Justus security robot patrolling in Kraków
Telerobotics is the area of robotics concerned with the control of semi-autonomous robots from a distance, chiefly using Wireless network (like Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, the Deep Space Network, and similar) or tethered connections. It is a combination of two major subfields, teleoperation and telepresence.
Teleoperation
Teleoperation
indicates operation of a machine at a distance. It is similar in
meaning to the phrase "remote control" but is usually encountered in
research, academic and technical environments. It is most commonly
associated with robotics and mobile robots but can be applied to a whole
range of circumstances in which a device or machine is operated by a
person from a distance.
Early Telerobotics (Rosenberg, 1992) US Air Force - Virtual Fixtures system
Teleoperation is the most standard term, used both in research and
technical communities, for referring to operation at a distance. This is
opposed to "telepresence",
which refers to the subset of telerobotic systems configured with an
immersive interface such that the operator feels present in the remote
environment, projecting his or her presence through the remote robot.
One of the first telepresence systems that enabled operators to feel
present in a remote environment through all of the primary senses
(sight, sound, and touch) was the Virtual Fixtures system developed at US Air Force Research Laboratories
in the early 1990s. The system enabled operators to perform dexterous
tasks (inserting pegs into holes) remotely such that the operator would
feel as if he or she was inserting the pegs when in fact it was a robot
remotely performing the task.
A telemanipulator (or teleoperator) is a device
that is controlled remotely by a human operator. In simple cases the
controlling operator's command actions correspond directly to actions in
the device controlled, as for example in a radio controlled model
aircraft or a tethered deep submergence vehicle. Where communications
delays make direct control impractical (such as a remote planetary
rover), or it is desired to reduce operator workload (as in a remotely
controlled spy or attack aircraft), the device will not be controlled
directly, instead being commanded to follow a specified path. At
increasing levels of sophistication the device may operate somewhat
independently in matters such as obstacle avoidance, also commonly
employed in planetary rovers.
Devices designed to allow the operator to control a robot at a distance are sometimes called telecheric robotics.
Two major components of telerobotics and telepresence are the
visual and control applications. A remote camera provides a visual
representation of the view from the robot. Placing the robotic camera in
a perspective that allows intuitive control is a recent technique that
although based in Science Fiction (Robert A. Heinlein's Waldo
1942) has not been fruitful as the speed, resolution and bandwidth have
only recently been adequate to the task of being able to control the
robot camera in a meaningful way. Using a head mounted display, the
control of the camera can be facilitated by tracking the head as shown
in the figure below.
This only works if the user feels comfortable with the latency of
the system, the lag in the response to movements, the visual
representation. Any issues such as, inadequate resolution, latency of
the video image, lag in the mechanical and computer processing of the
movement and response, and optical distortion due to camera lens and
head mounted display lenses, can cause the user 'simulator sickness' that is exacerbated by the lack of vestibular stimulation with visual representation of motion.
Mismatch between the users motions such as registration errors,
lag in movement response due to overfiltering, inadequate resolution for
small movements, and slow speed can contribute to these problems.
The same technology can control the robot, but then the eye–hand coordination issues become even more pervasive through the system, and user tension or frustration can make the system difficult to use.
The tendency to build robots has been to minimize the degrees of freedom
because that reduces the control problems. Recent improvements in
computers has shifted the emphasis to more degrees of freedom, allowing
robotic devices that seem more intelligent and more human in their
motions. This also allows more direct teleoperation as the user can control the robot with their own motions.
Interfaces
A
telerobotic interface can be as simple as a common MMK
(monitor-mouse-keyboard) interface. While this is not immersive, it is
inexpensive. Telerobotics driven by internet connections are often of
this type. A valuable modification to MMK is a joystick, which provides a
more intuitive navigation scheme for planar robot movement.
Dedicated telepresence setups utilize a head mounted display with
either single or dual eye display, and an ergonomically matched
interface with joystick and related button, slider, trigger controls.
Other interfaces merge fully immersive virtual reality interfaces and real-time video instead of computer-generated images. Another example would be to use an omnidirectional treadmill
with an immersive display system so that the robot is driven by the
person walking or running. Additional modifications may include merged
data displays such as Infrared thermal imaging, real-time threat assessment, or device schematics.
