NORTHSTAROperate
Teleoperation
What you need on site while a Northstar operator controls your robot, what the operator can do, and what happens when the link degrades.
A Northstar operator controls your robot from a VR headset, from somewhere else. The operator sees your workspace only through the robot's cameras. Your people on site are responsible for the workspace and for stopping the robot if something goes wrong.
A physical emergency stop is required. The network link and the operator's headset are not an emergency stop. They can be slow, and they can fail. The only way to be sure the arms stop is the emergency stop on your site.
Before a session
All of these must be true before an operator takes control:
- Emergency stop within reach and tested. A physical emergency stop that cuts power to the arms, within reach of the person on site. Press it before the first session and after any change to the wiring, and check that the arms lose power. Arms that lose power can drop, so support them or keep the space under them clear when you test.
- Someone on site who can stop the robot. A person who can see the robot, knows where the emergency stop is, and stays for the whole session.
- Workspace clear. No people within reach of the arms. Nothing in the workspace that is not part of the task. Nothing that the arms could knock over or that could trap a hand.
- Robot powered. The arms and cameras are powered and connected to the robot computer.
arc runis running. The robot shows as Online on the Robots page in the console. See Account and usage. To start it by hand or at boot, see Quickstart and Run as a service.- Cameras show the workspace. Nothing blocks or covers a camera. The operator has no other view.
During a session
- Keep people out of reach of the arms. The arms can move at any moment while an operator is connected.
- Keep the person on site within reach of the emergency stop.
- Do not move the cameras, the robot base or the task objects without telling the operator. The operator's view and the arm positions are tied to where things were when the session started.
- Do not stop
arc run, unplug the network or power down the robot computer as a way to stop the arms. Use the emergency stop.
What the operator can do
| Operator action | What the robot does |
|---|---|
| Take control | The arms start to follow the operator's hands. This needs a deliberate held press, so it does not happen by accident. |
| Move a hand | The matching arm follows it. |
| Squeeze a trigger | The gripper on that arm closes in proportion. |
| Pause one arm | That arm holds its position. The other arm keeps working. |
| Give up control | Both arms hold their position at once. |
| Return to the start position | Both arms move back to their start position. This also needs a held press. |
| Start or stop a recording | See Data collection. |
The operator sees the robot's camera views and a status display that shows the link quality and whether each arm is following or holding.
Northstar staff can also watch a robot's cameras and stop it from a monitoring page without wearing a headset.
Policy correction
ARC sits between your policy and the robot. A policy takes the operator's seat until a person steps in.
- Northstar's operators. Northstar's monitors watch the robot while the policy runs. When the policy needs help, an operator takes over, finishes the step and hands back.
- Your own team. Northstar can onboard your people to monitor and drive with a Meta Quest. Your team watches on the monitor dashboard and takes over in the headset.
Episodes are recorded and graded the same way in both cases. Everything else on this page applies whoever is driving: the emergency stop, the person on site and the clear workspace.
When the link degrades
Three places watch the link, and each one stops the arms by itself:
- The operator's web app stops sending commands when the delay to the relay gets too high, or when the relay stops answering.
- The relay puts the arms on hold when it stops hearing from the operator, or when the operator's connection closes.
- The robot holds when commands stop arriving.
Each of these acts in about a second or less. In every case the arms hold the last position they were told to go to. They stay powered. They do not replay the movements that were missed.
The arms do not start again by themselves when the link comes back. The operator sees why the arms stopped and must deliberately resume.
The robot also holds if a camera or an arm reports a fault. The operator sees which one.
A hold is not a safe state for a person to enter the workspace. The arms are powered and an operator can resume. Press the emergency stop before anyone reaches in.
If something looks wrong
- Press the emergency stop. Do this first if the arms move in a way you do not expect, if a person or an object is in the way, or if you are not sure.
- Keep people clear until the arms have stopped and lost power.
- Tell Northstar what happened and at what time. The operator may not have seen it on camera.
- Do not release the emergency stop until the workspace is clear and Northstar has confirmed that the operator is not in control.
If the robot shows as Offline in the console, or a session cannot start, see Troubleshooting.
Stopping a robot for good
To take a robot out of service, stop arc run on the robot computer. To stop a robot from connecting to Northstar at all, revoke it in the console. See Account and usage.