Semi-autonomous teleoperation robotics project receives funding

The Shadow Robot Company has announced that it and its partners have received funding from Innovate UK for a project to create a demonstrator of a novel semi-autonomous teleoperation (SAT) system.

Teleoperation is the remote operation of a machine or system from distance by a human operator. The Shadow Robot Company claims that its system is simpler and more intuitive than existing teleoperation technologies. The SAT project, launched on 1st March 2017, involves OC Robotics, Cambrian Intelligence and UCL and will run for the next 13 months.

The Shadow Robot Company’s Dexterous Hand will be used on the end of an OC Robotics snake-arm robot. Cambrian Intelligence will create an augmented VR user interface, whilst UCL will be installing vision and testing the system on its hardware.

According to the members of the SAT project, the main aim will be to create a semi-autonomous system that provides an AR interface with a robot hand and arm attached, so the human operator can work at a higher level than direct teleoperation and tell the robot system what to do, not how to do it.

“We’ve got the opportunity to change the face of teleoperation and establish SAT as a safer, more reliable, more cost-effective solution to remote robotics,” said Rich Walker, MD of Shadow Robot Company. “This will be a fresh approach to teleoperation and will see our Dexterous Hand move into an industrial application, we're excited by the possibilities of where this could lead.”