Glossary / Operations
What is Teleoperation?
Teleoperation is the ability for a remote human operator to take manual control of a robot, typically to resolve a situation the robot's automation can't handle alone.
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While autonomous robots handle the vast majority of their work without human input, teleoperation provides a fallback for edge cases — an unusual obstacle, a request from staff, or a support diagnosis — where a remote operator can view the robot's camera feed and drive it manually for a short period.
This matters for reliability in practice: rather than a robot getting permanently stuck and waiting for someone on site to notice, a remote support team can intervene within minutes, often resolving the issue before it affects the schedule at all.
Teleoperation is typically used sparingly and logged, since the goal remains full autonomy; frequent teleoperation on a site usually indicates a mapping or environment issue that should be fixed rather than routinely worked around.
Common questions
- Does a person watch the robot constantly?
- No, teleoperation is used occasionally to resolve specific issues remotely, not as continuous supervision — the robot otherwise runs autonomously.
- Is teleoperation a sign the robot isn't working well?
- Occasional use is normal; frequent teleoperation on the same site usually points to a mapping or environment issue worth fixing rather than an inherent robot limitation.
- Can teleoperation be used to check on a robot's status?
- Yes, remote support teams often use the same connection to check status and diagnose issues without needing a site visit.
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