The BBC relied on the Camera Corps Q-Ball robotic camera system to provide clear, uninterrupted images of the announcement of the arrival of Prince George Alexander Louis, the royal baby, and later when he was first seen by the world.
BBC Television used the positioning aspects of the Q-Ball system to capture HD footage of both the entrance to St. Mary's Hospital in London, and of reporters, television camera crews and photographers gathered from around the world to cover the event. Images both of the hospital entrance and the assembled news media were televised live and recorded for subsequent broadcast, including nationwide news coverage in the UK and internationally the same evening.
The remote operation design of Q-Ball gave the BBC crew covering the royal news much greater freedom in positioning the camera than typically is available in such competitive news conditions. The pan/tilt/zoom head was mounted on a lamp post above the news media fray, ensuring stability and a clear field of view of all aspects of the situation.
It was then operated from the much more professional environment of a satellite news vehicle where the video output could be viewed under control-room monitoring conditions, rather than from the roadside.
