WO2019203652A1

WO2019203652A1 - System for reporting a sports competition

Info

Publication number: WO2019203652A1
Application number: PCT/NL2019/050238
Authority: WO
Inventors: Wilfried Josephus Johannes KOUIJZER; Job VISSERS
Original assignee: Kouijzer Wilfried Josephus Johannes
Priority date: 2018-04-19
Filing date: 2019-04-19
Publication date: 2019-10-24
Also published as: NL2020789B1

Abstract

The present invention relates to a system for reporting an event, such as a sports competition, for example cycling, wherein athletes move from start to finish and one or more vehicles provided with a camera ride with the athletes, said camera films the athletes during said event, the video and sound feeds therefrom are sent to a receiving station, which then sends these feeds to a control room, wherein at least one of said vehicles is provided with one or more remotely controllable cameras positioned on said vehicle.

Description

Title: System for reporting a sports competition

DESCRIPTION

The present invention relates to a system for reporting an event, such as a sports competition, for example cycling, wherein athletes move from start to finish and one or more vehicles provided with a camera ride with the athletes, said camera films the athletes during the event, the video and sound feeds therefrom are sent to a receiving station, which then sends these feeds to a control room.

One of the biggest sport events in the world is the Tour de France. Nowadays the Tour de France is broadcast in around 200 countries with about 70 channels offering live coverage. The networks that cover the event live, set up their broadcast booths in a 5000 square meter (3.1 square mile) technical area that is located at the finish line of each day's stage. The technical area includes 120 trucks, 60 kilometres (37.3 miles) of cable, and 90 commentators in broadcast booths. Live footage comes from cameramen on camera bikes that ride with the athletes, i.e. the cyclists, and two camera-equipped helicopters that follow the race. Several of the bikes in the race can be equipped with action cameras, such as GoPro cameras. The video and sound feeds from all of these sources are sent via a high- frequency (HF) link to a helicopter which then sends the combined feed to two airplanes that fly above the helicopters. The planes send the feed to a receiving station set up in the technical area at the finish of the stage.

TV coverage is easy at the start of each stage because the riders leave the starting line in a controlled peloton riding behind a pace car. Once the peloton gets out of the start town and riding conditions are safer, the start flag drops and it's on. Usually right away there are furious attempts to form a breakaway group and the race is quickly spread out over a considerable distance. There are often not enough cameras to cover everything that is happening once the bunch splits up and the camera bikes zoom back and forth through the race endangering themselves and the riders.

The TV camera bikes are not the only vehicles on the road with the cyclists. Far from it. Each team has two support cars. If a team has a rider in a breakaway that is at least one minute ahead, one of said cars is allowed to pass the peloton and follow behind the breakaway. In addition to the team cars, there are several medical cars and motor cycles with doctors that can get to riders quickly in case of a crash, and ambulances. Furthermore cars and motor cycles with mechanics (spare parts), soigneurs (drinking bottles, energy bars/gels), press and jury officials are also on the road. In practice each camera bike carries a driver and a cameraman with only one camera.

At this moment, the footage of the cameras is relayed via a HF-feed to two higher-flying helicopters which follow the length of the stage. These in turn beam the footage to a plane which slowly circles high above. It does slow loops to stay as near as possible to the helicopters, meaning the turbulence can be extremely rough. A second, back-up plane circles even higher, above any potential weather problems, to ensure coverage is uninterrupted.

For the photographers and cameramen whose job it is to bring the action to life for the print media and TV audiences, getting close to the action is paramount, and there’s almost as much pressure on them as there is on the racers. In certain situations the driver of the camera bike with the motorbike TV cameraman standing up on the motor cycle footpegs is as close to the riders as the driver of that motor cycle can ever be. Obviously the key is never hinder or even to touch a rider. In practice now and again a cyclist will lean against the motorbike as the driver of that motorbike is going past the bunch or the driver of that motor bike might touch the cyclists with his handlebars.

It is well known that shooting at the front of the race is the most technically difficult, because by UCI Cycling Regulations the motorbike TV cameraman has to sit forward while turning sideways or backwards to point the camera at the riders.

