Teleoperation

Teleoperation is the remote control of a physical system — a robot, manipulator, vehicle, or surgical instrument — by a human operator at a distance, typically using force-feedback haptic devices that let the operator feel contact and resistance from the remote environment. Early haptic research programmes, including the work that led to the commercial PHANToM device, were driven by teleoperation applications such as microsurgery, undersea recovery, nuclear maintenance, and scanning-probe microscopy. Teleoperation matters for accessibility research for two reasons: it drove much of the underlying haptic technology that now supports non-visual displays for blind users, and it is itself a domain of assistive and enabling technology (for example, remote-manipulation systems that let a disabled user operate equipment they cannot reach physically).