Telexistence, Virtual Teleportation and Robotic Avatars: A Primer
Picture this: sometime in the not too distant future, you’re relaxing at home in Sydney (or wherever) and get a text from your elderly parents in Melbourne (or wherever) asking you to help lift that rustic, it-really-should-go couch in their living room. The Roomba 3000 robot vacuum you bought them last Christmas just got stuck under the couch (again).
Of course, you oblige and don your electro-tactile haptic suit and V.R. headset, which virtually ‘teleports’ you (in a manner of speaking) to your parent’s living room, whereby remotely operating their Home Butler 5.0 robot unit — you lift one end of the couch with ‘your’ left arm, nudge the errant Roomba on its way with ‘your’ right foot and voilà, problem solved! #Winning
Back in the present day, telepresence robots (think ‘tablets on wheels’) have been around for a while now, initially focused on telecommuting-related activities such as meetings and presentations, and more recently expanding into other areas, for example, distance education and healthcare.
Recent developments in robotics and related technologies — including V.R. headsets, haptics, IoT sensors and devices, high-performance A.I. ‘accelerator’ chips and near-memory computing, and cloud (including ‘fog’ and ‘edge’) computing — are making the once-fictional scenario described earlier increasingly feasible.
This confluence of inter-related technologies is enabling the development of telepresence robotic platforms where a robot could essentially become a person’s physical ‘avatar’. The person would be able to see what the robot sees, hear what it hears and even feel what it feels.
This video of SoftBank Robotics’ experimental Romeo telepresence robotic platform gives a taste of things to come:
Today, it’s more of a matter of when not if, we’ll experience ‘telexistence’, where a person might use Telexistence-as-a-Service platforms to simultaneously ‘exist’ in another place. A ‘place’ could be a real physical environment or a virtual software-rendered V.R. environment, or even a ‘hybrid’ mixed (augmented) reality environment.
Another noteworthy robotics firm, Telexistence (its partners include Airbus), is also developing a telepresence robotic platform targeted at a wide range of potential use cases, from retail stores to entertainment and even ‘tele-tourism’.
For example, imagine being able to put on a V.R. headset and take a stroll (via your robotic avatar) through the Louvre, the British Museum and The Met (or any other popular tourist attraction for that matter), all within a few hours, from anywhere in the world? What are the implications of this potential development for airlines and the travel and tourism sectors, including associated products and services?
Here are a few other foreseeable use cases of telepresence robotics platforms:
Tele-accessibility: telepresence robotic platforms could be a game-changer for people with significant physical impairments (for example, tetraplegia) impacting their functional capacity and mobility.
For example, by using voice instructions or possibly even just their thought patterns (yes, that’s a thing now), they’d be able to operate a telepresence robot to support with their activities of daily living at home and physical tasks at work. They’d also be able to participate in a wider range of recreational and social activities, and access new jobs that mainly utilize remotely-operated telepresence robots.
Telehealth and telecare: expanded applications in healthcare and telemedicine, plus new use cases in disability support, aged care, childcare, and even pet care.
High-risk work: telepresence robotics could help de-risk traditionally high-risk work activities and environments across most industries, from emergency services and search and rescue, to underground mining, construction, high-rise window-cleaning and everything in-between.
Many industries (such as underground mining) already use remotely-operated vehicles to increase productivity and de-risk specific aspects of their operations, so telepresence robotic platforms would be a natural next step for their operational risk mitigation and efficiency strategies.
Human-robot teams: with a bit of creative thinking, telepresence robotics platforms could allow us to develop new ways of doing things and new things to do.
For example, telepresence robotic platforms could enable one person to control and coordinate a ‘team’ of robots to work on collaborative tasks (swarms), amplifying the person’s own capabilities and productivity in the process (‘force multipliers’). Such uses cases are already being developed in military settings, and gradually finding their way into commercial applications.
People would also be able to control and co-ordinate individual robots or swarms modeled on animals and insects (biomimicry) — such as robotic dragonflies, geckos, and dogs — to perform novel ‘non-anthropomorphic’ tasks, creating new occupations and industries along the way.
Robo-entertainment: the ability to play around (no pun) with combinations of virtual and hybrid human-robotic experiences, including the use of robotic avatars, would be a boon for the entertainment industry and lead to innovations in video games and e-sports, film and TV production, streaming services, and the performing arts (among many others).
Robo-sports: sports teams and entertainment firms could use telepresence robotics to develop robotic versions of existing sports (for example, robot boxing, Hugh Jackman style?), not to mention entirely new ‘robosports’ — something along the lines of drone-racing, but with different types of robots.
We could even ask an A.I. to invent new sports for us, à la Speedgate…
‘New space’ industries: telepresence robotics could accelerate the development of several new (and potentially very lucrative) space industries, including asteroid and lunar mining, microgravity manufacturing, and space pharma. Indeed, our physiological limitations mean humanity’s near-term progress in space and planetary exploration will continue to heavily rely on various types of robots, including telepresence platforms.
To sum up: amidst the existential angst around the potential impacts of A.I. and automation on workers and communities, we can take some comfort that emerging tech trends such as telepresence robotics platforms and telexistence (and their associated ecosystems) could help create many interesting — and maybe even fascinating — new jobs and industries in the near future.
About the author:
Aamer Fattah is a scientist, innovation leader and deep tech expert.
The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of any agency, organization, employer or company.
