Robo-Cams For The Olympics

Reuters covered a great story that talks about how robo cams will play a pivotal roll in getting fantastic shots this Olympics. 

Reuters photographer Pawel Kopczynski and I have been developing since the 2009 athletics World Championships in Berlin a new technology, which enables Reuters sports photography to shoot pictures from unusual angles and make them available to our customers around the world in minutes. We tested the technology at the World Athletics Championships in Daegu, South Korea and at the world indoor athletics championships in Istanbul.

At the upcoming Olympics for the first time we are using robotic cameras made specifically for the high elevated roof positions than can only be covered by a remote camera and not by a photographer.

Over the next few weeks until the Olympic Games open on July 27, I will install our new robotic cameras, often using climbing equipment. From now on, getting up early in the morning and spending more than 12 hours at the various venues is my daily business as a photographer to make this picture dream come true.

The robotic camera can be released by a photographer over wireless transmitters or externally triggered by a cable. All images are directly transferred into our Paneikon remote editing system and from there can be transmitted on the wire.

A lot of athletes will look into these robotic cameras but they will never see the photographer behind the lens. They will only see the image when it has been sent around the world.

You can read the full story here.