By Mike Clark
Computer accessories maker Belkin has introduced an NFC-enabled motorized iPhone stand that allows the device’s camera to follow a person as they move around a room.
The Auto-Tracking Stand Pro is the first device to use Apple’s DockKit framework, a feature which is specifically designed to allow device cameras to track objects and people using compatible motorized mounts.
DockKit allows users to easily create, present and record by snapping their iPhone 12 or later with MagSafe onto the Stand Pro, then pairing the devices via NFC, before opening their camera with FaceTime, Instagram, TikTok, Canva, WhatsApp, Microsoft Teams or other social media apps or messaging platforms.
“The Stand Pro provides automatic, silent, motorized, seamless camera work using iPhone’s built-in camera and DockKit’s automated subject tracking technology to follow subjects on camera as they move around their space with 360 degrees of pan and 90 degrees of tilt,” says Belkin.
Apple, which calls the feature ‘system tracking’, says it “is useful for content creators who want the camera to follow them while they move around their space, or instructors on a video call who are walking around a classroom.”
Apple introduced the MagSafe system, which allows for wireless charging and NFC-based recognition of compatible accessories, with the iPhone 12 in October 2020.
Belkin’s Auto-Tracking Stand Pro was announced in Las Vegas ahead of this week’s CES 2024 and is expected to cost US$179.99/£169.99 when it arrives at retailers ‘soon’.
