Skip to main content

Networked Telerobots

  • Reference work entry
Springer Handbook of Robotics

Abstract

Telerobots, remotely controlled robots, are widely used to explore undersea terrains and outer space, to defuse bombs, and to clean up hazardous waste. Until 1994, telerobots were accessible only to trained and trusted experts through dedicated communication channels. This chapter describes networked telerobots, a new class of telerobots controllable over networks such as the Internet, that are accessible to the general public. This chapter will describe relevant network technology, the history of networked telerobots within the broader field of teleoperation, properties of networked telerobots, how to build a networked robot, example systems, and topics for future research.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Subscribe and save

Springer+ Basic
$34.99 /Month
  • Get 10 units per month
  • Download Article/Chapter or eBook
  • 1 Unit = 1 Article or 1 Chapter
  • Cancel anytime
Subscribe now

Buy Now

Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

Abbreviations

ATR:

Advanced Telecommunications Research Institute International

CGI:

common gateway interface

CONE:

Collaborative Observatory for Nature Environments

CORBA:

common object request broker architecture

CSMA:

carrier sense multiple access

DoD:

Department of Defense

FIFO:

first-in first-out

HTML:

hypertext markup language

IEEE:

Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers

IP:

internet protocol

ISP:

internet service provider

JSP:

Java Server Pages

LAN:

local-area network

MOMR:

multiple operator multiple robot

MOSR:

multiple operator single robot

QT:

quasistatic telerobotics

RF:

radiofrequency

SDV:

spatial dynamic voting

SOMR:

single operator multiple robot

SOSR:

single operator single robot

TCP:

transmission control protocol

UDP:

user data protocol

URL:

uniform resource locator

US:

ultrasound

VRML:

virtual reality modeling language

WAN:

wide-area network

WWW:

world wide web

XML:

extensible markup language

References

  1. K. Goldberg, R. Siegwart (Eds.): Beyond Webcams: An Introduction to Online Robots (MIT Press, Cambridge 2002)

    Google Scholar 

  2. N. Tesla: Method of an apparatus for controlling mechanism of moving vessels or vehicles http://www.pbs.org/tesla/res/613809.html (1898)

  3. R. Goertz, R. Thompson: Electronically controlled manipulator, Nucleonics 12(11), 46–47 (1954)

    Google Scholar 

  4. R.D. Ballard: A last long look at titanic, National Geographic 170(6), 698–727 (1986)

    Google Scholar 

  5. A.K. Bejczy: Sensors, controls, and man–machine interface for advanced teleoperation, Science 208(4450), 1327–1335 (1980)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  6. R.S. Mosher: Industrial manipulators, Sci. Am. 211(4), 88–96 (1964)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  7. R. Tomovic: On man–machine control, Automatica 5(4), 40–404 (1969)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  8. A. Bejczy, G. Bekey, R. Taylor, S. Rovetta: A research methodology for tele-surgery with time delays, First Int. Symp. Med. Robot. Comp. Assist. Surg. (1994)

    Google Scholar 

  9. M. Gertz, D. Stewart, P. Khosla: A human–machine interface for distributed virtual laboratories, IEEE Robot. Autom. Mag. 1(4), 5–13 (1994)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  10. T. Sato, J. Ichikawa, M. Mitsuishi, Y. Hatamura: A new micro-teleoperation system employing a hand-held force feedback pencil, IEEE Int. Conf. Robot. Autom. (1994)

    Google Scholar 

  11. T.B. Sheridan: Telerobotics, Automation, and Human Supervisory Control (MIT Press, Cambridge 1992)

    Google Scholar 

  12. http://www.cl.cam.ac.uk/coffee/qsf/timeline.html

  13. K. Goldberg, M. Mascha, S. Gentner, N. Rothenberg, C. Sutter, J. Wiegley: Robot teleoperation via WWW, IEEE Int. Conf. Robot. Autom. (1995)

    Google Scholar 

  14. K. Goldberg, M. Mascha, S. Gentner, N. Rothenberg, C. Sutter, J. Wiegley: Beyond the web: Manipulating the physical world via the WWW, Comp. Netw. ISDN Syst. J. 28(1), 209–219 (1995), Archives can be viewed at http://www.usc.edu/dept/raiders/

    Article  Google Scholar 

  15. B. Dalton, K. Taylor: A framework for internet robotics, IEEE Int. Conf. Intell. Robot. Syst. (IROS): Workshop on Web Robots (Victoria 1998)

    Google Scholar 

  16. http://telerobot.mech.uwa.edu.au/

  17. H. Hu, L. Yu, P.W. Tsui, Q. Zhou: Internet-based robotic systems for teleoperation, Assembly Autom. 21(2), 143–151 (2001)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  18. R. Safaric, M. Debevc, R. Parkin, S. Uran: Telerobotics experiments via internet, IEEE Trans. Ind. Electron. 48(2), 424–431 (2001)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  19. S. Jia, K. Takase: A CORBA-based internet robotic system, Adv. Robot. 15(6), 663–673 (2001)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  20. S. Jia, Y. Hada, G. Ye, K. Takase: Distributed telecare robotic systems using CORBA as a communication architecture, IEEE Int. Conf. Robot. Autom. (ICRA) (Washington 2002)

