How the camera follows the ball

With the iPhone on a DockKit gimbal, KickCam finds the ball in every frame and turns the gimbal to keep it in the picture. Everything runs on the phone, so it works with no signal at the field.

Framed like a broadcast

• The camera frames the play around the ball, not just the ball: it leans a little towards where the players are, so you see the pass and the run, not a close-up of the ball.
• It doesn't chase every touch. The ball can move around the middle of the picture before the camera pans, then it pans smoothly and settles again.
• On corners, free kicks and goal kicks it holds steady on the ball, a touch wider, until it's played, instead of following players walking into the box.
• With the field marked in setup, it zooms in when the ball is on the far side and out when play comes close or spreads wide. Changing the lens yourself pauses this for 30 seconds.

How it works

• Ball detection: an on-device AI model looks for the ball many times a second, and looks closely around where the ball was last seen so a small, far ball is still found.
• Smooth follow: KickCam predicts where the ball is going and leads it slightly, so the camera pans smoothly instead of chasing.
• No false jumps: the ball must be seen several times in a row before the camera moves to it, and objects that never move (spare balls, cones, lights) are ignored.
• Only the field counts: once you've tapped the field's corners in setup, balls and people outside it (warm-ups, spectators, the next pitch) are ignored, and the camera won't pan past the ends of the field.
• Losing the ball: if the ball is hidden behind players or leaves the field, the camera holds for a moment, then follows the play, staying on the field.

Ball or Play

While recording with a gimbal, a chip at the top of the screen shows what the camera is following: Ball when it's tracking the ball, Play when it's following the players while the ball isn't seen.

Tracking modes

• Auto (the default): the camera follows the ball on its own.
• Assist: drag on the screen to steer. Auto follow resumes a couple of seconds after you let go.
• Manual: steer the gimbal with the on-screen joystick until you switch back to Auto.
• Hold: the gimbal stays still. Use it during breaks, drinks and injuries so the camera doesn't wander.
• Halftime: starting halftime switches to Hold. Ending it goes back to Auto.

If the camera loses the ball

• It holds still for a moment, in case the ball reappears where it was.
• Then it eases back towards the middle of the field and goes one lens wider, so the ball is easier to find.
• Once the ball is found, it follows it again and goes back to the lens you chose.
• Pointing the wrong way? Tap Re-centre on the camera phone, or on a phone paired as the Remote. It points back at the middle of the field and carries on following. This also happens by itself when the gimbal reconnects.

Zoom

Choose 0.5x, 1x, 2x or 3x with the lens buttons. The right lens depends on the field: the ball has to be big enough in the picture to be followed reliably. On a full pitch that means 2x; on small pitches 1x shows everything.

KickCam suggests a lens from the field size you pick in setup. See Choosing the lens for the details.

Tips for the best follow

• Mount the camera high (8 ft / 2.5 m or more) and level with halfway. Height keeps players from hiding the ball.
• Keep the sun behind the camera. Strong backlight makes the ball hard to see.
• Make sure nothing blocks the gimbal's rotation, and keep spare balls off the field edge if you can.
• Newer iPhones (iPhone 15 Pro and later) use a larger model and also scan the whole frame in sections when the ball is lost, which helps with far balls.

No gimbal? Handheld mode shows arrows and a gentle vibration to help you keep the ball in frame.