Cyberselves tech lets humans teleport to robots thousands of miles away

"Teleporting" tech that potentially lets humans operate robots from thousands of miles away could soon help with dangerous manual tasks, such as disaster management, nuclear decommissioning, telemedicine and even space exploration.

Created by UK-based robotics firm Cyberselves, the new tech merges virtual reality and robotics, allowing operators to "see, hear and feel" through the robot and perform tasks as if they were really there.

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The platform could stand to revolutionise emergency robotics, by keeping operators well out of harm's way and offers a completely new experience for emergency workers.

The tech has earned them a place in the finals of the Avatar XPrize global robotics competition, one of the many prizes offered by the XPrize Foundation, a non-profit specialising in promoting innovative tech for the energy transition.

The prize itself covers many branches, from a $100 million (€89.1 million) carbon capture prize funded by Tesla CEO Elon Musk, to a $20 million (€17.8 million) prize that seeks to turn carbon dioxide into interesting and useful consumer products, such as vodka, hand sanitiser, or even sunglasses.

The final prize for the robotics competition is $10 million (€8.9 million) in funding and focuses on the development of an avatar system to deploy a human’s senses, actions, and presence to a remote location in real-time. The prize runs for four years.

Unlike the other semi-finalist teams, Cyberselves’ technology lets users teleport into a robot from long distances, which the firm thinks gives it a distinct advantage over its competitors.

The company has offered an exhaustive list of applications for the tech, from bomb disposal, to offshore wind management and search and rescue operations.

As part of the semi-finals, which were held in Miami in September, each avatar was tasked with completing three tasks: completing a children's jigsaw, grabbing and raising a glass of wine and giving a toast with a human companion, and lifting a vase and feeling its texture. Applicants were judged on their ability to execute the tasks whilst conveying a sense of presence for the human operator and the person the robot was interacting with.

"Our Teleport app makes the remote operation of robots both powerfully effective and functionally simple", said Daniel Camilleri, the co-founder of Cyberselves. 

"With a smartphone, browser or VR headset, the user can take remote control of any robot in a way that is intuitive to the human body. The system has already been integrated with underwater ROVs, land-based UGVs and humanoid social robots."

The tech reportedly works through a high-speed connection between the firm's cloud app, dubbed "Animus" and the robot itself, which Camilleri claims offers an instantaneous response and "seamless functionality".

"A movement made by a human operator in Europe could be carried out almost simultaneously by a robot in the United States", he added.

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The prize director for the Avatar XPrize, David Locke, revealed that all semi-finalists have the potential to "entirely reimagine the human experience" adding the project's overseers were eager to see how far this new tech can be pushed. 

The Avatar XPrize finals are set to be held in Autumn 2022, which will see teams compete for a share of $8 million.

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