Enhancing autonomy in social robots through a real-time teleoperation system

Abstract

<p>The utilization of socially assistive robots (SARs) has shown great potential in various applications. However, there are practical challenges that hinder their widespread adoption. Recent studies have explored the use of teleoperation systems as a solution to overcome these challenges by streamlining data collection and communication with SARs. This paper introduces a cloud-based teleoperation system for robotics that enables real-time control of the robot platform, allowing remote users to view video streams and manipulate the robot system. The proposed teleoperation system was implemented in a cloud environment and tested with two different social robot platforms. The experimental results demonstrate the system's quick response and stable communication performance, meeting the requirements for remote-controlled teleoperation. Consequently, employing the proposed mobile-based teleoperation system in social robot applications enhances operator productivity, expedites operations, and reduces task completion time.</p>