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MRMC Robotic Pod Quick Start Manual

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Robotic Pod
(Stadium)

Quick Start Guide

Part number: MRMC-1464-00
Product code: MRMC-1292-C

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Summary of Contents for MRMC Robotic Pod

  • Page 1: Quick Start Guide

    Robotic Pod (Stadium) Quick Start Guide Part number: MRMC-1464-00 Product code: MRMC-1292-C...
  • Page 2 Robotic Pod (Stadium) Quick Start Guide Part number: MRMC-1464-00 Product code: MRMC-1292-C © 2017 Mark Roberts Motion Control Ltd. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, transmitted, or translated by any means — graphical, electronic, or mechanical — including...

  • Page 3: Table Of Contents

    Location .................2 Intellectual property .............2 Overview .................3 Setting up the hardware ............3 Connecting the cables ............9 Setting up the Robotic Pod System using the MHC software .................11 Home Zeroing ..............12 Changing system configuration and network settings..13 Launching MHC as Admin ........13 Network setup ..............15...
  • Page 4 Robotic Pod Quick Start Guide Lens tab .................27 Linearise Zoom button ........28 Importing lens settings ........28 Exporting lens settings ........28 Infinity offset............29 Lens Focal Length ..........29 Sensor Width and Height.........30 Use Pan to Calibrate FOV ........30 Focus calibration ..........30 Zoom linearisation..........31 Tools tab...............32...

  • Page 5: Chapter 1 Quick Start

    Chapter 1 Quick Start Robotic Pod (Stadium) Quick Start Guide Robotic Pod (Stadium) Quick Start Guide Important safety instructions To ensure the best from the product, please read this manual carefully. Keep it in a safe place for future reference.

  • Page 6: Location

    Robotic Pod (Stadium) Quick Start Guide  Keep cables tidy. Use cable ties to keep them out of harm’s way. If you have a head with slip rings then make use of them; avoid running any cables between the base and the rotating head or camera.

  • Page 7: Overview

    Robotic Pod (Stadium) Quick Start Guide Overview Thank you for using the robotic Pod camera head from Mark Roberts Motion Control (MRMC). The Pod head is designed for reliable day-in, day-out use in professional studio and Outside Broadcast environments. The versatility of the Pod head makes it suitable for live action, stills, and time-lapse applications.
  • Page 8 Robotic Pod (Stadium) Quick Start Guide Nuts PTA underslung PTA overslung If the head is going to be used for target tracking, then ensure that the PTA is perfectly levelled to the ground using a spirit level.
  • Page 9 Robotic Pod (Stadium) Quick Start Guide Attach the safety cable around the bar, through at least one eyelet, and through the pan safety hole (near the connector socket). Remove any excess slack by making extra loops around the bar. Then join with a carabiner and screw the carabiner shut.
  • Page 10 Robotic Pod (Stadium) Quick Start Guide Attach the roll ring to the arm by sliding the roll wedge into the side plate and ensure the safety catch locks into place —preventing the roll ring to be detached again. Then tighten the two captive screws to firmly secure the roll.
  • Page 11 Robotic Pod (Stadium) Quick Start Guide Attach the pod to the roll ring by sliding the pod front into the roll ring from rear. Note the pod has a wedge on its bottom that will slide into a plate on the roll ring. You can use the roll ring to help support the weight of the pod while mounting by pointing the pod downwards.
  • Page 12 Robotic Pod (Stadium) Quick Start Guide Attach the safety cable between the pod handle and the roll safety hole. Ensure you do not tie it around the roll ring. Wind up any excess cable by looping further through the holes. Screw closed the carabiner.

  • Page 13: Connecting The Cables

    Robotic Pod (Stadium) Quick Start Guide Connecting the cables Attach the power cables ensuring each connector is fully secured into the socket and that the cable or connector is not caught in any moving part. Break-out box PC running MHC...
  • Page 14 Optionally, connect the USB port on the PC to a joystick, such as an Xbox joystick or a MRMC Joystick Controller. This device gives you a precise and real-time control of the camera direction and functions. You can use the MHC screen to control the camera instead if you omit a joystick.

  • Page 15: Setting Up The Robotic Pod System Using The Mhc Software

    Robotic Pod (Stadium) Quick Start Guide Setting up the Robotic Pod System using the MHC software To control and use the Pods, you need to connect them to the network that has the PC running the MHC server software. You can choose to assign the Pods to specific users using MHC server.

  • Page 16: Home Zeroing

    Robotic Pod (Stadium) Quick Start Guide Clicking/tapping the Pod icon enables the Pod and changes the icon to green showing it is selected for control from the Main page. Observe that the un-cabled Pods appear as red icons. Cable together and power up the remaining Pods. They will appear on MHC connected, as white icons.

  • Page 17: Changing System Configuration And Network Settings

    Robotic Pod (Stadium) Quick Start Guide Note The focus and zoom axes must be homed individually. If an error occurs after homing, do the following: In the > Robot > Axes tab, check that the Status of the axis is ON in the grey box. If it is not, click the ENABLE button to turn it on.
  • Page 18 Robotic Pod (Stadium) Quick Start Guide Note At any time, if you need to restart MHC, perform the following steps: Close the MHC Client and the MHC Server windows. Double-click or tap the MHC Server desktop icon to launch it.