In addition, when the motorbike TV cameraman is on the motor bike that films at the back of a group or the peloton he has to stand up on the motor cycle footpegs all day doing the same shot, sometimes for 240 km on the longest stages. There is no break. If someone crashes or drops out, the motorbike TV cameraman has to be there filming ready to get the shot. Also the pave stages are very difficult for the motorbike TV cameraman because it’s so bumpy and there can be a lot of crashes.

There’s also the ever-present danger from the crowds, which can introduce a source of fatigue that’s not obvious from the outside. Sometimes it seems miraculous that there aren’t more incidents where riders collide with camera bikes, or vice versa. In addition, the riders are faster than the camera bikes on descents. Furthermore, around certain corners and roundabouts it’s quite difficult to flick-flack a motorbike about, but the sheer narrowness of the bicycle means they can almost straight-line a roundabout, for example. On a motorbike with panniers you might be going at 30-40kmh and there’s not a lot in it, but the driver of that motorbike has to make sure he is doing at least the same speed as the riders are.

In recent years, many accidents have occurred between cyclists and in-race motorcycles, even yielding fatal injuries. In a scientific article written by Blocken B, Toparlar Y, Andrianne T. 2016, title“Aerodynamic benefit for a cyclist by a following motorcycle”, Journal of Wind Engineering and Industrial Aerodynamics 155: 1-10, wind-tunnel measurements and Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) simulations were performed to assess cyclist drag reduction when followed by one, two or three motorcycles. The cyclist drag reduction goes up to 8.7% for a single trailing motorcycle and to 13.9% for three trailing motorcycles at a distance of 0.25 m behind the cyclist. The authors argued that in-race motorcycles are not only more dangerous but also aerodynamically more influential and that there is the necessity for the International Cycling Union to change the rules concerning in-race motorcycles, not only to avoid accidents but also to avoid unwanted aerodynamic benefits.

US 2004/013192 relates to a live information system comprising a remote portion comprising one or more sources of information, means for encoding the information into a compressed digital form, means for processing the compressed data into packets, and a plurality of digital wireless modems for simultaneously transmitting respective data packets to provide an increased bandwidth channel, and a receiving portion for reassembling the received data packets. Such a system can be applied in sport, for example, to the transmission of video information showing the live driver's view from a moving rally car during competition; in newsgathering, and in security.

US 2009/150965 relates to a method for viewing a sports event on television and to an application that allows the viewer to follow participants as they traverse a course, comprising receiving first data at an application indicating locations of different points along the course; receiving tracking data at the application that is obtained by tracking a location of the at least one participant as the at least one participant traverses the course; displaying, on the television, via the application, a graphic showing the locations of the different points of the course based on the first data, and showing a location of the at least one participant on the course, based on the tracking data; and updating the graphic to show changes in the location of the at least one participant as the at least one participant traverses the course.

According to the UCI Cycling Regulations motor-cycles shall manoeuvre in such a way as neither to help nor hinder the progress of the riders. Cameramen may not film as they overtake the bunch unless the road is wide enough. In the mountains and on climbs, filming shall be carried out from behind. Motor-cycles may not manoeuvre in the proximity of riders when their passengers are not filming or recording.

On basis of the above discussion motor cycles have to drive around with a cameraman and his equipment on the back, e.g. the buddy seat, of that motor. The total weight of those motor cycles is about 300 kg. And the weight of the driver and the cameraman including video equipment is about 200 kg. Please note that the weight of a video camera alone is nearly 10 kg. Thus the total weight of such a motor cycle is about 500 kg. A disadvantage of such a heavy weight on two wheels is the lack of agility. The sports competition is a very dynamic and unpredictable event, not only with regard to the athletes but the road conditions as well. The cameraman is moving around with a bulky, relatively heavy camera, making balancing and safety for both, i.e. the driver and the camera man, a serious issue. In addition, the position of the athletes during the sports competition may change in few seconds and the driver of the camera bike has to respond immediately to the actual situation. This means that the driver of the camera bike has to decide within a split second which position he has to choose on the road. It is clear that it is not without risk to manipulate a weight of about 500 kg on two wheels. Further complications arise from the fact that if the cameraman is standing up, the centre of gravity of the combination lies much higher than normal, i.e. the situation with the cameraman sitting down. Thus, a heavy motor cycle with the cameraman is difficult to manoeuvre, especially at high speed, at sharp corners and at roundabouts and descents.

