The U.K. Defence and Security Accelerator (DASA) has launched the Telexistence Phase 2 competition, on behalf of the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (Dstl) and the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA).
Telexistence technology has the potential to give those working in hazardous environments the capability to undertake tasks without physically being present, which can decrease risk and reduce the logistical burden associated with dangerous operations.
This is achieved using a remotely-operated system, and relies on integrating:
- telepresence, which enables the operator to see and hear as though in the remote environment
- robotics / wearable assistive technologies, which enable the operator to interact with the remote environment
- haptic feedback / sensors which enable the operator to touch / feel the remote environment
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 seeks innovators to develop a complete telexistence system. This will involve the integration of telepresence, robotic and haptic technologies on to a single platform. Solutions must enable the user to experience and interact with the remote environment as if they were physically there.
Successful suppliers will be invited to evaluate the capabilities of their systems against a series of tasks that are representative of a use case. Suppliers will choose one use case from the following:
- Specialist Nuclear Decommissioning Tasks
- Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD)
- Defence and Security Medical applications
The submission deadline is April 6.
Read more at the U.K. government
