Bandwidth and Latency Scalable Teleoperation (BLAST)

Bandwidth and Latency Scalable Teleoperation (BLAST)

BLAST is a hybrid teleoperation and autonomy system designed to provide reliable teleoperation under low communications bandwidth and high communications latency. By coupling remote teleoperation with the on-vehicle autonomy system, an operator uses an overhead map with a-priori and dynamic obstacle data to generate a trajectory for the vehicle to follow. This approach relies on the local autonomy to execute the path. If the vehicle encounters unforeseen situations or obstacles, it pauses and asks the operator for remote intervention.

BLAST uses a combination of existing 3D model compression, semantic labeling, advanced trajectory planning, and an innovative gesture-based command input concept that explicitly allows a user to rapidly alter vehicle trajectory even in the presence of latencies over three seconds.