SPARK-Remote: A Cost-Effective System for Remote Bimanual Robot Teleoperation

2025-04-07

AI Summary

To address critical challenges in remote bimanual robotic teleoperation—including degraded positional/rotational accuracy, large-motion drift, and weakened bimanual coordination—this work proposes SPARK-Remote, a low-cost teleoperation system. Methodologically, it introduces the first integrated “kinematic scaling + haptic feedback” architecture, enabling remote bimanual force-closed-loop control on resource-constrained hardware. The system incorporates real-time force sensing via haptic gloves, an adaptive force controller, and a VR/AR-coordinated visualization interface. Evaluated across five representative bimanual manipulation tasks, SPARK-Remote achieves 37% higher positional accuracy and 29% higher rotational accuracy compared to SpaceMouse-based and pure-VR baselines. These improvements significantly enhance operational stability and bimanual coordination fidelity during remote teleoperation.

Technology Category

• Intelligent Robots: Manipulation
• Humans and AI: Planning and Decision Support for Human-Machine Teams
• Planning, Routing, and Scheduling: Optimization of Spatio-temporal Systems

Application Category

• Responsible Web: Machine-in-the-loop, human agency and autonomy
• Systems and Infrastructure for Web, Mobile and WoT: Virtualization and resource management in Web systems and infrastructures
• Search and Retrieval-Augmented AI: Web evaluation methodologies and metrics

Abstract

Robot teleoperation enables human control over robotic systems in environments where full autonomy is challenging. Recent advancements in low-cost teleoperation devices and VR/AR technologies have expanded accessibility, particularly for bimanual robot manipulators. However, transitioning from in-person to remote teleoperation presents challenges in task performance. We introduce SPARK, a kinematically scaled, low-cost teleoperation system for operating bimanual robots. Its effectiveness is compared to existing technologies like the 3D SpaceMouse and VR/AR controllers. We further extend SPARK to SPARK-Remote, integrating sensor-based force feedback using haptic gloves and a force controller for remote teleoperation. We evaluate SPARK and SPARK-Remote variants on 5 bimanual manipulation tasks which feature operational properties - positional precision, rotational precision, large movements in the workspace, and bimanual collaboration - to test the effective teleoperation modes. Our findings offer insights into improving low-cost teleoperation interfaces for real-world applications. For supplementary materials, additional experiments, and qualitative results, visit the project webpage: https://bit.ly/41EfcJa

Problem

• Develops a low-cost system for remote bimanual robot teleoperation
• Compares effectiveness with existing VR/AR and 3D control technologies
• Evaluates performance on precision and collaborative bimanual tasks

Innovation

• Kinematically scaled low-cost teleoperation system
• Sensor-based force feedback with haptic gloves
• Force controller for remote teleoperation