Integrating WAP-based wireless devices in robot teleoperation environments

The proliferation of handheld wireless devices along with the rise of platform-independent application protocols for these devices such as the wireless application protocol (WAP) have created new possibilities for improving the scope and functionality of teleoperation environments. Although the flexibility that these devices present to a human operator are enormous, the development of teleoperation systems based on these platforms has to deal with specific problems related primarily to the poor imaging capabilities of handheld devices, the unique features of their input modules and the limited bandwidth and increased latency of wireless networks. The paper presents the results of a pilot study investigating the feasibility of building teleoperation systems that use existing wireless infrastructure. In particular, the paper describes the design and implementation of a WAP-based system for mobile robot teleoperation. The system allows the operator to control the movement of a mobile robot through a mobile phone. The paper presents results of user trials with the system, describes the limitations of this approach and proposes ways of overcoming these limitations