Remote Control System for Real-Time Operator Guidance
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current methods for remote guidance in industries, such as aerospace component repair, are costly and inefficient due to the need for physical travel or inaccurate oral instructions, as experts cannot visually assess the repair process.
Innovation Solution
A system that uses a controller to receive position data and user input to remotely control devices, such as projectors or robots, to display representations of the operator and environment, allowing real-time remote guidance and control of actions within a different volume, including communication, display of information, and manipulation of objects.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If an engineer travels to the repair facility to assist the technician, then the guidance and information can be provided accurately with full visibility of the repair, but the cost increases due to travel between facilities
Solution Approach 1:
The system creates a virtual copy of the repair facility environment using cameras and sensors, allowing the engineer to view and interact with the repair scene remotely through a display device. This virtual representation enables accurate guidance without physical travel, resolving the contradiction between guidance accuracy and travel cost.
Solution Approach 2:
The system introduces communication devices, displays, and control systems as intermediaries between the engineer and the repair facility. These intermediaries transmit visual information and control signals, enabling the engineer to provide accurate guidance remotely without traveling to the facility.
2Loss of energy
If the engineer delivers instructions orally via telephone, then the travel cost is reduced, but the accuracy and followability of instructions decreases due to lack of visibility
Solution Approach 1:
The system creates a visual copy of the repair environment through cameras and displays, allowing the engineer to see the actual repair scene and provide accurate visual instructions. This eliminates the need for physical travel while maintaining instruction accuracy, resolving the contradiction between travel cost reduction and instruction accuracy.
Solution Approach 2:
The system introduces video transmission and display devices as intermediaries between the engineer and the repair facility. These intermediaries provide real-time visual feedback, enabling the engineer to deliver accurate instructions remotely without traveling, thus reducing travel cost while maintaining instruction quality.
3Reliability
If the engineer visits the repair facility in person, then full visibility and understanding of the repair process is achieved, but time is lost due to travel between facilities
Solution Approach 1:
The system creates a real-time visual copy of the repair facility through cameras and sensors, allowing the engineer to observe the repair process from a remote location. This eliminates travel time while maintaining full visibility of the repair activities, resolving the contradiction between visibility and travel time.
Solution Approach 2:
The system introduces video transmission and display systems as intermediaries that provide real-time visual access to the repair facility. This allows the engineer to monitor and guide the repair process remotely without traveling, eliminating travel time while maintaining complete visibility of the work being performed.
4Device complexity
If oral instructions are provided without visual feedback, then the system complexity is reduced, but the ease of operation for the technician decreases due to difficulty in following instructions
Solution Approach 1:
The system creates a visual representation of the repair environment and transmits it to the engineer's display device. This visual copy enables the engineer to provide contextually accurate instructions that are easy to follow, while the overall system remains relatively simple using standard camera and display technology.
Data Source
AI summary
Apparatus for enabling remote control of one or more devices, the apparatus comprising: a controller configured to: receive position data for a sensed position of an operator within a first volume; control a display located in a second volume, different to the first volume, to display a representation of at least a portion of the operator within a representation of at least a portion of the first volume, using the received position data; receive user input data from a user input device located in the second volume; and control a first device located at the first volume, using the received user input data to perform a first action.