Technopark firm develops tele-presence robot

Technopark-based International Centre for Free and Open Source Software (ICFOSS) has developed a low-cost tele-presence robot prototype TR-7 based on open source hardware and software platforms.

The prototype has been developed as part of an android R&D project of the Department of Information Technology (DIT),  being implemented by ICFOSS.

The  prototype TR-7 was fabricated by Ingen Robotics, a local firm focusing on new-generation robotics, based on specifications provided by ICFOSS.

"It is an affordable tele-presence robot, made using locally available components. The user can operate the robot remotely from anywhere in the world using a computer with internet connection and software to control the robot," stated an ICFOSS release.

User can connect to the robot using any linux personal computer on which the remote control and communication software can be run.

"The first version of the robot has proven that tele-presence devices based on open source platforms such as Android are fully viable. Further work needs to be done on areas such as enhanced robot autonomy, pan-tilt-zoom capability on the robot, and automated homing," said S R Srinivasan, project manager of the DIT Project of ICFOSS.

Telepresence robots are devices that are controlled remotely by a human operator, typically from a laptop, over the internet or other kinds of networks.