Semi-automatic Teleoperation for D&D

For deactivation and decommissioning (D&D) of contaminated structures in the weapons complex, remotely operated robotic systems are expected to replace human workers from hazardous radiation and difficult work environments, while improving productivity and reducing costs. Nevertheless, the major drawback of currently available remote operation technology is that teleoperation is a slow and imprecise process, mainly due to the difficulty of transferring perception and manipulation over a remote location. To this end, this work presents a semi-automatic teleoperation system that facilitates efficient and precise teleoperation. Building upon behavior based robotic architecture and a proprietary Cobotic hand controller, two types of enhanced teleoperation tele-autonomy and tele-collaboration – are implemented.