Immersive Teleoperation of Beyond-Human-Scale Robotic Manipulators: Challenges and Future Directions

TL;DR

This paper explores the unique challenges of immersive teleoperation for large robotic manipulators beyond human size, focusing on control, safety, and interface design to improve human-robot collaboration in industrial applications.

Contribution

It identifies key challenges and trade-offs in control and feedback systems for BHSRMs, proposing future research directions for evaluation, scaling, and safety models.

Findings

Early experimental comparison of control interfaces

Analysis of sensory feedback trade-offs

Outline of future research directions

Abstract

Teleoperation of beyond-human-scale robotic manipulators (BHSRMs) presents unique challenges that differ fundamentally from conventional human-scale systems. As these platforms gain relevance in industrial domains such as construction, mining, and disaster response, immersive interfaces must be rethought to support scalable, safe, and effective human-robot collaboration. This paper investigates the control, cognitive, and interface-level challenges of immersive teleoperation in BHSRMs, with a focus on ensuring operator safety, minimizing sensorimotor mismatch, and enhancing the sense of embodiment. We analyze design trade-offs in haptic and visual feedback systems, supported by early experimental comparisons of exoskeleton- and joystick-based control setups. Finally, we outline key research directions for developing new evaluation tools, scaling strategies, and human-centered safety models tailored to large-scale robotic telepresence.