A telepresence robot created by a team of scientists at the University of Pennsylvania in the US has developed a system using Oculus Rift technology to create a hyper-realistic experience for users. Called DORA (Dexterous Observational Roving Automaton), it is designed to give the user the feeling that he/she is in the room. It works by tracking the movements of the head to the robot, which is fitted with Arduino and Intel Edison microcontrollers.
One one of DORA's creators, Emre Tanirgan, describes the experience of using the system as "You feel like you are transported somewhere else in
the real world as opposed to a simulated environment. You actually get to see people interacting with you, as if you were actually there, and it's difficult to recreate the same experience in a virtual environment right now." Now that the system is in place and working, the developers are currently refining the system to reduce the lag, which is currently 70 milliseconds. The scientist are aiming to get the lag down to less than 60 milliseconds. As for potential clients, the scientists think the most natural fit for the system will be the emergency services and museums wanting to offer a more immersive virtual tour. Source: InAVate
the real world as opposed to a simulated environment. You actually get to see people interacting with you, as if you were actually there, and it's difficult to recreate the same experience in a virtual environment right now." Now that the system is in place and working, the developers are currently refining the system to reduce the lag, which is currently 70 milliseconds. The scientist are aiming to get the lag down to less than 60 milliseconds. As for potential clients, the scientists think the most natural fit for the system will be the emergency services and museums wanting to offer a more immersive virtual tour. Source: InAVate