An aspect of the motor cycle with the cameraman and his equipment on the back is that the cameraman can only handle one single camera. This means that the cameraman can only produce one shot of the athletes. For another shot of the athletes another motor cycle with another cameraman and his equipment on the back is necessary. Thus, a lot of such camera bikes are present during the sports competition, even at the same place, for example at the head of the race. And the presence of many motor cycles with cameramen in the sports even may lead to dangerous situations for the athletes.

Furthermore, sports competitions take place in all sorts of weather. The combination of two persons on the heavy motor bike and weather is physically very demanding on both.

Various other officials, they move around a lot less than cameramen, like jury members and“bordeurs” (who show info to the athletes on a slate, for example time differences) are also passengers on motorbikes and they have the same weather issues to cope with. However, these combinations, i.e. jury members and“bordeurs”, are less mobile during the race than cameramen. In practice motorbikes with GPS- related timing have no fixed position with respect to the athletes thereby making timing inaccurate.

An aspect of the present invention is to provide a system for reporting an event such as a sports competition wherein one or more of the disadvantages mentioned above are removed.

An aspect of the present invention is to provide a system for reporting an event such as a sports competition wherein vehicles, such as motor cycles, also identified here as camera bikes, that provide the footage of the athletes during the sports competition are less heavy and more agile.

The present invention thus relates to a system for reporting an event, such as a sports competition, for example cycling, wherein athletes move from start to finish and one or more vehicles provided with a camera ride with the athletes, said camera films the athletes during said event, the video and sound feeds therefrom are sent to a receiving station, which then sends these feeds to a control room, characterized in that at least one of said vehicles is provided with one or more remotely controllable cameras positioned on said vehicle.

One or more of the above identified objects are obtained by the present invention. The term“reporting” includes not only the registration, but also the transmission of video stream(s), sound stream(s) and data stream(s). Thus, reporting an event can be interpreted as broadcasting an event. Examples of one or more vehicles are chosen from the group consisting of motor cycles, trikes, quads and drones, preferably a motor cycle, also identified here as motorbike. For a better understanding of the present invention the vehicle to be used in the present system for reporting an event, such as a sports competition, for example cycling, is a motorbike. However, the present invention is not restricted to such a specific example of a vehicle, nor to the number of vehicles provided with one or more remotely controllable cameras.

The term camera bike as used here refers to a motorbike for filming the athletes. By replacing the cameramen and their single bulky cameras by one or more remotely controllable cameras positioned on the camera bike the reduced movements and weight will make the camera bike much easier and safer to control in all circumstances. This will result in a situation wherein a lighter and even less powerful motorbike, i.e. less expensive, can be used for filming the athletes. In addition, a lighter motorbike results in a lower emission of harmful substances, such as CO, CO₂ and NO_x, which lower emission is highly beneficial for the wellness of the athletes. For example, one or more cameramen can be replaced by one or more remotely controllable auto tracking cameras positioned on the camera bike. In such a situation the camera bike is much easier and safer to control in descents, around corners and roundabouts. According to the present invention the cameramen will no longer be present on the camera bike and the only person on that camera bike is the driver itself.

According to the present invention it is now possible to equip one single camera bike with one or more cameras thereby increasing the number of shots that such a single camera bike can produce during the sports competition. As a result, it is now sufficient to have only one single camera bike producing different shots from a certain position in the race. Switching instantaneously from one camera to another or display the video feeds side by side, split-screen mode is now an option. In addition, electric camera bikes will be suitable for use as a camera bike in a system for reporting a sports competition, such as cycling. The electric camera bikes do not produce any noise and toxic exhaust gases. For example, a camera bike is a motor cycle provided with one or more remotely controllable cameras positioned on the motor cycle. Such a camera bike is driven by a driver.

According to the present invention the cameramen will no longer be present on the camera bike and the only person on that camera bike is the driver itself. The reduction in weight is thus substantial. As discussed above, the total weight of a fully equipped motor cycle is about 500 kg, whereas in the situation according to the present invention the total weight of a fully equipped, lighter, camera bike is about 380 kg, i.e. a reduction of more than 20%. Furthermore, the centre of gravity is not effected anymore by the moving cameraman and his heavy camera.

