone pilot.

Ralph Hogenbirk sat inside a tent near the start gate, visor over his eyes, piloting a nearly nine‑ounce drone as it hovered behind competitors and shot down the course. A screen in the tent showed the flight path as the drone veered off the track, looped over construction sites and returned to the technician’s gloved hands.

Spectators crowded close — Italians cried “Bravissimo!,” Germans admired the engineering and some British fans, like Oliver Dickie, muttered “What the hell?” as the blinking drone passed by, calling the effect thrilling for home viewers but potentially unnerving to be tracked.

Italy, Cortina d'Ampezzo

drones, winter olympics, cortina, bobsled, luge, skeleton, alpine skiing, speedskating, drone pilot, drone footage