    Google Scholar 

  21. J. Kim, B. Choi, S. Park, K. Kim, S. Ko: Remote control system using real-time mpeg-4 streaming technology for mobile robot, IEEE Int. Conf. Consum. Electron. (2002)

    Google Scholar 

  22. T. Mirfakhrai, S. Payandeh: A delay prediction approach for teleoperation over the internet, IEEE Int. Conf. Robot. Autom. (ICRA) (2002)

    Google Scholar 

  23. K. Han, Y. Kim, J. Kim, S. Hsia: Internet control of personal robot between kaist and uc davis, IEEE Int. Conf. Robot. Autom. (ICRA) (2002)

    Google Scholar 

  24. L. Ngai, W.S. Newman, V. Liberatore: An experiment in internet-based, human–assisted robotics, IEEE Int. Conf. Robot. Autom. (ICRA) (2002)

    Google Scholar 

  25. R.C. Luo, T.M. Chen: Development of a multibehavior-based mobile robot for remote supervisory control through the internet, IEEE/ASME Trans. Mechatron. 5(4), 376–385 (2000)

    Article  MathSciNet  Google Scholar 

  26. D. Aarno, S. Ekvall, D. Kragi: Adaptive virtual fixtures for machine-assisted teleoperation tasks, IEEE Int. Conf. Robot. Autom. (ICRA) (2005) pp. 1151–1156

    Google Scholar 

  27. I. Belousov, S. Chebukov, V. Sazonov: Web-based teleoperation of the robot interacting with fast moving objects, IEEE Int. Conf. Robot. Autom. (ICRA) (2005) pp. 685–690

    Google Scholar 

  28. Z. Cen, A. Goradia, M. Mutka, N. Xi, W. Fung, Y. Liu: Improving the operation efficiency of supermedia enhanced internet based teleoperation via an overlay network, IEEE Int. Conf. Robot. Autom. (ICRA) (2005) pp. 691–696

    Google Scholar 

  29. N.P. Jouppi, S. Thomas: Telepresence systems with automatic preservation of user head height, local rotation, and remote translation, IEEE Int. Conf. Robot. Autom. (ICRA) (2005) pp. 62–68

    Google Scholar 

  30. B. Ricks, C.W. Nielsen, M.A. Goodrich: Ecological displays for robot interaction: a new perspective, Int. Conf. Intell. Robot. Syst. (IROS), Vol. 3 (2004) pp. 2855–2860

    Google Scholar 

  31. D. Ryu, S. Kang, M. Kim, J. Song: Multi-modal user interface for teleoperation of robhaz-dt2 field robot system, Int. Conf. Intell. Robot. Syst. (IROS), Vol. 1 (2004) pp. 168–173

    Google Scholar 

  32. J. Su, Z. Luo: Incremental motion compression for telepresent walking subject to spatial constraints, IEEE Int. Conf. Robot. Autom. (ICRA) (2005) pp. 69–74

    Google Scholar 

  33. I. Toshima, S. Aoki: Effect of driving delay with an acoustical tele-presence robot, telehead, IEEE Int. Conf. Robot. Autom. (ICRA) (2005) pp. 56–61

    Google Scholar 

  34. N. Chong, T. Kotoku, K. Ohba, K. Komoriya, N. Matsuhira, K. Tanie: Remote coordinated controls in multiple telerobot cooperation, IEEE Int. Conf. Robot. Autom., Vol. 4 (2000) pp. 3138–3343

    Google Scholar 

  35. E. Paulos, J. Canny, F. Barrientos: Prop: Personal roving presence, SIGGRAPH Vis. Proc. (1997) p. 99

    Google Scholar 

  36. K. Taylor, J.P. Trevelyan: Australiaʼs telerobot on the web, 26th Symp. Ind. Robot. (Singapore 1995) pp. 39–44

    Google Scholar 

  37. A. Khamis, D.M. Rivero, F. Rodriguez, M. Salichs: Pattern-based architecture for building mobile robotics remote laboratories, IEEE Int. Conf. Robot. Autom. (ICRA) (Taipei 2003) pp. 3284–3289

    Google Scholar 

  38. C. Cosma, M. Confente, D. Botturi, P. Fiorini: Laboratory tools for robotics and automation education, IEEE Int. Conf. Robot. Autom. (ICRA) (Taipei 2003) pp. 3303–3308

    Google Scholar 

  39. K.W. Dorman, J.L. Pullen, W.O. Keksz, P.H. Eismann, K.A. Kowalski, J.P. Karlen: The servicing aid tool: A teleoperated robotics system for space applications, The Seventh Annual Workshop on Space Operations Applications and Research (SOAR 1993), Vol. 1 (Johnson Space Center, Houston 1994)

