Design Downtime Ian Murchison Loves Racing Drones
Let’s take to the sky, as Ian Murchison flies us into the thrilling world of drone racing. He shares his background in racing remote control cars and how that competitive spirit led him to racing drones. Ian recounts his first race, the nerves he felt racing indoors, and how the drone racing community helps newcomers ease into the sport. He describes the complexities of controlling drones in 3D space, explains how tracks are designed, and emphasizes the balance between technical skill and competitive racing. The conversation also touches on his experience designing and building his own drones, and how it allows him to stay connected to building objects in physical space.
Guest Bio
With a background as an industrial designer and as someone who has made the switch from the physical to the digital world, Ian Murchison (he/him) has had the joy of working for some major brands like Blackberry and Nokia while also building up his own consultancy, designing, building and shipping award winning products globally. Ian’s work has crossed all scales, from products that are consumed by hundreds of millions, to newborn ideas without a customer in sight. Ian is currently a Principal Designer working on the design system team at Autodesk. Beyond the 9-5 Ian focuses on the outdoors, not hiking or camping, but he’s started his own hop farm, providing locally sourced ingredients to craft breweries. He spends countless hours cycling the countryside and, what we’re going to talk about today, competing in FPV drone racing.
Links
Ian on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ianmurchison
Ian on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ianmurchison/
Ian on Threads: https://www.threads.net/@ianmurchison
MultiGP drone racing league: https://www.multigp.com
Credits
Cover design by Raquel Breternitz.