As mentioned in a previous article Telepresence is a technology I could see making a positive impact in the space sector, alongside in orbit servicing, recycling and in-orbit manufacturing.
Telepresence is a system that creates a sense of presence at a remote site. What makes telepresence different than remotely operating a machine is that telepresence robot convinces the operator they are in the remote location and are the robot themselves than just a remote controlled machine. The illusion of presence is created by the robot providing feedback that replicates all of our senses. For example, a telepresence system operating in a mineshaft will provide both physical and auditory feedback to make the operator feel they are moving down the shaft, “feel” the uneven terrain and not only hear sounds but also able to locate the origin of those noises.
Figure 1 Cisco TelePresence IX5000 Series (Cisco)
Another example is teleconferences where instead of the standard online meetings we have systems that can replicate presence within the meeting room. We all have had experienced online meetings during the COVID pandemic where we can discuss problems and solutions remotely however the conversations don’t really flow naturally as if more than one person talks, we can’t hear each participant properly. A telepresence system can replicate our hearing and exploits the “cocktail party” effect where you can talk to someone “next to you” or not having to restrict the conversation to one person at a time. This might sound like a bit sci-fi but companies like Cisco TelePresence IX5000 Series (Figure 1) have been selling such systems for years that can be used to provide immersive online meetings (1).
What makes telepresence interesting is that it combines the machine repeatability and precision with the human’s level of awareness and adaptability. By being more aware of the remote environments the operator’s own performance is improved and they can operate the machine more effectively. Telepresence systems can be used to conduct tasks in dangerous environments without risking the lives of human operators. They can also be used in conjunction with people in the remote location as the operator and on site staff can clearly communicate with each other therefore the team could have experts all around the world providing support.
Figure 2 AVATARX Program (JAXA)
One area that I would like to see this technology used is in the space sector as they could help aid astronauts, space colonies and space exploration. Thankfully there are companies and organisations exploring this set of technologies such as the JAXA AVATRX program which will develop telepresence robots for ISS and beyond (2) (3). ESA
One of the main drawbacks of telepresence is bandwidth as the system does transmit a lot of data between the operator and robot. If there isn’t a secure and fast connection between the operator and robot the illusion of presence can be disrupted and reduce the effectiveness of the system. If there is lag between sending and receiving signals of the machine can result in the operator feeling disconnected with the machine and can lead to simulation sickness. This means that some space applications with an operator on Earth may not be feasible.
We could have telepresence systems used to aid in constructing in orbit structures like space stations, in orbit servicing and manufacturing centres. While we could have astronauts supporting we could have robots doing the most dangerous tasks during assembly and repairing these systems. We could have telepresence systems installed in space stations to allow the crew to communicate more with ground crew back on Earth.
Figure 3 Da Vinci telepresence medical robot (Intuitive Machines)
The ground crew could become more aware other space station environments and be able to provide better support both technically and mental health support as the crew can have a more natural conversation. In addition we could have telepresence robots help the crew in medical treatments if there is an emergency just like we have telepresence surgical robots like the Da Vinci telepresence medical robot (4).
Figure 4 Telepresence operations from orbiting space station (NASA/GSFC)
The proposed Gateway lunar space station (5) which will orbit the moon we could have telepresence systems where the operator is based on the space station with a rover situated on the lunar surface (6) (7). The operator would then be able to explore the moon without needing to land. Have the space station itself be homebase than Earth since it is in closer proximity (Figure 4). The 1 or 2 second delay in communication between Earth and the moon would make a telepresence system almost impossible to operate. Therefore having a space station in situ of a celestial body of interest could make it more feasible. We could have rovers used to explore the surface prospecting for building materials, water or have tele-operated equipment aiding the construction of new permanent habitats. We could also have operators controlling on site excavators to harvest and process the building materials for the new colony. With support of orbiting cubesats to act as repeaters we could ensure a constant and reliable connection between the robots and in-orbit operators. We could also pair this up with ground crew on Earth to ensure that a lunar or Mars colony is supported by a wide range of experts with diverse skillsets (8).
Overall while telepresence is a very powerful tool that has potential in applications here on Earth with some changes we could utlise this system in our goal of increasing our presence in space.
References
1. Cisco. Cisco TelePresence IX5000 Series. [Online] [Cited: 11 May 2024.] https://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/products/collaboration-endpoints/immersive-telePresence/index.html.
2. JAXA. AVATAR X Program. [Online] [Cited: 11 May 2024.] https://about.avatarin.com/avatarx/english.html.
3. IEEE . JAXA Wants Telepresence Robots for In-Space Construction and Exploration. [Online] 17 September 2018. [Cited: 11 May 2024.] https://spectrum.ieee.org/jaxa-wants-telepresence-robots-for-inspace-construction-and-exploration.
4. Intuitive Surgical. Da Vinci Robotic-Assisted Surgery. [Online] [Cited: 11 May 2024.] https://www.intuitive.com/en-us/patients/da-vinci-robotic-surgery.
5. NASA. Gateway. [Online] [Cited: 11 May 2024.] https://www.nasa.gov/mission/gateway/.
6. Ackerman, Evan. Are Telepresence Robots the Best Way to Explore Other Worlds? IEEE Spectrum. [Online] IEEE, 22 June 2017. [Cited: 11 May 2024.] https://spectrum.ieee.org/are-telepresence-robots-the-best-way-to-explore-other-worlds.
7. Next frontier in planetary geological reconnaissance: Low-latency telepresence. Robert C. Anderson, Dan Adamo, Debra Buczkowski, James Dohm, Tamas Haidegger, Tom Jones, Gregg Podnar, Danielle Wyrick. 1, Salem : Elsevier, 2021, Icarus, Vol. 368. 114558.
8. Jones, Tom. Exploration telepresence. Aerospace America. [Online] October 2017. [Cited: 11 May 2024.] https://aerospaceamerica.aiaa.org/departments/exploration-telepresence/.