Robotic camera dog spotted

Sanju Samson was filmed greeting a robotic camera dog before Chennai Super Kings played Delhi Capitals in Chennai on April 11, putting a piece of Indian Premier League broadcast tech in full public view. (x.com) (espncricinfo.com) The match was the 18th game of the 2026 Indian Premier League at M. A. Chidambaram Stadium, and Chennai Super Kings beat Delhi Capitals by 23 runs after posting 212 for 2. Samson made 115 not out from 56 balls and was named player of the match. (espn.in) (cricbuzz.com) The robot dog was not a one-off prop for this game. The Indian Premier League added the four-legged camera unit to its broadcast setup in April 2025, with commentator Danny Morrison introducing it in a league video before Delhi Capitals played Mumbai Indians on April 13, 2025. (thehindu.com) (espncricinfo.com) League and technology reports said the system was developed by wTVision with Omnicam and the Board of Control for Cricket in India, and it was built to capture low-angle “pet vision” shots around the ground. The unit can walk, run, jump and respond to commands while carrying a camera for live coverage. (indiatoday.in) (wtvision.com) By April 20, 2025, the league had given the robot dog a public name, “Champak,” after a fan vote on social media. It then became a recurring part of pre-match and behind-the-scenes coverage across venues. (business-standard.com) (timesofindia.indiatimes.com) That helps explain why Samson’s interaction drew attention: fans were seeing a player engage with a device that is part camera rig, part roaming sideline character, and already familiar from the 2025 season. The same Chennai-Delhi highlights package circulated online after the match as the broadcast presentation kept mixing standard play coverage with these on-ground production elements. (x.com) (youtube.com) The robot dog is now doing what sports broadcasters want new hardware to do: get close to players without laying track for a dolly or parking another full-size camera on the boundary. In Chennai, that meant one more pre-match moment for Samson before he went out and made the night’s biggest score. (wtvision.com) (espn.in)