Page 328 - Concise Encyclopedia of Robotics

Telepresence
The drawing is a simple block diagram of a telepresence system. Some
applications are
• Working in extreme heat or cold
• Working under high pressure, such as on the sea floor
• Working in a vacuum, such as in space
• Working where there is dangerous radiation
• Disarming bombs
• Handling toxic substances
• Law-enforcement operations
• Military operations
The experience
In a telepresence system, the robot is autonomous, and in some cases
takes the physical form of a human body. The more humanoid the robot,
the more realistic is the telepresence. The control station consists of a suit
that the operator wears, or a chair in which the operator sits with various
manipulators and displays. Sensors and transducers can impart feelings
of pressure, vision, and sound.
In the most advanced telepresence systems, the operator wears a helmet
with a viewing screen that shows whatever the robot camera sees. When
the operator’s head turns, the robot head, with its vision system, follows.
Thus, the operator sees a scene that changes with turns of the head, repli-
cating the effect of being on-site. Binocular robot vision can provide a
sense of depth. Binaural robot hearing allows the perception of sounds.
The telechir can be propelled by a track drive, a wheel drive, or robot
legs.If the propulsion uses legs,the operator can propel the robot by walking
around a room. Otherwise the operator can sit in a chair and “drive” the
robot like a cart.
A typical android telechir has two arms, each with grippers resembling
human hands. When the operator wants to pick something up, he or she
goes through the motions. Back pressure sensors and position sensors
impart a sensation of heft. The operator might throw a switch, and some-
thing that weighs 10 kg will feel as if it only weighs 1 kg.
Limitations
The technology for advanced, realistic telepresence, comparable to virtual-
reality experience, exists, but there are some difficult problems and
challenges.
The most serious limitation is the fact that telemetry cannot, and
never will, travel faster than the speed of light in free space. This seems
fast at first thought (299,792 km/s, or 186,282 mi/s), but it is slow on an

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