Welcome

Welcome to the Telerobotics Laboratory at Stanford University. Our research focuses on human-robot interactions, human-in-the-loop or human-guided robotics, and remote operation, especially with application to medical robotics.

At the core of our work is the belief that human intelligence remains unsurpassed in guiding robots, especially when operating in unstructured environments. At the same time, robots can be great tools, allowing a user to operate more precisely, in smaller spaces, or with greater strength. The key to successful operation is understanding and controlling the various human-robot interactions.

Telerobotics builds on the fields of robotics, haptics (to deliver to the user a sense of touch), dynamics, controls, and virtual environments (for prediction, training, and simulation). Merging these fields, we aim to create a system with high-fidelity force feedback, giving the user a convincing sense of telepresence.

Of specific interest is the design of user interfaces, improving force feedback and haptic displays, and dealing with the effects of delayed network transmissions. Application to medical robotics, especially minimally invasive surgery, provides a natural test-bed in a demanding environment.

The group is led by Professor Günter Niemeyer and is part of the Design Group of the Mechanical Engineering Department at Stanford University.