Low-Cost Teleoperation Extension for Mobile Manipulators

TL;DR

This paper introduces an open-source, low-cost teleoperation system for mobile manipulators that uses commodity hardware like smartphones and foot pedals, enhancing usability and reducing costs.

Contribution

It presents a modular teleoperation framework combining smartphone head tracking, leader arms, and foot pedals, compatible with existing robot frameworks and validated through user studies.

Findings

Improved task performance with the new system

Reduced cognitive load compared to keyboard control

Maintains immersive visual feedback without VR helmets

Abstract

Teleoperation of mobile bimanual manipulators requires simultaneous control of high-dimensional systems, often necessitating expensive specialized equipment. We present an open-source teleoperation framework that enables intuitive whole body control using readily available commodity hardware. Our system combines smartphone-based head tracking for camera control, leader arms for bilateral manipulation, and foot pedals for hands-free base navigation. Using a standard smartphone with IMU and display, we eliminate the need for costly VR helmets while maintaining immersive visual feedback. The modular architecture integrates seamlessly with the XLeRobot framework, but can be easily adapted to other types of mobile manipulators. We validate our approach through user studies that demonstrate improved task performance and reduced cognitive load compared to keyboard-based control.