Robe has announced a comprehensive suite of software updates for its RoboSpot remote follow spot system.
Building on the momentum of recent technical milestones such as the integration of sACN and RDM Net support, combining the recent v7.4 “New Year, New Features” release with the previous v7.3 “Operator’s Picks” update, these software enhancements directly address feedback from lighting designers and operators worldwide, delivering unprecedented precision, customisation, and workflow efficiency.
These updates reinforce Robe’s commitment to continuous platform development, ensuring RoboSpot remains the industry’s endgame for remote follow spotting.
New features include:
• sACN and RDM Net support: Productions can now use RoboSpot and supported devices purely on Ethernet networks, eliminating the need for running XLR-based DMX cables to the BaseStation. The system offers flexibility; XLR DMX and sACN output can be combined within a shared addressing space, allowing some fixtures to run on DMX and others on sACN simultaneously. Device discovery is handled via RDM Net, ensuring robust and scalable setups for any venue size.
• Position and Channel Fade Times: Operators can now define fade times for position buttons (up to 10 seconds) for silky smooth automatic tracking between two points. If they need to stop the transition, they can double-press the button for an instant snap to final destination. Additionally, new Channel Fade Control (up to 1 second) for Dimmer, Iris, Zoom, and Focus channels eliminate manual jitter, enabling new possibilities when operating in standalone mode without a console.
• Expanded Preset Storage: Storage capacity has been significantly increased to four pages of slots for both colors (up to 32 slots) and positions (up to 36 slots), giving you even more freedom to organise your workflow.
• Enhanced Colour Buttons: The colour system is now smarter. A long press opens a context menu where operators can manually select desired colour or directly input precise hue and saturation values for maximum precision. This makes it easier to reproduce identical colours across multiple units, eliminating visual mismatches and ensuring consistent output during programming and live operation. Additionally, they can assign specific color either to the fixture, the pixel follower, or both. Furthermore, a new “Edit” function has been added to colour buttons for quick adjustments on the fly.
• Dedicated Long Throw (LT) Button: When compatible fixtures like the iFORTE LTX WB, iESPRITE LTL WB or iPAINTE LTM WB are connected, the system automatically detects them and displays a dedicated LT button, allowing for instant mode switching without menu diving.
• Fixture & MAPS Reset: A new feature called Fixture Reset waits for operators under the Wrench menu. It reads all connected devices, displays them in a group by fixture type, and allows operators to trigger quick, specific feature resets or complete unit resets for an entire group of identical fixtures simultaneously. This now also includes the ability to remotely enable/disable static reset for MAPS-enabled fixtures, significantly speeding up the troubleshooting process.
• Refined MDC Setup: The Multi Device Control setup process is now more intuitive. The wording of the wizard has been reworded to reduce misunderstandings, and the reference fixture is no longer highlighted to prevent confusion. Additionally, operators can now utilise colours during the MDC setup process, helping them to visually distinguish which fixtures are being used for the setup.
• Dynamic Crosshair: Through a new and simple setup wizard, operators can configure the crosshair to dynamically change its size in real time. By defining minimum and maximum values, the crosshair scales automatically based on the current fader or wheel input for either Zoom or Iris. Additionally, you can toggle the Target Cross Sensitivity feature, which changes the crosshair colour (Green/Orange/Red) to visually indicate the current handle sensitivity level.
• Enhanced Visibility: Users can now adjust GUI Transparency to maximise screen real estate and also enable a Value Change overlay to briefly see what channel is changing and its value, so they can keep their focus on the main monitor screen.
• Connectivity & DMX Feedback: A long-requested feature that shows the RoboSpot is receiving a signal from the console has been implemented. Now the operators will see a new icon in the top right corner, letting them know that they are connected to the console. The Enhanced DMX Dimmers/Iris window has also been improved. It has better and more precise responsiveness and now displays more information, like Iris values and clear status indicators (White, Orange, Red) to instantly show which parameters are active for that particular fixture.
The followspotting community is constantly growing and discovering new ideas. We hope that with these software updates, we show you that we are listening. Our goal at Robe is to give you the best tools, and we want you to help us shape what we are doing with the RoboSpot.
RoboSpot is an innovative remote followspot system that enhances safety and boosts value for any production; a system that allows operators to work in safe, comfortable environments and productions to achieve spectacular visuals, no matter what.
