Example of the type of ground robot being controlled by the new system.
This is an i-Robot SUGV
As we prepare for wars fought with robots, it is comforting to know that at least half of the people fighting will be safe at home. The US army's Long Distance Tele-Operation (LDTO) system allows for military robots to be controlled at any distance using cellular radio and secure web portals. That is right, a person from their home living room can operate a bot on the other side of the globe.
The LDTO was developed at the US military's Tank Automotive Research, Development and Engineering Centre (TARDEC). The interface for the remote operators is designed to mimic the standard control systems used in today's standard line-of-sight ground robot interface. An Electrical Engineer in the project, Ty Valashcho, explained, "While UAS are flying in theater, they're being controlled from here [The Ground Vehicle Robotics (GVR) Systems Integration Laboratory]. Our task within GVR was to see if we could get that capability working and be able to drive it using all in-house assets."
The biggest challenge for the LDTO system comes from Internet latency. The unpredictable nature of the connection could give single digit millisecond response time, or several seconds. Valascho continued, "If the robot's moving at full speed and you're trying to negotiate around something, even a half-second delay can make a huge difference. Latency is a problem, and the fact that we're going over the Internet adds another challenge, because it's not constant latency. This is a variable latency, so sometimes the delays are very great and sometimes there's very little delay. We're trying different techniques to minimize the effect on the user."
Like in competitive video games, the latency (ping time) can make all the difference in a real-time situation. If anyone has watched the film "The Hurt Locker," they will understand how valuable keeping people out of harm's way can truly be.
Cabe