Remote Supervisory Control of a Humanoid Robot

Abstract

For this demonstration, participants have the opportu-nity to control a humanoid robot located hundreds of miles away. The general task is to reach, grasp, and transport various objects in the vicinity of the robot. Al-though remote “pick-and-place ” operations of this sort form the basis of numerous practical applications, they are frequently error-prone and fatiguing for human op-erators. Participants can experience the relative diffi-culty of remote manipulation both with and without the use of an assistive interface. This interface simplifies the task by injecting artificial intelligence in key places without seizing higher-level control from the operator. In particular, we demonstrate the benefits of two key components of the system: a video display of predicted operator intentions, and a haptic-based controller for au-tomated grasping.