Rob Drewett


Rob Drewett is a British wildlife cameraman and technology entrepreneur. He is the co-founder and chief executive of Motion Impossible, a UK company that develops remote camera platforms, and the co-developer of the AGITO modular robotic camera dolly system for film and television production. In 2025, Drewett and Nancollis were named recipients of the Television Academy's Engineering, Science & Technology Emmy Award for the development of the AGITO Dolly System.

Career

Drewett began his career as an underwater and wildlife cameraman, including work with the BBC Natural History Unit on series such as Planet Earth II and Africa. Seeking new ways to move cameras safely and smoothly, he experimented early with gimbals and remote platforms.
In 2014 Drewett co-founded Motion Impossible with product design engineer Andy Nancollis to commercialise remote, stabilised camera systems that evolved from their wildlife work, including the Mantis and the AGITO family of modular dollies.
Drewett has used AGITO on broadcast and entertainment productions where crew safety and repeatable camera movement are priorities, including Top Gear sequences that require high-speed tracking shots.

Motion Impossible

Drewett co-founded Motion Impossible in 2014 with product design engineer Andy Nancollis to commercialise remote, stabilised camera systems developed from their natural history work, evolving from the BuggyCam into the Mantis/M-Series and, in 2019, the modular AGITO dolly family. The MagTrax guidance system had its U.S. launch at the NAB Show in April 2022 in partnership with Vū Studios and AbelCine, with Drewett describing it as a key step for AGITO operability. His systems have been adopted on broadcast and drama sets; for example, AGITO was used to stage a major stunt in Line of Duty series 6 and to capture high-speed tracking shots on Top Gear while improving crew safety.

Patents

  • Support and stabilization systems. Inventors: Andrew Nancollis; Robert Drewett. International publication date 23 May 2019.
  • Support and stabilization systems. Inventors: Andrew Nancollis; Robert Drewett. US patent granted 28 December 2021.

    Selected credits

YearTitleRole / notesRef
2011Desert SeasSelected to work on the documentary with the BBC Natural History Unit.
2013AfricaFilmed a rock python sequence; used moving camera techniques.
2014Hidden KingdomsCredited among series photographers.
2016Planet Earth IIShot the Madagascar locust super-swarm sequence using a handheld gimbal.
2018Big CatsFilmed high-speed cheetah tracking shots with a remote buggy and stabilised head.
2020sTop GearCameraman operating the head while AGITO captured high-speed sequences.

AGITO

AGITO is a modular robotic dolly platform designed to operate free-roaming, on track, overhead or guided by magnetic tape, providing stabilised, repeatable moves from very slow to vehicle speeds in studio and location environments. The system has been profiled and demonstrated widely at industry shows including NAB, IBC and Cine Gear.

Awards and honours

  • 2025: Engineering, Science & Technology Emmy Award, shared with Andy Nancollis, for the development of the AGITO Dolly System.