Robotic camera systems like the OrcaVue Glambot have captured the attention of the photo booth world for a while now. If you’ve operated a photo booth company for any period of time, you’ve likely had a customer ask if you offer robotic slow-motion camera services like those often seen on the red carpet at awards shows. In all likelihood, you were unable to provide these services because the solutions that could offer the breathtaking, sweeping slow-motion shots your customers sought came with an out-of-reach price tag for most clients. Recently, though, robotic video-capture technology like the OrcaVue Glambot has been introduced into the market at more approachable price points, making the photo booth world take another look at these breathtaking video-capture machines.
In this article, we’ll get you up to speed on this exciting technology, teaching you why it became so popular and what you need to know about offering it in your photo booth product lineup.
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What Is an OrcaVue Glambot?
An OrcaVue Glambot is a type of photo booth setup that attaches a high-frame-rate video camera to a high-speed robotic arm. The arm can be programmed to follow unique paths, resulting in captivating slow-motion videos that provide scroll-stopping content for guests to post on social media.
These systems are popular activations at events because of the speed at which they can create content that event guests value. They can be used to film one guest or multiple guests at a time. Very little is required of event guests to produce stunning videos. They simply need to strike a pose while the camera records them for anywhere between 2 and 10 seconds. These features keep the lines short and guests happy.
You can get more information about the OrcaVue Glambot by reading this article.
How Did the OrcaVue Glambot Become Popular?
The style of robotic slow-motion videography that we see today was pioneered by Cole Walliser, a videographer with a background in directing music and skateboard videos. Walliser’s experience with celebrities helped him see a need for enhanced coverage of red-carpet events, and his execution in creating a machine capable of delivering cinema-worthy content in seconds has made robotic event videography a sought-after activation at events.
Until very recently, robotic video activations could only be accessed by the most elite events. This was due to the high cost of manufacturing the robot and the expertise required by the team of people running the machine at the event. This meant that although the demand for these activations was certainly felt by the photo booth and event industries, it went largely unmet due to these high costs.
This all changed with the introduction of OrcaVue GlamBot, which has many of the same capabilities as its red carpet cousins, yet:
- Weighs a tenth as much
- Can be set up by a single operator
- Costs less than $14,000
- Runs using common photo booth software which enables quick rendering and sharing
Given this combination of features, it’s no wonder that the OrcaVue Glambot has become the next big thing in the photo booth industry.
What can the OrcaVue Glambot Used For?
Robotic camera systems took the world by storm by filming celebrities at high-profile red carpet events. These systems are most famously used at events like award shows and movie premieres with giant budgets. The OrcaVue GlamBot provides an alternative for clients with a more limited budget and are a great solution for photo booth activations at sporting, corporate and private events, sending guests away with scroll-stopping content to share with their friends and followers.
What Makes Robotic Slow-Motion Videos Look So Good?
Our eyes love movement in an image. When a camera is moved quickly, yet smoothly, over a large distance while keeping the subject in focus, the resulting video is naturally compelling. OrcaVue Glambots make these types of shots possible.
Key to producing this content is an arm that enables the camera to travel a large distance. This capability is termed “reach.” Reach is determined by extending the arm horizontally and measuring the distance between the central pivot point of the robot and the camera lens at the end of the arm. The OrcaVue Glambot has a reach of 5′-6″ and can move a camera across a distance that is approximately double this amount–or 11′. Note though, that most shots will not keep the arm perfectly horizontal and will instead move it into all sorts of contortions as part of a pre-programmed path. When the arm bends to accommodate these moves, it uses up valuable reach, which makes it even more important to start with an ample amount.
In summary, Glambots with greater reach and faster motion produce the best videos.
Types of Robotic Camera Systems
There are three types of robotic camera systems:
Cinematic Robotic Systems
Cinematic Glambots, like the one Cole Walliser uses at his events, place heavy cinema-quality cameras and lenses at the end of a high-speed robot arm that is capable of delivering camera movement with no visible shake as it accelerates and decelerates through pre-programmed movements. These cinematic robot arms produce the highest-quality videos with perfectly smooth and stable shots. They use expensive cameras with low aperture settings and very high frame rates, which allows them to create flawless ultra-slow motion video. As you might imagine, keeping a cinema camera perfectly in focus while the arm whips around is no small matter. This problem is generally addressed by using an external motorized focus puller. Configuring these devices as well as the many other parameters required for using a cinematic system is a technical process that often requires trained operators and technicians.
Photo Booth Robotic Systems
Photo Booth robots also move a camera at a high speed through pre-programmed movements similar to those of a cinematic system. These devices also have a reach that is comparable to a cinematic robot. The difference is that instead of using the heavy professional cameras found on their cinematic cousins, Photo Booth bots rely upon lighter-weight action cameras, such as a GoPro. The benefits of this are several-fold:
- Action cameras don’t weigh much. This allows the robot components to be reduced in strength and weight, which creates a much more portable solution and dramatically cuts the costs of motors and the other parts.
