With the rise of YouTube and Twitch as major entertainment pillars of the internet (especially during lockdown across 2020 and 2021), we’re bound to see more and more ambitious things done with the platform – which is what brings us to this latest technological innovation, the Streamer Mobile.
If you’re an online content creator that has been looking for a car to complement your content, this car might be for you. Designed by Astrodesign (using Australian-owned Blackmagic equipment), the ATOM Mobile Broadcast and Streaming Vehicle is a vehicle intended for content creators and broadcasts.
Realistically, the ATOM Mobile Broadcast and Streaming Vehicle (named the ‘Off Grid Studio ATOM’S’) is what happens when you combine a wide range of Blackmagic’s products and stick them all together in a Toyota Land Cruiser. It’s a car built for streaming and creating content.
Included in all of this is the Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera 6K and the ATEM Television Studio 4K, along with a few other pieces of kit, culminating in what seems to be an FBI-style stakeout vehicle stuffed into a consumer-ready car.
“We planned to make an OB van that could be operated by a small group or even one person,” says Takashi Kodama, the mobile business manager of Astrodesign.
“Blackmagic Design products are inexpensive, so we could reduce the cost of building the broadcast vehicle.
“Blackmagic has allowed us to build a vehicle that we think can be used by not only conventional broadcasters, but also YouTubers. The price is also reasonable for top YouTubers and it will give them more freedom to broadcast and record from various places than ever before. And using the Web Presenter, YouTubers could stream from anywhere.”
So this beast of a car is intended for streaming and content, huh? Or, at least, the creators who can afford such a vehicle, like MrBeast or Pewdiepie. MrBeast, in particular, could get a lot of use out of a car like this, given the overly ambitious projects he likes to work on.
The vehicle was recently used to stream the Super GT motor race, a race that takes place on the Laguna Seca race track in Japan. Through the car and its impressive onboard production tech, the race was streamed online.
“Because of its compactness and multifunctionality, ATOM’S can be used in places where a large OB van cannot fit, and can be operated with a very small group of people. There are sports matches that are not likely to be aired on TV; however with ATOM’S, those can be streamed over the Internet with a small number of staff at low cost,” Kodama added.
So, how do you use a tool like this? Well, you rock up to the place where you want to stream or produce your content and use the back of the vehicle like a base of operations – like a news crew might with a news van. Using the equipment in the back of the car and its cameras, content creators can capture high production-value content wherever they can drive a car to.
It’s an interesting concept, and definitely has useful applications, like in high-production environments, like with MrBeast content or the Jerma985 dollhouse stream. It could also be a useful vehicle for esports coverage and, of course, live events.
The car costs about $470,000 including shipping to Australia, with interest still being gauged outside of Japan.
This story was originally published on December 23 and has been updated since then with pricing and availability.