Telerobot control via Internet

This paper describes design issues involved in providing remote users with Internet access to a laboratory robotic system and presents a real experiment which enables students to control a six degree teleoperated robotic manipulator. Simulation tools for the robotic hardware are developed using Java and VRML 97 to create a desktop virtual reality environment which improves the visualisation of the manipulator hardware and associated workspace. The V-Collide library of C++ collision detection functions has also been integrated within the simulator to provide realistic detection between the virtual robot and its associated workspace. Communication between the remote user and project server via the Internet, interface electronics and control software is also discussed.