Diminishing returns of engineering effort in telerobotic systems

Robotic systems range from teleoperated to fully autonomous (where no human intervention takes place). The word "telerobotic" describes robotic systems which, although guided by a human, have a degree of autonomous behavior. This paper examines the tradeoff between the increasing design and implementation effort necessary as the system moves through the continuum from teleoperated to autonomous and the amount of human interaction required. A case study of a human "shepherd" interacting with a robotic "sheepdog" which directs a robotic "sheep" is used.