Ministry of Defence to explore use of ‘telexistence’
Department seeks to better understand audiovisual, robotic and haptic technologies
Credit: Adobe Stock
The Ministry of Defence is exploring the possible use of ‘telexistence’, including robots, immersive video and audio, and haptic technologies.
The department is to undertake a “market exploration” exercise to ascertain the potential use in defence and security environments of three different families of technologies that, when combined and integrated, create a telexistence environment.
The first of these is telepresence, which is defined as a technology that can remotely provide immersive video and audio. Haptics, meanwhile, provide the user with a virtual tactile experience.
Finally, robotics, allows for users to physically interact with an environment from a distance.
Related content
- MoD and Home Office put £1.6m into robot and drone projects for hazardous environments
- Defence secretary invests £66m to get robots on the front line
- Government progresses plan to use robots for Sellafield clean-up
Using telexistence technologies could, the ministry believes, allow for military, defence, and security professionals to safely perform work in dangerous environments. This could include locations in which personnel could be exposed to explosives, fire, or chemical, nuclear, or biological material. Telexistence could also be used in “space exploration”, according to the MoD.
“Developments in remote, robotic and sensory technologies in recent decades have led to an increased ability to operate differently in challenging environments,” it said. “For defence and security communities, this includes significant steps to remove the need for people to be present in potentially hazardous locations.”
The exploration exercise will be jointly undertaken by two MoD agencies: the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory; and the Defence and Security Accelerator.
The organisations are looking for suppliers of one or more of the three types of telexistence offerings to submit evidence of possible use cases.
“This market exploration aims to better understand the technology-readiness level of the components of telexistence systems in isolation or together… to inform future investment,” the MoD said. “Potential solutions should allow a user to interact with or immerse themselves in a remote location as if they were physically there. The telexistence solution: should mitigate the risk associated with operating in hazardous domains; must be able to be tangibly demonstrated and allow the operator to interact with the environment in real-time; [and] can include elements of artificial intelligence, but must permit the operator to remain in the loop.”
Responses are invited until midday on 27 April.
Share this page
Tags
Categories
CONTRIBUTIONS FROM READERS
Please login to post a comment or register for a free account.
Related Articles
Home Office chief reveals two thirds of users also need to be trained
Dominic Cummings-supported plans for a high-risk science and tech research agency appear to have stalled
Former DWP chief security officer Claudia Natanson to chair new professional body
Process was originally slated to conclude by the end of 2019
Related Sponsored Articles
Defence Medical Services (DMS) is pursuing ground-breaking digital, data and technology transformation which will revolutionise Tri-Service healthcare provision to over 135,000 Armed...
Jointly, Equinix and Cintra enable organisations with mission-critical Oracle workloads to accelerate their journey to cloud, while minimising transition risks - here's how
Phishing emails are one of the most pernicious threats facing organisations today. If you’ve been leveraging Microsoft 365 and Azure to keep your users productive whilst working remotely, Six...
OneTrust presents the reasons why your organisation should invest in privacy management - and offers three easy tips for getting started