In the situation according to the present invention one or more cameramen are no longer sitting on the back of the motor cycles but they may be comfortably seated in a control room, for example a climate controlled trailer, where they will control one or more of the remotely controllable cameras positioned on the camera bike. The cameramen may be equipped with video glasses resulting in a big virtual screen which makes identification of the individual athletes much easier and generally results in a much less amount of strain on their eyes when compared to a normal TV screen or monitor. Using these video glasses they may choose a large, full resolution image for the preferred stream and smaller, possibly lower, resolution ones for one or more of the remotely controllable cameras positioned on the camera bike. Thus, the cameramen in the situation according to the present invention are no longer involved in the camera shots of one single camera but are involved in several camera shots produced by the remotely controllable cameras positioned on the camera bikes driving in the race. Furthermore, the cameramen can now provide the driver of the motor cycle with specific information, such as the desired position of that motor cycle during the race. This means that the cameramen sitting in the control room can communicate with the driver of the motor cycle during the race.

In an embodiment of the present invention one or more remotely controllable cameras are controllable in one or more features, i.e. mechanical, optical and/or electronical features, chosen from the group of height, rotation, tilt, focus, zoom, diaphragm, and resolution, or a combination thereof. According to such a group of features it is possible to film details of the athletes without getting too close to the athletes. In an embodiment one or more remotely controllable cameras can be positioned close to the road surface for making shots from the athletes from the bottom.

The present inventors noticed that motor cycles may also influence the fairness of the competition either by giving an advantage, for example by reducing the air resistance of windage of the athletes or disadvantage when being slower in corners, roundabouts or on descents where they also endanger the athletes. In addition, when the motor cycles are too close to some of the athletes, the others may not see them anymore thereby affecting the fairness of the competition as well.

In an embodiment of the present invention one or more remotely controllable cameras are independently controllable in one or more i.e. mechanical, optical and/or electronical features, chosen from the group of height, rotation, tilt, focus, zoom, diaphragm, and resolution, or a combination thereof. This aspect enables an individual control of the cameras thereby obtaining different types of shots from the athletes. The camera bike should take a specific position, so as not to hinder or endanger riders or give a (dis)advantage to the riders during the race. An exception could be made to briefly go past the breakaway group to see which riders are in it. In an embodiment of the present invention the vehicle is provided with at least two remotely controllable cameras. For example, in an embodiment when two remotely controllable cameras are present on a single camera bike, the one mounted on the front can be used to film for shots behind an athlete or a group of athletes, and the other mounted on the back can be used for taking shots from the front of an athlete or group of athletes. However, the present invention is not related to a specific number of remotely controllable cameras that are present on a single vehicle.

In an embodiment of the present invention at least one of said one or more remotely controllable cameras is positioned on the back of said camera bike. Such a way of positioning of at least one of said one or more remotely controllable cameras allows the camera bike to take a fixed position in front of the athletes. This fixed position with respect to the athletes allows for a more safely riding of the camera bike as well as a more accurate GPS positioning, without any other influences, positive or negative on the athletes. In an embodiment where two or more remotely controllable cameras are positioned on the back side of the motor cycle it is preferable that these cameras do not block each other, e.g. an unwanted interference of their sight. Due to the communication between the cameramen sitting in a control room and the driver of the motor cycle the driver can be provided with instructions from the cameramen to comply with regulations.

In an embodiment of the present invention the camera bike is provided with means for establishing the exact position of the camera bike, for example via GPS systems, the feed received therefrom is sent to said control room. In an embodiment of the present invention the motor cycle rider is the only person on the camera bike.

In an embodiment of the present invention the remotely controllable cameras are controlled from signals received from a control room. Some jury members may also be comfortably seated in an additional control room. These jury members may also be equipped with video glasses and may have access to video streams provided by the remotely controllable cameras, and they may even ask for other views. Thus, the jury members will be able to easily detect any transgressions of the athletes, cars and motorbikes. On basis of this, the number of motor bikes present in the competition can be significantly reduced and prevent them from hindering or endangering riders or give a (dis)advantage to the riders during the race.

In some types of competition the camera bikes may be equipped with a display that provides information to the athletes during the competition. Such a display can be programmed remotely and, for example, time gaps can be shown in real time to the athletes thereby further reducing the number of motor cycles in the race, i.e. the so-called “bordeurs”. Because several camera bikes are almost permanently in the same position with respect to all the groups of athletes and the individual athletes, the GPS-derived timing info from these camera bikes is always real-time and thus very accurate.