Applications
Space
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NASA HERRO (Human Exploration using Real-time Robotic Operations) telerobotic exploration concept
With the exception of the Apollo program, most space exploration has been conducted with telerobotic space probes. Most space-based astronomy, for example, has been conducted with telerobotic telescopes. The Russian Lunokhod-1 mission,
for example, put a remotely driven rover on the moon, which was driven
in real time (with a 2.5-second lightspeed time delay) by human
operators on the ground. Robotic planetary exploration programs use
spacecraft that are programmed by humans at ground stations, essentially
achieving a long-time-delay form of telerobotic operation. Recent
noteworthy examples include the Mars exploration rovers (MER) and the Curiosity rover.
In the case of the MER mission, the spacecraft and the rover operated
on stored programs, with the rover drivers on the ground programming
each day's operation. The International Space Station (ISS) uses a two-armed telemanipulator called Dextre. More recently, a humanoid robot Robonaut has been added to the space station for telerobotic experiments.
NASA has proposed use of highly capable telerobotic systems for future planetary exploration using human exploration from orbit. In a concept for Mars Exploration proposed by Landis, a precursor mission to Mars
could be done in which the human vehicle brings a crew to Mars, but
remains in orbit rather than landing on the surface, while a highly
capable remote robot is operated in real time on the surface.
Such a system would go beyond the simple long time delay robotics and
move to a regime of virtual telepresence on the planet. One study of
this concept, the Human Exploration using Real-time Robotic Operations
(HERRO) concept, suggested that such a mission could be used to explore a
wide variety of planetary destinations.
Telepresence and videoconferencing
iRobot Ava 500, an autonomous roaming telepresence robot.
The prevalence of high quality video conferencing using mobile
devices, tablets and portable computers has enabled a drastic growth in
telepresence robots to help give a better sense of remote physical
presence for communication and collaboration in the office, home,
school, etc. when one cannot be there in person. The robot avatar can
move or look around at the command of the remote person.
There have been two primary approaches that both utilize
videoconferencing on a display 1) desktop telepresence robots -
typically mount a phone or tablet on a motorized desktop stand to enable
the remote person to look around a remote environment by panning and
tilting the display or 2) drivable telepresence robots - typically
contain a display (integrated or separate phone or tablet) mounted on a
roaming base. Some examples of desktop telepresence robots include Kubi
by Revolve Robotics, Galileo by Motrr, and Swivl. Some examples of
roaming telepresence robots include Beam by Suitable Technologies,
Double by Double Robotics, RP-Vita by iRobot
and InTouch Health, Anybots, Vgo, TeleMe by Mantarobot, and Romo by
Romotive. More modern roaming telepresence robots may include an ability
to operate autonomously. The robots can map out the space and be able
to avoid obstacles while driving themselves between rooms and their
docking stations.
Traditional videoconferencing systems and telepresence rooms
generally offer Pan / Tilt / Zoom cameras with far end control. The
ability for the remote user to turn the device's head and look around
naturally during a meeting is often seen as the strongest feature of a
telepresence robot. For this reason, the developers have emerged in the
new category of desktop telepresence robots that concentrate on this
strongest feature to create a much lower cost robot. The desktop
telepresence robots, also called head and neck Robots
allow users to look around during a meeting and are small enough to be
carried from location to location, eliminating the need for remote
navigation.
Marine applications
Marine remotely operated vehicles (ROVs) are widely used to work in water too deep or too dangerous for divers. They repair offshore oil platforms
and attach cables to sunken ships to hoist them. They are usually
attached by a tether to a control center on a surface ship. The wreck of
the Titanic was explored by an ROV, as well as by a crew-operated vessel.
Telemedicine
Additionally, a lot of telerobotic research is being done in the
field of medical devices, and minimally invasive surgical systems. With a
robotic surgery
system, a surgeon can work inside the body through tiny holes just big
enough for the manipulator, with no need to open up the chest cavity to
allow hands inside.
Other applications
Remote manipulators are used to handle radioactive materials.
Telerobotics has been used in installation art pieces; Telegarden is an example of a project where a robot was operated by users through the Web.
