2015 was the year selfies went high-tech. The seemingly ubiquitous desire people have to take pictures of themselves and film their daily adventures is fuelling an industry of increasingly sophisticated gadget makers.
For those serious about filming what they’re up to, but without the wherewithal to hire their own camera crew, tags, sensors and some clever engineering have enabled the creation of Soloshot.
It’s a beguilingly simple idea. Put a motor on a tripod to adjust the direction and elevation of a camera and connect that ability to a sensor tag. Whoever or whatever has the tag on it is what the camera tracks, up to a distance of about 600 metres. Package it with some nifty software and suddenly you have a camera crew in a small and very mobile package.
As with all such technology the pace of improvement keeps increasing as the devices get smaller and less power intensive. For example, Soloshot’s tag has shrunk 40 per cent in size from one iteration to the next.
Originally conceived as a way for surfers to film themselves the idea has expanded to other adventure-style sports, but could be readily adapted to more serious applications. Combine the technology with a suitable drone and filming from the air could automatically track emergency workers navigating a difficult environment, or simply trck the work of other drones.