    Google Scholar 

  40. C. Pollak, H. Hutter: A webcam as recording device for light microscopes, J. Comp. Assist. Microsc. 10(4), 179–183 (1998)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  41. K. Goldberg, D. Song, A. Levandowski: Collaborative teleoperation using networked spatial dynamic voting, Proc. IEEE 91(3), 430–439 (2003)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  42. J. Walrand, P. Varaiya: High-Performance Communication Networks, 2nd edn. (Morgan Kaufmann, San Francisco 2000)

    Google Scholar 

  43. M.A. Peshkin, A.C. Sanderson: Minimization of energy in quasi-static manipulation, IEEE Trans. Robot. Autom. 5(1), 53–60 (1989)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  44. M.T. Mason: On the scope of quasi-static pushing, 3rd Int. Symp. Robot. Res., ed. by O. Faugeras, G. Giralt (MIT Press, Cambridge 1986)

    Google Scholar 

  45. E. Ladd, J. OʼDonnell: Using HTML 4, XML, and Java 1.2 (QUE Press, 1998)

    Google Scholar 

  46. K. Goldberg, M. Mascha, S. Gentner, N. Rothenberg, C. Sutter, J. Wiegley: Desktop tele-operation via the world wide web, IEEE Int. Conf. Robot. Autom. (Nagoya 1995)

    Google Scholar 

  47. H. Friz: Design of an Augmented Reality User Interface for an Internet Based Telerobot Using Multiple Monoscopic Views. Ph.D. Thesis (Technical University of Clausthal, Clausthal-Zellerfeld 2000)

    Google Scholar 

  48. T. Fong, C. Thorpe: Vehicle teleoperation interfaces, Auton. Robot. 11, 9–18 (2001)

    Article  MATH  Google Scholar 

  49. D. Song, A. Pashkevich, K. Goldberg: Sharecam part II: Approximate and distributed algorithms for a collaboratively controlled robotic webcam, IEEE/RSJ Int. Conf. Intell. Robot. (IROS), Vol. 2 (Las Vegas 2003) pp. 1087–1093

    Google Scholar 

  50. K. Goldberg, B. Chen, R. Solomon, S. Bui, B. Farzin, J. Heitler, D. Poon, G. Smith: Collaborative teleoperation via the internet, IEEE Int. Conf. Robot. Autom. (ICRA), Vol. 2 (2000) pp. 2019–2024

    Google Scholar 

  51. D. Song: Systems and Algorithms for Collaborative Teleoperation. Ph.D. Thesis (Department of Industrial Engineering and Operations Research, University of California 2004)

    Google Scholar 

  52. K. Goldberg, B. Chen: Collaborative teleoperation via the internet, Int. Conf. Intell. Robot. Syst. (IROS) (2001)

    Google Scholar 

  53. D. Song, K. Goldberg: Sharecam part I: Interface, system architecture, and implementation of a collaboratively controlled robotic webcam, IEEE/RSJ Int. Conf. Intell. Robot. (IROS), Vol. 2 (Las Vegas 2003) pp. 1080–1086

    Google Scholar 

  54. D. Song, K. Goldberg: CONE Project (www.c-o-n-e.org)

    Google Scholar 

  55. P.X. Liu, M. Meng, S.X. Yang: Data communications for internet robots, Auton. Robot. 15, 213–223 (2003)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  56. W. Fung, N. Xi, W. Lo, B. Song, Y. Sun, Y. Liu, I.H. Elhajj: Task driven dynamic qos based bandwidth allcoation for real-time teleoperation via the internet, IEEE/RSJ Int. Conf. Intell. Robot. Syst. (Las Vegas 2003)

    Google Scholar 

  57. M. Amoretti, S. Bottazzi, M. Reggiani, S. Caselli: Evaluation of data distribution techniques in a CORBA-based telerobotic system, IEEE/RSJ Int. Conf. Intell. Robot. Syst. (Las Vegas 2003)

    Google Scholar 

  58. S. Bottazzi, S. Caselli, M. Reggiani, M. Amoretti: A software framework based on real time COBRA for telerobotics systems, IEEE/RSJ Int. Conf. Intell. Robot. Syst., EPFL (Lausanne 2002)

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding authors

Correspondence to Dezhen Song Prof , Ken Goldberg Prof or Nak Young Chong Prof .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2008 Springer-Verlag

About this entry

Cite this entry

Song, D., Goldberg, K., Chong, N.Y. (2008). Networked Telerobots. In: Siciliano, B., Khatib, O. (eds) Springer Handbook of Robotics. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-540-30301-5_33

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-540-30301-5_33

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-540-23957-4

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-540-30301-5

  • eBook Packages: EngineeringEngineering (R0)

Publish with us

Policies and ethics