Spidercam technology in cricket

To capture all these events for display purposes to the viewers requires a complex system that will provide the viewers with quality images and videos that covers every moment during the game. The film and television cameras have to be strategically placed, and they need to work systematically since some sports’ grounds cover a large surface area during the game such as football and cricket, (Pott et al, 2018). Players in cricket make runs from one point to another, and the ball also moves randomly from one place to another all over the pitch. Capturing all these events one screen requires a better system of working film and television cameras as well as the professionals operating the whole system, (Sturm et al, 2015).

Spidercam technology has advanced the whole process and has been significant in providing the whole events in a sport like cricket to the viewers. The Spidercam system strategically positioned in the pitch by professionals. A tangle of cables, wires, as well as pulleys are used to suspend the Spidercam from the roof where it the cameras can capture everything happening on the ground, (Sturm et al, 2015). It offers a bird’s eye view of the entire pitch to display all the actions taking place including the pictures of the players and the caption of scores at the middle of the pitch from up close. The system flies around the ground to cover all the activities in the spaces that many had previously imagined that could never be reached.

Technical aspects The whole system entails horizontal and vertical movement of the film and television cameras over a predetermined area known as flying area which covers the entire area that the lifting cables and the dolly can access during the operation. The winches are secured against unintentional moving in case they slip so that they do not interfere with the whole process or the event taking place on the ground. There is no need to weigh down the winches since their weight is enough for this purpose. Pulleys Pulleys are installed for deflecting the lifting cable between the dolly and the winch. They are strategically positioned since they determine the maximum height that the lifting cables can reach. They also define the entire flying area that the entire system covers during the operation.

The system is then controlled by winding and unwinding the lifting cables so that the dolly can access any preferred positioned in the three-dimensional space, (Chesher et al, 2015). The pilot in the control station gives commands through inputs which are processed by the software of the Spidercam which forwards the commands through fiber optic cables to the winches. The winches move in the flying space to the required area according to the commands from the pilot in the control station. The cameras also receive commands from the control station through optic cables in the Kevlar cables, and they send back the signal to the control station through the same path, (Sturm et al, 2015). The remote head surrounding the camera is responsible for the tilting movements and also holds the lens that controls the zooming of images and pictures to provide a clear focus.

The views provided by the Spidercam system make the game interesting to view by the fans since the technology provides a closer and clear view of the play actions. Amazing shots are captured as well as heart-breathing moments which makes the game enjoyable attracting many fans. India is one of the countries in the world with a great cricket league that entails good teams and players, and part of the success can be attributed to the Spidercam technology, (Leveaux et al, 2015). However, it also has faced some criticism from various players and fans due to the problem of interfering with play. Spidercam in Indian Cricket League Advantages The Spidercam technology has come with several advantages to sporting events, especially in cricket.

Disadvantages As much as the technology has come with several advantages, it also has got its disadvantages too that affects its effectiveness during operation. Its weakness has always been associated with its interference with the play during operation. For instance, it has interfered with play more than three times in the Indian Cricket League. Furthermore, Steve Smith blamed the Spidercam wire to have distracted him when he missed a catch during a match and also in 2012, during a Champions League game Dinesh Kartik smashed into one of the cameras positioned in a corner, (Sturm et al, 2015). Several incidents have also happened, like in the match between India and Australia where India was robbed four runs. The technicians behind the operation of the technology may have difficulties raising the required funds to purchase such cameras.

Moreover, setting up the Spidercam and operating the system is not easy since the task is very demanding. Andrew Craig, one of the pilots from Australia said that setting up the basic stuff in the stadium may require working the entire day and will require at least six people, (Chesher et al, 2015). Another full day is also required to set up the Spidercam itself. The work is involving since it includes installing the pulleys, positioning the dollies, and cabling which can be discouraging to many people. People behind the Spidercam technology have suggested although it may be hard to develop a Spidercam system that will never interfere with play, there is still scope for improvement. The operators of Spidercam get constant feedback from both the players, the match officials, as well as the fans to ensure that it doesn’t affect the play.

More interactions with players as much as possible is required to ensure they get regular feedbacks that can be helpful in finding solutions to some of the problems. Enough discussions between the Spidercam operators and the players, as well as the match directors before any match can be significant to help solve the issue of play interference, (Yeravdekar et al, 2012). It can aid in reducing the chances of collision between the system devices and the players or the ball. It has widely been used in cricket since the game entails many complex actions that require clear display and caption for the fans. Also, a lot of cricket actions concentrate at the center of the pitch where fans may have difficulties to get a clear view of the actions taking place.

The Spidercam technology is so technical, and it includes gadgets such as winches, cameras, fiber optic cables, pulleys, lens, as well as the system operators working in a control station to control the devices, (Su et al, 2015). The pilot and the camera operator are responsible for flying the cameras around the predetermined area to capture images and play actions during a match. Spidercam is widely used in Indian Cricket League where it provides viewers with better and clear display of the actions in a match. References Chesher, C. (2015, August). Robots and the moving camera in cinema, television and digital media. In International Workshop in Cultural Robotics (pp. Springer, Cham. https://opus. lib. uts. edu. au/handle/10453/43828. torrossa. com/resources/an/3070305. Sturm, D.