Telemetrics has introduced a new collaborative pan bar for its camera robotics solutions that allow operators to robotically drive the company’s roving camera pedestal, its pan/tilt head, and camera pedestal locally with minimal effort.
These unique hand controls, with ergonomically pleasing hand grips, offer the flexibility to easily move a robotic camera when resetting a new show as well as for performing smooth on-air moves. For example, the RCMC allows the Telemetrics OmniGlide Robotic Roving Platform to move easily in any direction instantaneously and drive the rover without turning.
There is also a new labelling system for the buttons on the pan bar, allowing users to assign a label to and quickly identify favourite moves among the two customisable control buttons (C1 and C2). The labels can be changed in minutes and come in handy when reassigning buttons for different productions.
“Anyone that has worked in a studio knows the physical exertion required to move cameras into position,“ said Michael Cuomo, Vice President of Telemetrics. “With the new pan bar, you’re not just pushing the pedestal, you are robotically driving it and using the pan bar buttons to manoeuvre in a highly collaborative way.”
The RCMC-1 Robotic Collaborative Manual Control pan bar delivers customisable control via a two-axis joystick and a series of rocker switches and buttons to manipulate the OmniGlide platform’s XY motion or a Telemetrics PT-LP-S5 pan/tilt head on a Televator pedestal. This makes their mobility and operation as flexible and as easy as possible.
A rocker switch on the bottom of the RCMC-1 lets operators easily adjust lens zoom, or depending on the operator’s preference, Televator column height, helping to make Telemetrics robotic systems a collaborative tool that helps the studio robotics operator do their job easier, and better.
On its top surface, the RCMC-1 features four indicator LEDs and four small pushbuttons, two of which are customisable, a joystick to control an OmniGlide’s XY motion, or alternatively to adjust pan and tilt of a robotic PT-LP-S5 head, two buttons (+/-) to control the speed the joystick and a separate button to reverse the action of the joystick, and a dial surrounding the joystick for lens focus control, where a quick spin will perform coarse control and slow movements fine control. When local pan bar operation is activated, an automatic safety interlock prevents further commands from being accepted from any remote-control panels.
“At Telemetrics we’re all about giving customers choice in how they operate their robotic systems,” said Michael Cuomo, Vice President of Telemetrics. “The new RCMC-1 Robotic Collaborative Manual Control pan bar is exactly what operators need to keep productions moving along without interruption. Sometimes it’s faster or more convenient to move a rover or raise a camera pedestal locally. The new pan bar delivers that freedom at a very cost-effective price.”
With an adjustable, telescoping design and rubberised handgrips that provide added comfort and accommodate individual preferences, all buttons, switches, dials, and joysticks are positioned for optimum finger strength and dexterity to assure fine and accurate control.
With an ergonomic design ideally made for hand manipulations, the RCMC-1 leverages precision sensors for highly precise control. An interlocking rosette mount is used for secure attachment to a Telemetrics PT-LP-S5 pan/tilt head, and a simple USB connection interfaces to the robotics. The pan bar is made of a sturdy lightweight aluminium alloy construction that’s designed to stand up to the rigours of daily production.