Billy and Billy Pro are new ‘follow me’ robotic dollies that are now featured on Kickstarter. The differences between the two products are the cameras used and the reach available. Billy uses your own smartphone and Billy Pro can use a DSLR or mirrorless camera on a manually adjustable hinged stand. On the face of it, Billy is a smart idea especially if he/she can follow you with zero delays. The makers make a big deal of using AI but don’t explain where this intelligence is working. Presumably, it’s part of the object tracking algorithm. But even if Billy is being remotely moved around, it’s still a great way of introducing camera movement into your content, especially while COVID 19 is still around. The robot though is only designed for flat surfaces so bear that in mind if you’re thinking of investing. App-based movement Billy’s technical details are sparse but the main control is via an iOS and Android app running in the background with image processing for face tracking, based on a captured image from any recording or streaming application. SEE.inc, the company behind Billy is also claiming simultaneous streaming to major platforms like YouTube and TikTok. Which makes sense from a smartphone as this is now quite a straightforward way of streaming. Billy The Robot – Image Credit: SEE inc. It looks like you can program sequences of movements or control the robot with a virtual joystick using their mobile app. To control a DSLR, SEE.inc is saying...
Published By: CineD - Wednesday, 8 September, 2021