It is also possible to provide the sport reporters with video glasses resulting in a big virtual screen which makes identification of the individual athletes much easier and generally results in a much less amount of strain on their eyes. The booth of the sport reporters will not increase in size, which could have been the case with a bigger screen. A disadvantage of such a bigger screen is that its size would block the view of the sport reporters on the athletes during the final metres of the stage.

In an embodiment of the present invention the camera bikes are provided with means for measuring the distance between the camera bike and the athletes, especially the athletes in the front, the feed received therefrom is sent to a control room. By equipping the camera bike with a system to measure the distance to the athletes a range-indication can be integrated in the dashboard of the camera bike, allowing the driver of that camera bike to be at a, within for example one or two meter- range, fixed distance, preferably on the other side of the road with respect to the athletes, especially the athletes in the front. This can be done in relation with the speed of the athlete. In this way the camera bike will not influence, i.e. not hinder or endanger, the athletes or give an advantage or disadvantage to any of the athletes. Furthermore, on basis of the present invention the identification of the athletes, via their numbers positioned on their back, may be carried out more easily and with higher accuracy. In addition, due to the communication between the cameramen sitting in a control room and the driver of the motor cycle the driver can be easily provided with information and instructions from the cameramen or jury members, for example via earphones located in their helmets. Thus, although the cameramen are not present on the road, the cameramen are able to instruct the camera bike about its position during the race.

The resolution of the video feed is not critical, either it’s all filmed in HD, 4K or other (lower or higher resolution) formats. For example, a full HD camera with precise auto-tracking, auto-zoom and auto-focus functions, in order to always keep the athletes in close-up can be used. In addition motion-sensitive and smooth tracking technology, ensuring that the athletes are always in close-up, even if the athlete stays at the other athletes or rides away, can be used.

The type of transmission of the signals between the cameras, transmission and receiving station is not critical. The transmission may for example take place via HF to higher-flying helicopters or via telecommunication systems, such as 4G (or future versions 5G or higher). It is also possible that an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), commonly known as a drone, i.e. an aircraft without a human pilot aboard, is used. UAVs are a component of an unmanned aircraft system (UAS); which include a UAV, a ground-based controller, and a system of communications between the two. The flight of UAVs may operate with various degrees of autonomy: either under remote control by a human operator or autonomously by on-board computers.

According to an example even the athletes may be provided with one or more remotely controllable cameras, for example by fitting small cameras to riders or their equipment. The video and sound feeds therefrom are sent to a receiving station, which then sends these feeds to a control room, which transmission may be similar to the signals produced by the camera bike.

Although the above discussion is related to cycling events, other sport events may be mentioned here as well, such as running, horse riding, speed skating, in line skating, rowing, triathlon, and sailing, cross country running or skiing. The term athletes, riders and cyclists can be used interchangeable here. The term camera bike used in the present description refers to sport events that take place on the road. For sports events that take place in the water, such as the swim leg of a triathlon or sailing, other transport means can be used, such as camera boats. The term sports competition also includes training activities. The present invention is not restricted to anyone of the afore mentioned sports, nor to specific transport means for the camera.

The present invention will be discussed in detail hereafter.

Figure 1 provides a schematic diagram of a system for reporting a sports competition not according to the invention.

Figure 2 provides a schematic diagram of a system for broadcasting a sports competition according to the invention.

Figure 3 provides a top view of a bunch of cyclists and a camera bike with pilot and cameraman according to the prior art.

Figure 4 provides a top view of a bunch of cyclists and a camera bike with pilot according to the present invention.

