Teleoperation (or remote operation) indicates operation of a system or
machine
A machine is a physical system using Power (physics), power to apply Force, forces and control Motion, movement to perform an action. The term is commonly applied to artificial devices, such as those employing engines or motors, but also to na ...
at a distance. It is similar in meaning to the phrase "remote control" but is usually encountered in research, academia and technology. It is most commonly associated with
robotics
Robotics is an interdisciplinary branch of computer science and engineering. Robotics involves design, construction, operation, and use of robots. The goal of robotics is to design machines that can help and assist humans. Robotics integrat ...
and
mobile robots
A mobile robot is an automatic machine that is capable of locomotion.Hu, J.; Bhowmick, P.; Lanzon, A.,Group Coordinated Control of Networked Mobile Robots with Applications to Object Transportation IEEE Transactions on Vehicular Technology, 2021 ...
but can be applied to a whole range of circumstances in which a device or machine is operated by a person from a distance.
The term ''teleoperation'' is in use in research and technical communities as a standard term for referring to operation at a distance. This is as opposed to ''
telepresence
Telepresence refers to a set of technologies which allow a person to feel as if they were present, to give the appearance or effect of being present via telerobotics, at a place other than their true location.
Telepresence requires that the user ...
'' which is a less standard term and might refer to a whole range of existence or interaction that include a remote connotation.
History
The 19th century saw many inventors working on remotely operated weapons (
torpedo
A modern torpedo is an underwater ranged weapon launched above or below the water surface, self-propelled towards a target, and with an explosive warhead designed to detonate either on contact with or in proximity to the target. Historically, su ...
es) including prototypes built by
John Louis Lay
John Louis Lay (January 14, 1833 – April 17, 1899) was an American inventor, and a pioneer of the torpedo.
Biography
Lay was born in Buffalo, New York. He was appointed 2nd assistant engineer in the Union Navy on July 8, 1862, and was promoted t ...
(1872),
John Ericsson
John Ericsson (born Johan Ericsson; July 31, 1803 – March 8, 1889) was a Swedish-American inventor. He was active in England and the United States.
Ericsson collaborated on the design of the railroad steam locomotive ''Novelty'', which co ...
(1873), Victor von Scheliha (1873), and the first practical wire guided torpedo, the Brennan torpedo, patented by Louis Brennan in 1877. In 1898,
radio
Radio is the technology of signaling and communicating using radio waves. Radio waves are electromagnetic waves of frequency between 30 hertz (Hz) and 300 gigahertz (GHz). They are generated by an electronic device called a transmit ...
guidance system that he tried to market to the United States military, but was turned down.
Teleoperation is now moving into the hobby industry with
first-person view
First-person view (FPV), also known as remote-person view (RPV), or simply video piloting, is a method used to control a radio-controlled vehicle from the driver or pilot's view point. Most commonly it is used to pilot a radio-controlled aircraf ...
(FPV) equipment. FPV equipment mounted on hobby cars, planes and helicopters give a TV-style transmission back to the operator, extending the range of the vehicle to greater than line-of-sight range.
Examples
There are several particular types of systems that are often controlled remotely:
* Entertainment systems (i.e.
television
Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of television transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertisin ...
s,
VCRs
A videocassette recorder (VCR) or video recorder is an electromechanical device that records analog audio and analog video from broadcast television or other source on a removable, magnetic tape videocassette, and can play back the recordin ...
,
DVD player
A DVD player is a device that plays DVDs produced under both the DVD-Video and DVD-Audio technical standards, two different and incompatible standards. Some DVD players will also play audio CDs. DVD players are connected to a television to ...
s etc.) are often controlled remotely via a
remote control
In electronics, a remote control (also known as a remote or clicker) is an electronic device used to operate another device from a distance, usually wirelessly. In consumer electronics, a remote control can be used to operate devices such as ...
.
*
Industrial machinery
The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to industrial machinery:
Essence of industrial machinery
* Heavy equipment
* Hardware
* Industrial process
* Machine
* Machine tool
* Tool
Industrial machines
* Agricul ...
is often operated remotely, particularly in hazardous environments. Examples include the construction of the Object Shelter or sarcophagus at Chernobyl after the Chernobyl accident, and removal of debris after hazardous rock slides.
*
Remotely operated vehicle
A remotely operated underwater vehicle (technically ROUV or just ROV) is a tethered underwater mobile device, commonly called ''underwater robot''.
Definition
This meaning is different from remote control vehicles operating on land or in the ai ...
s (ROVs) are extensively used in hazardous environments (i.e.
radioactive
Radioactive decay (also known as nuclear decay, radioactivity, radioactive disintegration, or nuclear disintegration) is the process by which an unstable atomic nucleus loses energy by radiation. A material containing unstable nuclei is consi ...
environments, contaminated environments, minefields, deep oceans).
