Open-TeleVision enables VR-style remote robot control.

Open-TeleVision is a novel form of robot remote control that enables VR-style control, created by a team of roboticists from MIT and the University of California, San Diego. A paper outlining the robot system has been made available on the arXiv preprint service by the researchers. Additionally, they uploaded videos of the robot and its operator in action on YouTube.

Although robotics has gradually improved thanks to AI technologies, no autonomous robot can yet perform as seamlessly as a biological being, even a human. Most in the field also don’t think parity will happen very soon. A few professionals in the industry are revisiting the concept of remotely operated robots.

With this new study, the MIT and UCSD teams have created a significantly more immersive remote robot control experience by immersing the pilot in a virtual reality environment.

The majority of VR consumer goods are meant to be used for gaming; the user dons a VR mask or helmet and navigates and manipulates items within a virtual environment with the aid of control devices. By utilizing essentially the same technology, the researchers have advanced this concept by enabling a pilot to move about and interact with actual items using the body and senses of a remote robot.

A pilot may examine stereoscopically via the robot’s eyes by donning a VR helmet and using the Open-TeleVision technology. The pilot may operate the robot’s arms, hands, and fingers with his or her movements, as well as by twisting the robot’s head.

The movement of the limbs is recorded using distant sensors, like those in a Kinect system, as opposed to wearing sensors on the arms, hands, and fingers. The device gives the pilot the impression that they are operating from a distance while carrying out tasks like picking up balls and putting them in cups—the robot handling the labor-intensive work.

By enabling an MIT team member to operate a robot at UCSD while experiencing the same sense of presence as if they were physically there at a distant location, the study team showcased the usefulness of the technology. They propose that Open-TeleVision-based systems may be utilized for things like remote surgery, search and rescue missions in hazardous areas, or even extraterrestrial exploration.

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