Challenges and opportunities for delay-invariant telerobotic interactions (short paper)

Cardinaels, Dries; Veuskens, Tom; Ramakers, Raf; Luyten, Kris

Dries Cardinaels, Tom Veuskens, Raf Ramakers, & Kris Luyten, Challenges and opportunities for delay-invariant telerobotic interactions (short paper), in Proceedings of the 29th ACM International Conference on Intelligent User Interfaces (IUI 2025), (Association for Computing Machinery 2025).

Abstract:

Effective operation in direct-control telerobotics relies heavily on real-time communication between the operator and the robot, as the operator retains full control over the robot's actions. However, in scenarios involving long distances, communication delays disrupt this feedback loop, creating significant challenges for precise control. To investigate these challenges, we conducted a user study where participants operated a TurtleBot3 Waffle Pi under varying delay conditions. Post-experiment brainstorming and analysis revealed recurring challenges, including over-correction, unpredictable robot behavior, and reduced situational awareness. Potential solutions identified include improving robot behavior predictability, integrating feedforward mechanisms, and enhancing visual feedback. These findings underscore the importance of designing intelligent interfaces to mitigate the impact of delays on telerobotic performance.