*
Remote surgery
Remote surgery (also known as telesurgery) is the ability for a doctor to perform surgery on a patient even though they are not physically in the same location. It is a form of telepresence. A robot surgical system generally consists of one or mo ...
*
Unmanned aerial vehicle
An unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), commonly known as a drone, is an aircraft without any human pilot, crew, or passengers on board. UAVs are a component of an unmanned aircraft system (UAS), which includes adding a ground-based controller ...
s, also known as drones
Teleoperation of Autonomous Vehicles
Teleoperation of Autonomous Vehicles, is the ability to remotely drive or assist a
self-driving car
A self-driving car, also known as an autonomous car, driver-less car, or robotic car (robo-car), is a car that is capable of traveling without human input.Xie, S.; Hu, J.; Bhowmick, P.; Ding, Z.; Arvin, F.,Distributed Motion Planning for S ...
.
Most leading companies in the industry believe that to bridge the gap between current self-driving capabilities and the requirements needed for widespread adoption of autonomous vehicles, there is a need to have Teleoperation capabilities for assisting
self-driving car
A self-driving car, also known as an autonomous car, driver-less car, or robotic car (robo-car), is a car that is capable of traveling without human input.Xie, S.; Hu, J.; Bhowmick, P.; Ding, Z.; Arvin, F.,Distributed Motion Planning for S ...
s, in situations of ‘edge cases’ – where the autonomous vehicle software stack has low confidence level in its ability to perform the correct action, or when the vehicle needs to operate outside of its standard operating parameters. Without remote assistance, in such situations the self-driving car would transition to a Minimum Risk Maneuverer (MRM) which is usually to stop.
Many AV companies plan on using teleoperations as part of their rollout for self driving cars. Examples of companies that have stated they will deploy, or currently deploying teleoperations solutions include Voyage.auto, Denso,
Waymo
Waymo LLC, formerly known as the Google self-driving car project, is an American autonomous driving technology company headquartered in Mountain View, California. It is a subsidiary of Alphabet Inc, the parent company of Google.
Waymo oper ...
Aptiv
Aptiv PLC is an Irish-American automotive technology supplier with headquarters in Dublin. Aptiv grew out of the now-defunct American company, Delphi Automotive Systems, which itself was formerly a component of General Motors.
History
The com ...
, Zoox.
Teleoperation of Autonomous Vehicles includes privately owned self driving car use cases, such as self parking assistants, shared mobility use cases, e.g. in robotaxis and autonomous shuttles and industrial use cases, for example autonomous forklifts.
There are two main modes for Teleoperation of Autonomous Vehicles:
Remote Driving, also called “Direct Driving” – where the remote operator performs the dynamic drive task, i.e. drives the car remotely, controlling the car's
steering
Steering is a system of components, linkages, and other parts that allows a driver to control the direction of the vehicle.
Introduction
The most conventional steering arrangement allows a driver to turn the front wheels of a vehicle using ...
,
acceleration
In mechanics, acceleration is the rate of change of the velocity of an object with respect to time. Accelerations are vector quantities (in that they have magnitude and direction). The orientation of an object's acceleration is given by the ...
and braking systems.
Remote Assistance, also called “High Level Commands” – remote operators supervise the vehicle, and provide instructions, approve or correct the vehicle path, without actually performing the dynamic driving task.
Some companies deploy a combination of both concepts, depending on the use case.
Examples of companies that provide solutions in the field of Teleoperations are DriveU.auto, Roboauto, Scotti.ai, Phantom.Auto, Pylot, Ottopia, and Designated Driver.
See also
*
Robotics
Robotics is an interdisciplinary branch of computer science and engineering. Robotics involves design, construction, operation, and use of robots. The goal of robotics is to design machines that can help and assist humans. Robotics integrat ...
*
Telerobotics
Telerobotics is the area of robotics concerned with the control of semi-autonomous robots from a distance, chiefly using television, wireless networks (like Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and the Deep Space Network) or tethered connections. It is a combinati ...
*
Remote control
In electronics, a remote control (also known as a remote or clicker) is an electronic device used to operate another device from a distance, usually wirelessly. In consumer electronics, a remote control can be used to operate devices such as ...
*
Remote manipulator
A remote manipulator, also known as a telefactor, telemanipulator, or waldo (after the 1942 short story "Waldo" by Robert A. Heinlein which features a man who invents and uses such devices), is a device which, through electronic, hydraulic, or me ...
*
Remote administration
Remote administration refers to any method of controlling a computer from a remote location. Software that allows remote administration is becoming increasingly common and is often used when it is difficult or impractical to be physically near a ...
*
Telecommand
A telecommand or telecontrol is a command sent to control a remote system or systems not directly connected (e.g. via wires) to the place from which the telecommand is sent. The word is derived from ''tele'' = remote (Greek), and ''command'' = to ...