  • Page 19: Network Setup

    Robotic Pod (Stadium) Quick Start Guide Network setup Manual Pod Automatic Pod Settings Log out addition addition Heads on the network Heads not on the network Note You can click the Settings ( ) button to display the Settings menu.

  • Page 20: Adding Pods Manually

    Robotic Pod (Stadium) Quick Start Guide Pod’s row that you want to connect to and click the appearing ADD button. This will connect the Pod to the system, and move it to the group of the connected Pods (the green section).

  • Page 21: Removing A Pod

    Robotic Pod (Stadium) Quick Start Guide Removing a Pod To remove a Pod, click the appearing remove ( ) button on the Pod’s row. Editing network settings on the Pod On the NETWORK SETUP page, only the disconnected (grey) Pod’s IP address is editable.

  • Page 22: Changing The Server Ip Address

    Robotic Pod (Stadium) Quick Start Guide Click/tap Save. Once user(s) are added, the Pods each of them can see can be assigned. Changing the Server IP address By default, if the MHC Server and Client are running on the same PC, the Server IP address is set to 127.0.0.1.

  • Page 23: Tdcgraphics Software

    Robotic Pod (Stadium) Quick Start Guide TDCGraphics software In the stadia environment, the Tracab server sends data to TDCGraphics software which in turn assembles it in a format that can be read by MHC in order to track the targets on the field. TDCGraphics is a tool that allows you to specify additional clustering and zonal data and then send it to MHC in the suitable format.
  • Page 24 Robotic Pod (Stadium) Quick Start Guide that will be sent. The zonal data can be either a position of general play with field of vision (FOV), or a position of a cluster of players with FOV. If the stadium setup requires more than one Pod to track zonal data, then additional port tabs will be required for each Pod.

  • Page 25: Polycam System

    Robotic Pod (Stadium) Quick Start Guide If you are setting player clustering, select the players that you want to cluster. In the Result area, the X, Y, Z, and FOV positions show the data of the target that would be output to the MHC Server.

  • Page 26: Polycam Settings

    Robotic Pod (Stadium) Quick Start Guide system uses external data feed from a source (for example, ChyronHego) and the cameras on the Pods are set to trigger or record the target. Polycam settings After starting TDCGraphics, you need to specify how the Polycam system tracks moving subject, such as the players on the football field, and configure the MHC server to communicate with the Tracab system.
  • Page 27 Robotic Pod (Stadium) Quick Start Guide Click the Settings button, and select ROBOT. This opens the Robot Settings page. Select POLYCAM to specify the polycam settings. IP address and port number System with which of the system that the head is...
  • Page 28 Robotic Pod (Stadium) Quick Start Guide  Specify the Pitch length and Pitch width. Specify the Height Offset which is how far off the ground the Pods should target. If height offset is set to zero, the tracking system will target ground level.
  • Page 29 Robotic Pod (Stadium) Quick Start Guide Note that the value in ClientCount field in TDCGraphics changes to 1. Changes to 1 when MHC is connected to TDCGraphics Use the SET A and SET B buttons to specify the range of physical travel of the head movement.

  • Page 30: Tracking Data

    Robotic Pod (Stadium) Quick Start Guide Point A Point B Click SAVE. Use the GOTO A and GOTO B buttons to test the settings specified. Tracking data Tracking does not automatically begin after specifying the polycam settings. You will need to enable tracking for each Pod. To do this: Click/tap and hold the head you want to enable tracking on.

  • Page 31: Lens Tab

    Robotic Pod (Stadium) Quick Start Guide On the MAIN screen, use the TRACKING OPTIONS section to specify the options for tracking. For example, you can select the Tracking type as Home, Away, Ball, Referee, or Zone. Use the dial to select the Jersey number of the player you want to track.

  • Page 32: Linearise Zoom Button

    Robotic Pod (Stadium) Quick Start Guide Zoom motor position and focal length is not linear. Therefore, the Zoom and Focus axes need to be linearised or calibrated allowing the head to control the Focus axis in terms of target distance and the Zoom axis in terms of focal length.

  • Page 33: Infinity Offset

    Robotic Pod (Stadium) Quick Start Guide Change the required settings on the Lens tab. Click EXPORT. Select one of the existing lens configurations. Rename the configuration. Click EXPORT. Note For the Lens calibration settings to work, you should have already set the soft limits in the AXES tab.

  • Page 34: Sensor Width And Height

    Robotic Pod (Stadium) Quick Start Guide Sensor Width and Height Specify the Sensor Width and Sensor Height for the sensor of the lens. Use Pan to Calibrate FOV When using pan and tilt along with Zoom, a small movement in the pan axis on narrow zoom can result in greater shift in FOV than the same movement in pan axis on wide zoom.