Example

Figure 1 provides a schematic diagram of a system for reporting a sports competition not according to the invention. For clarity reasons of this figure, no athletes have been shown here. A motor cycle 1 with a driver 1 1 , the motor cycle 1 being provided with recording means 2, such as a camera, and communication means 3 drives on the road during a sports competition. Motor cycle 1 follows the course of the race and recording means 2 produces shots from the athletes. In practice several motor cycles are on the road during the course of the race. The data thus produced is transmitted as a signal 4 to a receiving or base station 6. From base station 6 the data is further transmitted to another station, for example a control room 9. Signal 4 may also be transmitted to an aircraft 5, for example a helicopter, aeroplane, drone etc. Aircraft 5 transmits the data as signal 8 to another station, for example control room 9. Node B is an example of a receiving or base station 6, i.e. the telecommunications node in particular mobile communication networks, namely those that adhere to the UMTS standard. The Node B provides the connection between mobile phones (UEs) and the wider telephone network. In 2017 UMTS is the dominating 3G standard but higher standards, such as 4G, 5G and even higher standards apply as well. In control room 9 the data received is processed, i.e. a production control room in which the composition of the outgoing program takes place. Control room 9 may communicate with another area 10, for example an additional room in which jury members may be seated.

Figure 2 provides a schematic diagram of a system for reporting a sports competition according to the invention. For clarity reasons of this figure, no athletes have been shown here. A motor cycle 1 provided with remotely controllable cameras 12 positioned on the back side of that motor cycle and communication means 3 drives on the road during a sports competition. The remotely controllable cameras 12 are controllable in one or more mechanical, optical and/or electronical features, chosen from the group of height, rotation, tilt, focus, zoom, diaphragm, and resolution, or a combination thereof. On motor cycle 1 a display 13 is present as well. Display 13 provides information about the event, such as time gaps, to the athletes during the event. From Figure 2 it is clear that driver 11 is the only person on motor cycle 1. Motor cycle 1 follows the course of the race and remotely controllable cameras 12 produce shots from the athletes. The data thus produced is transmitted as a signal 4 to a receiving or base station 6. From base station 6 the data is further transmitted to another station, for example a control room 9. Signal 4 may also be transmitted to an aircraft 5, for example a helicopter, aeroplane, drone etc. Aircraft 5 transmits the data as signal 8 to another station, for example control room 9. Node B is an example of a receiving or base station 6, i.e. the telecommunications node in particular mobile communication networks, namely those that adhere to the UMTS standard. The Node B provides the connection between mobile phones (UEs) and the wider telephone network. In 2017 UMTS is the dominating 3G standard but higher standards, such as 4G, 5G and even higher standards apply as well. From base station 6 the data is further transmitted to another station, for example a control room 9. In control room 9 the data received is processed, i.e. a production control room in which the composition of the outgoing program takes place. Control room 9 may communicate with another area 10, for example an additional room in which jury members may be seated. These jury members may be equipped with video glasses and may have access to video streams provided by the remotely controllable cameras 12, and they may even ask for other views. Thus, the jury members will be able to easily detect any transgressions of the athletes. In the embodiment shown in Figure 2 the cameramen are no longer sitting on the back of the motor cycles (see the embodiment shown in Figure 1) but they may be comfortably seated in an additional room, for example a climate controlled trailer, where they will control one or more of the remotely controllable cameras positioned on the camera bike. The cameramen may be equipped with video glasses resulting in a big virtual screen which makes identification of the individual athletes much easier and generally results in a much less amount of strain on their eyes when compared to a normal TV screen or monitor. Using these video glasses they may choose a large, full resolution image for the preferred stream and smaller, possibly lower, resolution ones for the other remotely controllable cameras positioned on the camera bike. Thus, the cameramen in the situation according to the present invention are no longer involved in the camera shots of one single camera but are involved in several camera shots produced by the remotely controllable cameras positioned on the camera bikes driving in the race. And the cameramen are in direct communication with the driver of the camera bike so the cameramen are able to provide instructions to the driver of the camera bike from a position remote from the race.

