The U.K. Defence and Security Accelerator has launched the Telexistence Phase 2 competition on behalf of the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory, Dstl, and the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority.
The potential for teleexistence technology to allow those working in hazardous environments to be able to perform tasks without being physically present can reduce risk and logistic burden associated with dangerous operations.
This is done using a remote-operated system and requires integration:
- Telepresence allows the operator to see and hear in a remote environment.
- Robotics / Wearable assistive technology that allows the operator to interact with remote environments
- Sensors that provide haptic feedback/sensors that allow the operator to touch or feel remote environments
The total funding available for this competition is £1.3 million. Several proposals are expected to be funded with a maximum value of £400k per proposal.
The competition is open to innovators who can develop a complete telexistence platform. This will require the integration of telepresence and robotic technologies on a single platform. The user must be able to interact and experience the remote environment as though they were there physically.
Successful suppliers will have to evaluate the capabilities and performance of their systems against a variety of tasks that are representative for a particular use case. The following are the possible use cases that suppliers could choose from:
- Specialist Nuclear Decommissioning Tasks
- Explosive Ordnance Disposal
- Defence and Security Medical Applications
The deadline for submissions is April 6.