  • Page 35: Zoom Linearisation

    Robotic Pod (Stadium) Quick Start Guide Zoom linearisation By entering in the MHC a few Zoom motor positions and the their respective focal lengths, the software can work out for any desired focal length what the Zoom motor position should be. This means that you can plot a move on the Zoom axis in terms of focal length, and the zoom will be driven to change the focal length in a smooth manner.

  • Page 36: Tools Tab

    Robotic Pod (Stadium) Quick Start Guide Ensure that the soft limits are set correctly for the Zoom axis on the AXES tab. Ensure that the Zoom ring on the camera is at the minimum position (at widest zoom). Specify the focal length for the widest zoom.

  • Page 37: Reset Robot

    Robotic Pod (Stadium) Quick Start Guide Clicking the button will open a dialog box, enter the name of the XML file. Click Save. Reset Robot Clicking Reset Robot resets the axes (Hex) board in the head. Use this option when the camera has crashed/frozen or a power cycle is required.

  • Page 38: Import Robot Settings

    Robotic Pod (Stadium) Quick Start Guide IMPORT ROBOT SETTINGS Use this button to import MHC settings from an XML file. Reset Camera Clicking Reset Camera resets the Nikon camera as-though you power-cycled it. Camera Direct Connection Toggle Resets the camera to be connected to the PC via USB.
  • Page 39 Robotic Pod (Stadium) Quick Start Guide Launch the MHC client on each user PC. Home the zoom and focus axes. Define the polycam options for the match.

  • Page 40: Appendix 1 Troubleshooting

    Appendix 1 Troubleshooting Robotic Pod (Stadium) Quick Start Guide Robotic Pod Quick Start Guide Typical symptoms, causes, and actions Symptoms Cause and/or action Pod head did not Check that all cables are connected, and all appear connected in devices have power.
  • Page 41 Robotic Pod Quick Start Guide Notes...
  • Page 42 Robotic Pod Quick Start Guide Notes...

  • Page 43: Appendix 2 Pod Connectors

    Appendix 2 Pod connectors Robotic Pod (Stadium) Quick Start Guide Robotic Pod Quick Start Guide Connector pin-outs Panel mount connector Panel mount connector is the 22-way (female) connector of type EGG.3K.822.CLL1 on the POD and on the PTA. Ethernet 1...

  • Page 44: Panel Mount Connector

    Robotic Pod Quick Start Guide Panel mount connector Panel mount connector is the 22-way (female) connector of type EGG.3K.822.CLL1 on the Pod base and in the power supply box. Ethernet 1 Ethernet 2 Ethernet 3 10. Ethernet 4 11. Ethernet 5 12.

  • Page 45: Mains In Connector

    Robotic Pod Quick Start Guide Mains In connector Power input connector for the Pod head. It is a 3-Way (Male) C14 IEC connector. 240 Volts AC. Earth Live Neutral SDI Out Connector Connector for SDI Video signal from the camera.
  • Page 46 Robotic Pod Quick Start Guide Notes...

  • Page 47: Appendix 3 Specifications

    Appendix 3 Specifications Robotic Pod (Stadium) Quick Start Guide Robotic Pod Quick Start Guide There are five types of robotic Pods based on the camera lens within. 24-120mm 24-70mm 70-200mm 80-400mm 200-500mm Size Total height 52cm-58cm Total width 58cm Operational space...
  • Page 48 Robotic Pod Quick Start Guide Weight Robotic Pod Between 7-10kg depending upon the unit 24-120mm RP: 8.4kg 24-70mm RP: 70-200mm RP: 80-400mm RP: 9.7kg 200-500mm RP: 10.5kg 11.8kg Roll 4.71kg Connection cable 5m: 1.10kg (long) 10m: 2.10kg 15m: 3.10kg 20m: 4.10kg 30m: 6.10kg...
  • Page 49 Robotic Pod Quick Start Guide Power 24 Volts DC 16A requirement Temperature 0-45 °C (32-113 °F) range Humidity 0% to 85% relative tolerance humidity, non-condensing Maximum 135 ° a second speed Axes Pan (max 180° a second, infinite movement) Tilt (max 180° a second/340°...
  • Page 50 Robotic Pod Quick Start Guide Stills Image sensor FX, CMOS, 35.9 mm x 23.9 mm Total pixels 21.33 million (20.8 million effective pixels) Frame advance rate 12 fps ISO sensitivity ISO 100 to 102400, with a Hi 5 setting of EV...
  • Page 51 Robotic Pod Quick Start Guide...
  • Page 52 Robotic Pod Quick Start Guide...
  • Page 53 Robotic Pod Quick Start Guide Notes...
  • Page 54 Robotic Pod Quick Start Guide Notes...
  • Page 55 Mark Roberts Motion Control Ltd. Unit 3, South East Studios, Blindley Heath, Surrey RH7 6JP United Kingdom Telephone: +44 (0) 1342 838000 info@mrmoco.com www.mrmoco.com...

This manual is also suitable for:

Mrmc-1464-00Mrmc-1292-c

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