Figure 3 provides a top view of cyclists and a camera bike with pilot and cameraman according to the prior art. In the upper part of figure 3, on road 30 provided with a right barrier 31 and a left barrier 32 a breakaway group of cyclists 33 is riding with a camera bike with pilot and cameraman, identified with reference number 34, riding behind that bunch of cyclists 33. In the lower part of figure 3, a camera bike with pilot and cameraman, identified with reference number 34, is riding in front of the peloton of cyclists 33. According to the scientific article written by Blocken B, Toparlar Y, Andrianne T.as mentioned in the present description, the cyclist drag reduction goes up to 8.7% for a single trailing motorcycle and to 13.9% for three trailing motorcycles at a distance of 0.25 m behind the cyclist. This distance is not uncommon in elite races, as evidenced by the many recent accidents. The effect by a single following motorcycle at realistic short distances d=0.25 m (8.7%), d=0.5 m (6.4%) and d=1 m (3.8%) is larger than that by a following car at realistic short distance d=5 m (1.4%). In addition, the camera bike with pilot and cameraman 34 is a heavy weight construction that is difficult to manoeuvre. Although figure 3 only shows two camera bike with pilot and cameraman 34 it is clear that in practice several camera bikes with pilot and cameramen 34 are present. Moreover, during the sports event other motorcycles are present as well, such as bordeurs, jury members etc. Thus, due to the presence of all these vehicles a dangerous situation for the athletes is created. Therefore it could be argued that in-race motorcycles are not only more dangerous but also aerodynamically more influential.

Figure 4 provides a top view of a bunch of cyclists and a camera bike with pilot according to the present invention. In the upper part of figure 4, on road 40 provided with a right barrier 41 and a left barrier 42 a breakaway group of cyclists 33 is riding with a camera bike with pilot, identified with reference number 43, riding in front of that bunch of cyclists 33. The cameramen will no longer be present on the camera bike and the only person on that camera bike is the driver itself. Thus, camera bike with pilot 43 carries one or more remotely controllable cameras. The distance between the front wheel of the front cyclist riding in the breakaway group of cyclists 33 and the rear wheel of the camera bike with pilot is x. In an embodiment according to the invention, the value of x is more than 5 m. In an embodiment according to the invention the value of x is lower than 20 m. A preferred range for x is in a range of 10 to 15 m. In case x is less than 5 m, there is an unwanted aerodynamic benefit for the breakaway group of cyclists 33. In case x is more than 20 m, there is no unwanted aerodynamic benefit for the breakaway group of cyclists 33. Due to the presence of one or more remotely controllable cameras positioned on the camera bike 43 the cyclist drag reduction is much lower than in the situation disclosed in figure 3. In addition, the situation shown in figure 4 not only avoids accidents but also avoids unwanted aerodynamic benefits. Moreover, in the situation shown in figure 4 the number of in-race motorcycles can be drastically reduced compared to the situation shown in figure 3. The same benefits are valid for the situation shown in the lower part of figure 4.

Claims

1. System for reporting an event, such as a sports competition, for example cycling, wherein athletes move from start to finish and one or more vehicles provided with a camera ride with the athletes, said camera films the athletes during said event, the video and sound feeds therefrom are sent to a receiving station, which then sends these feeds to a control room, characterized in that at least one of said vehicles is provided with one or more remotely controllable cameras positioned on said vehicle.

2. System according to claim 1 , wherein said one or more remotely controllable cameras are controllable in one or more mechanical, optical and/or electronical features, chosen from the group of height, rotation, tilt, focus, zoom, diaphragm, and resolution, or a combination thereof.

3. System according to any one of claims 1-2, wherein said one or more remotely controllable cameras are independently from each other controllable in one or more mechanical, optical and/or electronical features, chosen from the group of height, rotation, tilt, focus, zoom, diaphragm, and resolution, or a combination thereof.

4. System according to any one of claims 1-3, wherein said one or more vehicles are chosen from the group consisting of motor cycles, trikes, quads and drones.

5. System according to claim 4, wherein said one or more vehicles are motor cycles.

6. System according to claim 5, wherein at least one of said one or more remotely controllable cameras is positioned on the back of said motor cycle.

7. System according to any one of claims 1-6, wherein said remotely controllable cameras are controlled from signals received from said control room.

8. System according to any one of claims 4-7, wherein the driver of said motor cycle is the only person on said motor cycle.

9. System according to any one of claims 1-8, wherein at least one of said vehicles is provided with means for measuring the distance between said vehicle and the athletes, the feed received therefrom is sent to said control room.

10. System according to claim 9, wherein information about said distance is shown to the driver of said vehicle.

1 1. System according to any one of claims 1-10, wherein at least one of said vehicles is provided with means for establishing the exact position of said vehicle during the event, the feed received therefrom is sent to said control room.

12. System according to any one of claims 1-1 1 , wherein at least one of said vehicles is further provided with a display, said display can be programmed remotely from said control room, wherein said display provides information about the event, such as time gaps, to the athletes during the event.