- Action cameras have built-in stabilization. Because the photo booth arms are lighter and the motors/gears have been reduced, they sometimes vibrate slightly as they move through a pre-programmed movement. This can be particularly noticeable when stopping at the end of a fast move. Fortunately this is exactly the kind of movement the internal stabilization of action cameras was built to address. Think about the crazy-mountain-bike or snow-board (or even just jogging) videos that you may have seen–all of which are eerily smooth. In comparison, a photo booth robot is an easy challenge.
- Action cameras were created with lightning quick auto-focus and appropriate apertures. As noted earlier, cinematic cameras need external focus pullers; the auto-focus in mirrorless and DSLR cameras are also slow and require similar help. Fortunately, action cameras were designed to shoot at high frame rates (240 fps or 1:8 slow motion) while keeping the subject crisp and clean, which happens, again, to perfectly suit the needs of a photo booth robot.
Ultimately, action cameras allow photo booth Glambots to deliver superb video at 1/10th the cost and 1/100th the complexity of a cinematic Glambot. We have found that a GoPro 12 used in conjunction with the OrcaVue Glambot delivers excellent quality at 1:8-speed slow motion, making it a solution that is practical from a cost standpoint and desirable from a client standpoint.
Mini Cobot Arms
In an effort to quickly jump in on the trend, some companies have begun selling mini robotic arms (commonly known as “cobots”). These robots were originally manufactured to complete repetitive tasks on an assembly line or in a lab as opposed to arcing through the movement paths desired by videographers. As such, they can replicate some aspects of what photo booth robots are able to achieve, but because they generally only care about moving something from point A to point B (and none of the points in between) they have limited control possibilities and interfaces, which results in less-than-ideal movements. Equally important is that they have limited reach and can typically only span distances of a few feet. Some add a slider-base component, but these aren’t really effective because the bases often then end up in the camera’s field-of-view, particularly for the kinds of shots these systems are known for. The net result is video footage that is not as dramatically captivating. Also worth noting is that most/all of these robot arms are manufactured overseas and, as a result, will limit the ability of companies to service them in the United States.
How Do Robotic Camera Systems Work?
All of these systems move a video camera through a pre-programmed path using a robotic arm.
The short reach of the Cobot systems constrains the movement the camera, resulting in limited shots without much “wow” factor.
On the other hand, cinema-quality robots have a great reach but are relatively complicated, requiring teams of technically skilled people to move, set up, operate, film, and edit videos that are created with the camera rig. All of this comes at great expense, limiting these systems to big-budget events.
Photo Booth robots, on the other hand, are designed to be more approachable. The best models, such as the OrcaVue Glambot, can be set up and operated by a single staff member in just a few minutes while at the same time capturing the long-reach shots of the cinematic systems. These types of robots are generally paired with common photo booth software to automatically edit and deliver videos to guests at an event.
Purchasing an OrcaVue Glambot
The price of a robotic system depends on what type you are looking to purchase.
When it comes to Cinematic robots, the Bolt series offered by MRMC has been the go-to brand for producing cinema-quality Glambot shots. As of March 2024, mrmoco.com lists the price of their entry-level Bolt Mini Model Mover at £45,000, or $57,000. The site also mentions that their Bolt Jr+ Glambot product has a package price starting from only £85,000 or $107,800. Pricing for other Bolt Glambots requires inquirers to request a quote.
Photo Booth robots have much more approachable price points. For example, the OrcaVue GlamBot starts at only $11,990. Despite the much lower price, our robot has a reach that is comparable to a cinematic systems. It’s worth noting that Photo Booth robots are a relatively new product, and many photo booth hardware companies are only offering them for the first time in 2025. As a result, there is currently a great deal of variation among systems in terms of specifications and actual capabilities. Be sure to conduct thorough research before purchasing one for your photo business.
For more information on purchasing the right robot for your business, read our blog post, “12 Questions You Should Ask Before Purchasing A Robotic Camera System“
Photo Booth Software for The OrcaVue Glambot
A photo booth software app is required to automatically capture, edit and deliver footage shot with the OrcaVue Glambot at an event. Presently we include the same bluetooth control capabilities in our robots that we use for our 360 booths. This enables existing photo booth software apps that use this bluetooth integration to also provide basic control of one of the OrcaVue Glambot. An extended protocol that includes many more options is currently being developed and will be released shortly. It will be available in many of the same apps. Basic integration is presently available in :
How To Set Up the OrcaVue Glambot
The OrcaVue Glambot is very easy to set up, and by following the steps below it only takes about five minutes to get started!
- Move the road case containing the packed robot into position.
- Tip the road case up onto the robot’s exposed feet.
- Remove the clamshell sides of the road case.
- Adjust the leveling feet.
- Pull the built-in display back into the working position.
- Plug the Glambot into an AC power connection using the supplied 12 ft cord.
- Insert a GoPro into the camera cage at the top of the arm.
- Connect the GoPro to the USB-C cable at the head.
- Connect an iPad to the USB-C port on the rear of the robot.
- Press the unfold button on the operator display to put the arm into its initial position.
- Use the built-in laser to point to the subject’s standing position.
- Mark the spot with a small piece of tape.
- Start your preferred app on the iPad.
- Select a move and then press start in the app you are using!
