Our Follow-Me systems sometimes get comments from users that there is too much latency, signal delay or the tracking is slow.

In almost every case, none of these issues are really the issue of the system. Any perceived slowness is coming from the response time of the automated fixtures being used.

Remember, these are mechanical devices, the speed for the fixture to start or stop moving or to change complete direction is the issue – Merely a quarter or half a second to get up to full speed (or decelerate to zero) is enough to make the tracking look poor. Meaning fixtures are the weakest link in the tracking world. Even considering all the other signal processes – Console to switches, Follow-Me to Nodes, etc – that latency is merely milliseconds.

For our automated tracking product, Follow-Me Track-iT, we use Ultra Wideband (UWB) radio as the technology. Radio waves travel at the speed of light & we take measurements (by default) 40 times per second. Thats 2400 measurements per every Anchor & per every Tag per minute! The speed of the tracking is perfection.

For the manual tracking version, Follow-Me 3D, the speed of the fixture is equally important, but also the speed of the operator to follow – and to pay attention and follow the target. We even have a sensitivity setting on our Mouse console hardware that helps with this!

As part of the training we give to new users, we show you various techniques to eliminate the fixture speed issues as much as possible – but if you have a really old, big or heavy fixture, it may potentially struggle to keep up with the tracking.

The smaller & lighter the fixture, the better it is generally, but other factors affect all of this too – 

• Microprocessor control & motor type/quality in the fixtures. 

• Whether the fixture has a ‘followspot mode’ is also a nice feature, that helps speed up the fixture for working with tracking systems – not all fixtures have it. 

• General quality of a manufacturers components, software and hardware.

• Distance between the target & the fixture (throw distance). A fixture 60 metres away from a target may only have to move a few centimetres to cover most of the tracking area. If it is using high quality 16-bit motors it should look good, but anything less & that movement could look ‘steppy’.

We don’t give out weight limits, preferred size, or specifics about which Brands or model names to use. But you can easily imagine a 20kg fixture and a 50kg fixture could potentially accelerate at very different rates.

Thankfully, more and more fixture manufacturers realise the increasing use and importance of Follow-Me systems in show design. Therefore components & software are getting improved and overhauled to make fixtures faster to accelerate/decelerate. We encourage you to lobby the manufacturers collectively with us to continue this change of mindset.

In the meantime, you must adapt the system to get it finely tuned and working with whatever fixtures you’ll be using. Please ensure the fixtures are set to their fastest pan/tilt speed in their menu settings, that may already help significantly. 

Note that fan speed settings in fixtures can also have an impact of fixture speed – please bear that in mind for your fixtures too.

One of the tools used in Follow-Me to help with slow moving fixtures is called Fixture Prediction. Found under the ‘Fixtures’ tab and the ‘Fixture Settings’ sub-tab.

Prediction allows us to add milliseconds (ms) of time on a fixture-by-fixture basis to predict the path of the performer. Essentially speeding up the fixture by putting it virtually ahead of the performer.

If you have relatively modern fixtures, maybe all of the same type just need the same number of ms. Whereas, much older fixtures may need a different amount of ms for each fixture bearing in  mind all fixtures age differently due to wearing of components – belts, gears, springs, etc.

From the drop down we can see 3 options of prediction.

‘Target Current Position’ means no prediction is entered and we’re

only considering that current position of the Target.

‘Target Predicted Position’ means the fixtures are using the prediction set on the ‘Targets’ tab, under the ‘Others’ sub-tab.

“Custom Fixture Prediction’ is where we can set prediction per fixture or selection of multiple fixtures.

Prediction should be used with care. If you see the fixtures lagging behind the target, starting at zero, add prediction in small increments, maybe 10ms at a time. Once you see the fixture keeping up with the target stop there. Adding extra prediction past the threshold will result in overshooting and bouncing back & will not look so nice.

Note – In general, the prediction function can artificially speed up slow moving lights by calculating (predicting) the performers position in the near future. However, this function cannot fully compensate for slow moving lights in fast shows.

Have a great install & reach out to us if you need help!

Your Follow-Me team.