Web User Interface: how to teleoperate your robot

Robot teleoperation allows you to effortlessly control your robot, providing an instant response to your commands and precise performance at a distance. Discover how to teleoperate your robot with our software in this article.

For smoother and more intuitive teleoperation at PAL Robotics we designed a group of user-friendly applications (check out our recent blog article on the Web User Interface). These tools allow the robot to navigate using maps and camera views, launch speech, motions, and other types of pre-programmed behaviour or more complex tasks in real-time.

Let’s take a look at the options available to manage a robot from a distance:

How to check the current state of the robot

Open the “Information Panel” application to quickly review the robot’s state in real-time.

Information panel web app

Different robot models will have their own options available on the screen, but the most common are:

  • Is the emergency button pressed?
  • Is the robot at the dock station and charging?
  • Which level is the battery of the robot at?
  • Which network is the robot on right now?

This information will help you to react to the situation.

You can also check the robot’s position on the navigation map if needed – just go to the “Navigation” application.

Navigation web app

How to make your robot perform from a distance

Each time you use the robot (especially if it’s a social robot like PAL Robotics’ ARI or TIAGo) the situation is unique and you therefore may want to instantly launch very custom functionalities.

The web application “Command Desks” allows you to create groups of personalised buttons that will launch assigned actions (like speech, pre-recorded motions, or presentations). It’s the quickest way to manage a robot if you are in a public space or at an event. Just as you would have a “remote control” with the buttons needed to hand.

Command Desks web app

On the same screen you also have a button for a visual joystick – to make your robot move from one place to another!

See what your robot sees and navigate

Enable your ARI robot to navigate remotely and safely by using its camera view with the “Teleoperation” webapp.

Teleoperation web app

The head camera point of view can be accessed from the start screen. Using this interactive video view you can make the robot move to a point in the space simply by clicking on a visible spot on the floor that’s empty.

If you turn off navigation mode it enables you to control the robot’s head position simply by clicking on any point of the camera view. The robot will automatically “look” towards the chosen position within available angles.

The Dock and Undock robot options are also available on the same screen.

These Web User Interface functionalities enhance user engagement and also provide safer and more precise control of the robot.

Remote control in action: demonstration video

Watch how teleoperation works in action in this quick video we filmed using an ARI robot. This video provides a simple but detailed showcase of ARI’s capabilities as a teleoperated robot and offers a closer look at real-time control and interaction with the robot through the previously mentioned Web User Interface applications.

Teleoperate a robot by yourself!

Most of PAL Robotics robots include Web User Interface teleoperation tools.

The robot with the complete package is our social robot ARI. Other PAL Robotics’ robots that also feature tools for remote control include:

  • TIAGo – a versatile mobile-manipulator robot, and is equally adept at engaging in social interactions,
  • ARan, TIAGo Base, and TIAGo OMNI Base – high-performance robots perfect for logistics use with the corresponding remote control Premium Software
  • Retail robot StockBot that also offers an intuitive pack of Web User Interface applications for remote management of the robot.

To find out more about renting our robots whether it’s for business, education, or entertainment, get in touch with our team. Additionally, we are open to developing new applications to cover your specific needs. To find out more about PAL Robotics, our robotics solutions, and our webGUI applications, visit our website.

Post’s author: Karina Khodzhakulieva, UI/UX Engineer at PAL Robotics

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