Camera robotics have quietly moved from an interesting add-on to a core tool for modern live production.
In our recent webinar with TVB Europe, a panel of broadcasters, educators, integrators, and robotics specialists unpacked what’s actually working today and what teams should consider before investing in their next robotics camera solution.
Why use a robotic camera system?
When the panelists talked about why they adopted robotics, none of them started with cost savings.
For some broadcasters, robotics offered a way to introduce motion into formats like news that had grown visually rigid over time.
For others, the decision aligned with broader transitions: studio renovations, new production strategies, or the need to support emerging formats like esports.
Antoine Atyeh of Al-Arabiya News talked about how their early explorations focused on getting more of their operators out in the field or in the gallery, rather than inside the studio, capturing repeatable, basic shots.
How robotics makes teams more creative
One of the strongest themes running through the discussion was that robotics don’t reduce creativity; they amplify and relocate it.
Antoine spoke candidly about life behind a studio camera: “I was a cameraman. And I know the feeling, being a cameraman for four hours standing behind a camera in the studio, it’s not good stuff to do.”
When operators are locked into executing the same shots every day, creativity gets suppressed. Robotics take over that repetitive, technically demanding work, shifting the operators’ focus to framing, timing, and storytelling.
Robert Vander Meulen of DigiNet described how consistency becomes a creative advantage: “The cameramen are still present on the floor. They are much more creative. They can be busy with specific shots and not always just zoom in, zoom out, and focus.”
Watch the full webinar to see the whole discussion on how broadcasters and content producers are putting camera robotics to work today.
Combining robotics and augmented reality
At multiple points, the panel made it clear that robotics and AR are no longer parallel technologies. AR depends on precise, repeatable camera data, and robotics is one of the most reliable ways to generate it.
In esports, sports, and increasingly in news and entertainment, robotics turns camera motion into data, and data into a creative asset. At Nottingham Trent University’s School of Art & Design, they’ve also been pairing their robotics system with augmented reality tools to create previsualizations of entire production orchestrations, including camera movements and choreography, to support show planning.
Free-roaming vs rail camera systems
The conversation around robotics often starts with technology, but in practice, it starts with space. The right choice has less to do with preference than with physical reality. And how much disruption a broadcaster is willing or able to absorb.
Free-roaming pedestals offer flexibility and adaptability, particularly in studios that are changing, experimenting with AR, or frequently need to be reconfigured. Rail systems, on the other hand, bring a kind of mechanical certainty, such as repeatable paths, long lifts, and overhead motion. That has made them a staple in large-scale studios and live events for years.
Keep Reading: Robotics in Focus: The ultimate guide to robotic camera solutions
It’s clear that camera robotics aren’t redefining live production so much as refining it. By taking on repetition and overcoming physical limitations, they give creative teams more room to think, plan, and tell better stories. The technology fades into the background, leaving people freer to focus on judgment, intent, and craft.
Watch the full webinar to see the whole discussion on how broadcasters are putting camera robotics to work today.