The BBC used the Camera Corps’ Q-Ball robotic camera system to provide clear, uninterrupted images of the announcement of the arrival of the royal baby and when he was first seen by the world. BBC Television used the unique positioning aspects of the Q-Ball system to capture HD footage of both the entrance to St. Mary's Hospital, London, and of reporters, television camera crews and photographers gathered from around the world to cover this momentous event.
Images both of the hospital entrance and the assembled news media were televised live and recorded for subsequent broadcast, including nationwide news coverage in the U.K. and internationally the same evening.
"Camera crews attending this type of event traditionally find themselves working in competitive conditions, comparable to a rugby scrum, as each crew vies for a favorable position," explains Camera Corps managing director Laurie Frost. "Because of its remote operation design, Q-Ball gave the BBC crew much greater freedom in where the camera was positioned. The pan/tilt/zoom head was mounted on a lamp post above the news media fray, ensuring stability and a clear field of view of all aspects of the situation.
The system was then operated not from the roadside but from the much more professional environment of a satellite news vehicle where the video output could be viewed under control-room monitoring conditions. The Q-Ball, with its integral pan/tilt/zoom/focus system, is suitable both for indoor and outdoor use and was fully able to contend with the 30 degree Celsius (86 degree Fahrenheit) summer day which, by British standards, constituted a heat wave."
