Ponder the saying, “a picture is worth a thousand words.” Typical digital video formats play at 30 frames per second. A frame is essentially a picture. By the same formula, a minute of video is worth 1.8 million words. Video, this highly effective tool of communication, was for a long time monopolized by entities rich enough to buy TV advertising times and hire expensive production studios. As cameras, editing software, and online video sharing platforms become cheaper and more accessible everyday, it is now impossible to talk about the ubiquity of online videos in public affairs campaigns without sounding a little clichéd. Even the privilege of live broadcast has now proliferated to anybody who can afford a camera, a laptop and Internet access.

Live streaming, online distribution of video footages in real time, has been used in sporting events, concerts, political rallies and all types of conferences and interviews. Just one glance at www.ustream.tv, one of the leading providers of live streaming services, is enough to convince you that “having your own live show” is as mundane an affair as making an intercontinental phone call today. Compared to recorded videos, live shows offer viewers the unique sense of involvedness, simultaneity and interactivity. Also, live shows bypass the long turnaround time and high postproduction costs that are usually associated with producing recorded video.

Anybody can be trained to use the Ustream.tv interface within 30 minutes and the service is free. A less than $500 initial investment is all it takes to broadcast one’s life 24/7 like Jim Carry’s Truman Show. For Public Affairs companies though, the biggest challenge in running these low budget live streaming events is hardware compatibility. Unlike broadcasting from a studio or an office, Public Affairs campaigns happen in auditoriums, town halls, restaurants and even moving vehicles. Campaigns are highly dynamic environments. Equipment must be up and running at very short notice, but every venue has its own network and audio infrastructure. These highly variable local infrastructures are not always compatible with the equipment of the visiting crew. A joke among live streaming crews is that “every time we come to a job, the first thing we look for is where the nearest Radio Shack is”. This also means not everybody can be a live videographer for such campaigns without training in IT and audio equipment. Jargons like “Static IP” and “male 1/8 inch TRS” make ordinary employees shy away from doing live streaming in unfamiliar venues.

A commercially available robot, costing less than $200, may solve some of these the hardware compatibility problem. “Rovio” is the name given to a mobile webcam made by WowWee Group, a leading developer of consumer robotic technology. While it isn’t perfect, Rovio holds a lot of promise for the future of videography. At first glance, Rovio looks like an alien probe from a Sci-Fi movie or a Mars Rover launched by NASA. It has a pentagon shaped platform, mounting on three Omni-directional wheels. The camera is located on Rovio’s “neck,” a robotic arm that can extend from the pentagon platform. Rovio’s neck can perform pedestal and frontal tilt movements similar to a small tripod. The three Omni-directional wheels enable Rovio to perform what cinematographers consider as panoramic rotation and dolly action. Rovio has built-in microphones and speakers. It is remotely controlled through Wi-Fi signals.

Rovio’s built-in audio system means that live streaming no longer needs to draw audio feeds from the local sound mixer. Traditionally, video crews either have to bring their own microphones and mixers, which entails financial cost to the client and it takes a long time to set up; or they have to bring multiple cables and connectors hoping the local sound mixer will have a spare output and the right socket type. Built-in microphones in cameras are usually dismissed as an option, because these microphones have to stay very close to the sound source to capture good quality sound, while the camera operator usually stays at the back of the room. Rovio, given its small size and remote controllability, can get “close and personal” to the people speaking without blocking the live audience’s view of the speakers.

Traditionally, setting up an Internet connection for live streaming at a strange venue can be a daunting task. People without decent IT knowledge are ill equipped to run this type of live show. Most Public Affairs companies do not have a very large video department. Video specialists in these companies either have to travel constantly, or ask for bigger budgets to hire local crews. With Rovio, any employee, who does not have to be an IT and video expert, can just bring the robot to the venue and set it up with ease. He then calls up the video specialist at his corporate office and the video specialist will handle the rest remotely. A video specialist can run a show in DC in the morning and another show in LA by lunch without ever leaving his office in Chicago. Even running multiple shows at the same time becomes a possibility.

It has to be noted that Rovio has some obvious flaws. It is more a step in the right direction, rather than the ultimate solution. For example, live streaming through a Wi-Fi network is generally not advisable. Wi-Fi networks can barely produce the upload speed necessary for live video distribution and wireless connections are open to many types of interference. Another shortcoming is that Rovio’s viewer-end interface is not designed for massive distribution. Its current design is more suitable for small-scale videoconference. If the stream is embedded on a public facing website, Rovio’s streaming bandwidth may not support hundreds of viewers watching at the same time.

Nonetheless, the advent of Rovio shows that the Robotic Age of Public Affairs is a lot closer than most people would have guessed. This genre of technology is worth keeping an eye on. Wireless networks are getting faster and more robust everyday. Do not be surprised if your competitor brings a self-docking, free-roaming robot to their next pitching presentation.