NEW! SoftRail - Best of both worlds

SoftRail.  Is it SmartRail?  Is it SmartPed?  It’s both!

SoftRail is a totally new concept in controlling a SmartPed fully-robotic free-roaming studio pedestal.

Using TR-XT‘s latest capabilities and the unparalleled performance of SmartPed, SoftRail enables the robotic pedestal to behave like a SmartRail floor track system when needed, but instantly revert to free-roaming mode when not.

Sometimes, constraining a moving camera to a physical track is beneficial.  Following the precise contours of an intricate set layout, avoiding exclusion zones or obstacles for example.  But installing rails significantly reduces a studio’s future flexibility and permanently fixes camera floor movements for the lifetime of the system.  Any rail, however low-profile and sleek they may be, prevent other non-rail cameras freely crossing them, and present real challenges for presenters and guests moving conveniently and safely in and out of the studio.  Even minor future changes to the set design or camera layouts are difficult or impossible with rail installations.

TR-XT and SmartPed now support the unique SoftRail mode.  SmartPed cameras can be made to follow tightly-defined paths just like a SmartRail system, but without any physical rail.  Using our powerful StudioView mode within the latest TR-XT, limitless ‘virtual’ rails can be defined for one or more SmartPed to follow.  Active rails are clearly indicated on the StudioView control page and overlaid, along with safety and exclusion zones, on the scaled studio-layout graphic.

Once a SoftRail is enabled for a SmartPed, the pedestal automatically moves onto the rail path, and from then on any movement of the XY joystick or shot/sequence recall moves will precisely follow the path of the rail.  However, at the press of button the rail can be instantly “uninstalled” causing SmartPed to return to free-roaming operation as usual.  The switch is instant, seamless, and can be done at any time to suit production situation.

Finally – as no physical rail needs to be installed, rail designs can be something totally impossible to achieve in the real world – including looping back over itself, for example.  And you won’t even need a railroad crossing!

SoftRail really is a new concept in robotic pedestal control, and it’s just one of the many unique and advanced features available for TR-XT.