Teleoperators
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Teleoperation (or remote operation) indicates operation of a system or
machine A machine is a physical system that uses power to apply forces and control movement to perform an action. The term is commonly applied to artificial devices, such as those employing engines or motors, but also to natural biological macromol ...
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 the interdisciplinary study and practice of the design, construction, operation, and use of robots. Within mechanical engineering, robotics is the design and construction of the physical structures of robots, while in computer s ...
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. Teleoperation can be considered a human-machine system. For example, ArduPilot provides a spectrum of autonomy ranging from manual control to full
autopilot An autopilot is a system used to control the path of a vehicle without requiring constant manual control by a human operator. Autopilots do not replace human operators. Instead, the autopilot assists the operator's control of the vehicle, allow ...
for
autonomous vehicles Vehicular automation is using technology to assist or replace the operator of a vehicle such as a car, truck, aircraft, rocket, military vehicle, or boat. Assisted vehicles are ''semi-autonomous'', whereas vehicles that can travel without a ...
. 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 is the appearance or sensation of a person being present at a place other than their true location, via telerobotics or video. Telepresence requires that the users' senses interact with specific stimuli in order to provide the feeli ...
'' 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, with an explosive warhead designed to detonate either on contact with or in proximity to the target. Historically, such ...
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 ...
(1872),
John Ericsson John Ericsson (born Johan Ericsson; July 31, 1803 – March 8, 1889) was a Swedish-American engineer and inventor. He was active in England and the United States. Ericsson collaborated on the design of the railroad steam locomotive Novelty (lo ...
(1873), Victor von Scheliha (1873), and the first practical wire guided torpedo, the
Brennan torpedo The Brennan torpedo was a torpedo patented by Irish Australian, Irish-born Australian inventor Louis Brennan in 1877. It was propelled by two contra-rotating propellers that were spun by rapidly pulling out wires from drums wound inside the torpe ...
, patented by
Louis Brennan Louis Brennan (28 January 1852 – 17 January 1932) was an Irish-Australian mechanical engineer and inventor. He is best known for inventing the Brennan Torpedo, one of the earliest wire-guided torpedoes, which was adopted by the British Army i ...
in 1877. In 1898,
Nikola Tesla Nikola Tesla (;"Tesla"
. ''Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary''.
; 10 July 1856 – 7 ...
demonstrated a remotely controlled boat with a patented wireless
radio Radio is the technology of communicating using radio waves. Radio waves are electromagnetic waves of frequency between 3  hertz (Hz) and 300  gigahertz (GHz). They are generated by an electronic device called a transmitter connec ...
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 may refer to: * First-person view (radio control) * First-person view (video games) * First-person view (storytelling) * First-person view (film) See also

* First person (disambiguation) {{disambiguation ...
(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 (TV) is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. Additionally, the term can refer to a physical television set rather than the medium of transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertising, ...
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 AV sources and can play back the recording after rewinding. The use of a VCR to re ...
,
DVD player A DVD player is a machine 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 A remote control, also known colloquially as a remote or clicker, is an consumer electronics, electronic device used to operate another device from a distance, usually wirelessly. In consumer electronics, a remote control can be used to operat ...
. *
Industrial machinery The following Outline (list), outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to industrial machinery: Essence of industrial machinery * Heavy equipment * Household hardware, Hardware * Industrial process * Machine * Machine tool * Too ...
is often operated remotely, particularly in hazardous environments. Examples include the construction of the Object Shelter or sarcophagus at Chernobyl after the
Chernobyl accident On 26 April 1986, the no. 4 reactor of the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant, located near Pripyat, Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic, Ukrainian SSR, Soviet Union (now Ukraine), exploded. With dozens of direct casualties, it is one of only ...
, and removal of debris after hazardous rock slides. *
Remotely operated vehicle A remotely operated underwater vehicle (ROUV) or remotely operated vehicle (ROV) is a free-swimming submersible craft used to perform underwater observation, inspection and physical tasks such as valve operations, hydraulic functions and other g ...
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 conside ...
environments, contaminated environments, minefields, deep oceans). *
Remote surgery Remote surgery (also known as cybersurgery or 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 cons ...
*
Unmanned aerial vehicle An unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) or unmanned aircraft system (UAS), commonly known as a drone, is an aircraft with no human pilot, crew, or passengers onboard, but rather is controlled remotely or is autonomous.De Gruyter Handbook of Dron ...
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 (AC), driverless car, robotic car or robo-car, is a car that is capable of operating with reduced or no human input. They are sometimes called robotaxis, though this term refers specifica ...
. 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 (AC), driverless car, robotic car or robo-car, is a car that is capable of operating with reduced or no human input. They are sometimes called robotaxis, though this term refers specifica ...
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 is a global automotive components manufacturer headquartered in the city of Kariya, Aichi Prefecture, Japan. After becoming independent from Toyota Motor, the company was founded as in 1949. About 25% of the company is owned by Toyota. Despi ...
,
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 Google's parent company (Alphabet Inc., Alphabet Inc). T ...
, GM Cruise,
Aptiv Aptiv PLC is an Irish- American automotive technology supplier with headquarters in Schaffhausen, Switzerland. Aptiv grew out of the now-defunct American company, Delphi Automotive Systems, which itself was formerly a component of General Moto ...
, 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 the control of the direction of motion or the components that enable its control. Steering is achieved through various arrangements, among them ailerons for airplanes, rudders for boats, cylic tilting of rotors for helicopters, ...
,
acceleration In mechanics, acceleration is the Rate (mathematics), rate of change of the velocity of an object with respect to time. Acceleration is one of several components of kinematics, the study of motion. Accelerations are Euclidean vector, vector ...
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, Designated Driver and Soliton Systems.


See also

*
Robotics Robotics is the interdisciplinary study and practice of the design, construction, operation, and use of robots. Within mechanical engineering, robotics is the design and construction of the physical structures of robots, while in computer s ...
*
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 combinatio ...
*
Remote control A remote control, also known colloquially as a remote or clicker, is an consumer electronics, electronic device used to operate another device from a distance, usually wirelessly. In consumer electronics, a remote control can be used to operat ...
**
Remote-control vehicle A remote-control vehicle, is defined as any vehicle that is teleoperated by a means that does not restrict its motion with an origin external to the device. This is often a radio-control device, a cable between the controller and the vehicle, ...
*
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 ...
*
Remote administration Remote administration refers to any method of controlling a computer or other Internet-connected device, such as a smartphone, from a remote location. There are many commercially available and free-to-use software that make remote administration ...
*
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 ...


References

{{Reflist


External links


NASA Telerobotics


Wireless robotics Remote control