MRMC provides new pan tilt head for major sporting event

Mark Roberts Motion Control (MRMC) had the opportunity to use one of its new high-speed pan tilt heads, the AFC-180S, at a major sporting event in Brazil on the 24th of November, while controlling the head remotely from a broadcast control centre in Kent.

The AFC-180S is a new, compact pan tilt head with speeds of 180 degrees per second, and full HD slip-rings, capable of carrying 15kg payloads. On this occasion it was fitted with a Grass Valley LDX camera and a standard broadcast zoom lens, all controlled remotely via a single Ethernet connection, with the operator sitting at a joystick control in England.

Images were streamed back to the operator using a high speed internet link while feeding back the control signals to the head. The delays were minimal and allowed the operator to control the camera easily without having to compensate heavily for lag.

Assaff Rawner, managing director of MRMC, comments: “The future of outside broadcasting is rapidly heading towards a new model, where heads are setup just prior to events, or permanently installed at venues, and cameramen and operators can control their equipment, in any location in the world, without leaving the country, or even their office or armchair. Our robotics is key to making this possible, as well as the rapidly growing field of ethernet enabled cameras and the rapid spread of high speed internet. Together the field of OB will continue its rapid change in 2014.”