Skycam

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Skycam at an ESPN-broadcast Auburn University football game.

Skycam is the trademarked brandname of a patented (though the patent has expired), computer-controlled, stabilized, flying camera system. The system, similar to Steadicam, but maneuvered through three dimensions in the open space over a playing area of a stadium or arena by computer-controlled cable-drive system, is responsible for bringing video-game-like camera angles to television sports coverage. The camera package weighs less than 30 pounds and can travel at 30mph.

[edit] Usage

Skycam, and systems like it, have been in limited use since the mid 1980s, when the technology was first patented by Garrett Brown (also noted as the inventor of the SteadiCam). But until the mid 1990s progress was slow due to limitations in computer and servo motor technology.

NBC debuted the first wire-flown remote-controlled camera used in sports coverage in February 2001 for the XFL. ESPN first used Skycam in 2001 for an NFL pre-season telecast and then consistently in 2002 for Sunday Night Football broadcasts. Since then, ESPN and sister-network ABC have made widespread use of Skycam for NCAA football, Monday Night Football and Super Bowl XXXVII respectively.

Systems from Skycam, CableCam, and others such as Stealth Aerial Cameras have also been used for the NBA and NHL final series and the beginning of the 2005 & 2006 NASCAR season broadcast on FOX. CableCam was used on the famous 17th hole at the Tournament Players Club of Sawgrass for NBC's coverage of The Players Championship in 2005. CBC used a CableCam in their broadcasts of the 2005 and 2006 Grey Cups.^[1] In Europe usage includes the Eurovision Song Contest 2006 in Athens. In Australia, the Nine Network trialled Skycam for three of their Friday Night Football broadcasts of the Australian Football League for the 2004 season. It was heavily criticised and did not return.

"Skycam" is a trademarked name and properly refers to one company and their equipment. However, with the expiration of the original patents, other companies have entered the market and the term is now often improperly used as a generic reference to any cable-controlled camera system. Fox Sports refers to theirs as the DLP Ultimate Picture Cam, its title sponsored by the Texas Instruments projection method.

DLP cable cam used by Fox Sports at the 2007 Cotton Bowl

[edit] Technical overview

Skycam consists of three major components; the Reel - the motor drive and cables; the Spar - the counter-balanced pan and tilt video camera; and Central Control, the computer software used by the operator to fly the camera.

[edit] Reel

The system consists of four reels anchored at high fixed points at corners of the stadium or arena. Each reel is a cable spool with 4.5 horsepower motor and disc brakes with its own computer capable of a .01" positioning resolution. The cable is a braided Kevlar jacketed single mode fiber optic with conductive copper elements and is capable of supporting 600 pounds on a single cable.

[edit] Spar

The 36" tall spar contain the Panasonic HD camera, the pan and tilt motor, and stabilization sensors. Weighing only 25 pounds, the package also includes a power distribution module and electronics for fiber optic signaling.

[edit] Central Control

Central control is an industrial grade, Windows XP computer workstation that provides camera flight and video control. Both a pilot (the one who flies the spar in 3D space) and the operator (the one who controls the camera pan, tilt, zoom and focus) use this system for controlling the overall video shot. The central computer system uses a custom software package, called Skyview, to control each aspect of the camera system, including motion, video, and obstacle avoidance. Although options exist for the system to be operated by one person, in practice two people are needed.