Robot with ‘human soul’ explores remotely

November 22, 2006 | Source: NewScientist.com news service

Technology that lets a human “inhabit” the body of a distant robot for remote exploration is being tested in Germany.

The robot sits on top of a wheeled platform and has an extendable arm that it uses to manipulate objects. An operator moves the robot around by simply walking or using a foot pedal and can see out of twin cameras positioned on the robot’s head after donning a head-mounted display.

The controller’s wrist is also connected to a touch sensitive (haptic) interface that controls the robot’s arm. Furthermore, a wearable glove provides control over a three-fingered hand at the end of the robot’s arm.

Force-feedback gives the operator a sense of the robot’s physical interactions with its surroundings – by providing resistance to the user if the robot is pushing up against or grasping something, for example. Meanwhile, microphones relay surrounding noises to a pair of headphones.