You have likely heard of our in-house robotic head, Pauli, of which we are very proud. But you might not know about a very special partnership, without which the Pauli as we know it would not exist.
Pauli’s Journey
Back in the early days of Seervision, integrating our innovative software with third party robotic heads wasn’t as simple as it is now. As a small startup, getting robotic systems from manufacturers for development was much more expensive and time consuming as it is today. The team needed a solution that would allow customers to start experiencing the Seervision Suite as soon as possible, and without a significant cost. The idea for an in-house produced robotic head was born, one that would be directly integrated into our software and could guarantee smooth shots every time.
Seervision used to be much smaller than it is now, and collaboration on projects was a big part of getting the job done. We worked with a network of robotics experts and collaborators from the ETH startup world, including Muharem “Muhi” Zenkic at joylab, Rainer Bucher and Jonas Gmür from BST Design AG, and support from Wyss Robotics Platform and Helbling. Various early prototypes of robotic heads and gimbals were designed, and eventually the first Seervision robotic head was born, the Swiss head, which later became the Pauli.
Agreement with Zanus
During those early days, Damian and Nikos also worked regularly with Marko, a colleague from their lab at ETH. Marko was working on his PhD at the same time, and just happened to be a robotics expert with a knack for motor control. It’s not that much of a coincidence, as robotics labs are where you tend to find PhD candidates, but it still worked out great for us.
After Pauli was born and was growing into a fully formed part of the Seervision Suite, it needed a home. Somewhere it would be nurtured and improved by a team of robotic experts with the resources to give it all the time it deserved. This is where Marko comes in, and the robotics company he was now CEO and owner of in Serbia, Zanus.
After reconnecting, Seervision and Zanus secured a joint grant to co-develop intelligent broadcast robotics, and it was decided to move the manufacturing and further development of the Pauli to Serbia. Zanus would take care of the research and development efforts needed to industrialize and improve Pauli, whilst handling production and distribution to a range of clients in the broadcast industry. Seervision would continue to offer the Pauli as an optional part of the Seervision Suite, bringing it to those who could use it most effectively.
Current version of the Pauli
In its time with Zanus, Pauli has become Pauli V2, and boasts a range of specifications that blow Pauli V1 out of the water (well, not quite but it’s pretty good). Pauli V2 is lightweight, has a higher payload capacity, is cost effective, and is faster and smoother than its predecessor. You can check out the full technical specs below:
Camera payload 20kg
Weight 8.4kg
Pan angle ± 175°
Tilt angle ± 180°
Pan/Tilt speed 0.001 – 180°/s
Acceleration 90°/s²
Power requirements 100 – 240VAC
Dimensions 434 x 276 x 144mm
Zoom, Focus and Iris control Interface for Canon and Fujinon lenses, interface for PDmovie external lens motors; LANC & Panasonic analog
Mounting Standard tripod mount, reverse mount possible, 90° wall-mount with adaptor possible
What comes next
In the future you can expect much more of the same. Zanus, much like Seervision, believes in constant improvement of their products, based on data and feedback directly from our customers. The Pauli will continue to improve the more it is used, and will continue to be a core part of Zanus’ growing range of robotic options. We look forward to the continuation of our relationship with Zanus in the future, and hope it brings many more years of innovation together.
Read more about our products and check out the Zanus website.
In the initial version of this article (published 22.9.21), we mentioned that the Pauli was first developed “including friends at joylab”. In fact, it was developed with Muharem “Muhi” Zenkic from joylab, and Rainer Bucher and Jonas Gmür from BST Design AG. We sincerely apologize for this omission.