Protocol for a remotely controlled videoconferencing robot

Abstract

A robotic system that includes a robot and a remote station. The remote station can generate control commands that are transmitted to the robot through a broadband network. The control commands can be interpreted by the robot to induce action such as robot movement or focusing a robot camera. The robot can generate reporting commands that are transmitted to the remote station through the broadband network. The reporting commands can provide positional feedback or system reports on the robot.

1 . A robot system that communicates through a broadband network, comprising:
 a plurality of teleconferencing devices, each having a camera that can be remotely controlled in at least two degrees of freedom and a monitor; and,   a plurality of remote stations, each having a camera and a monitor, each of the plurality of remote stations can establish a communication session with and control the camera of each of the plurality of teleconferencing devices, and a first remote station of the plurality of remote stations generates a goodbye command that terminates a communication session with a first teleconferencing device of the plurality of teleconferencing devices and relinquishes control of the first teleconferencing device such that another of the plurality of the remote stations can establish a communication session with the first teleconferencing device.   
     
     
         2 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the first teleconferencing devices generates at least one reporting command that is transmitted to the first remote station. 
     
     
         3 . The system of  claim 2 , wherein the reporting and control commands are transmitted through the broadband network in a TCP format. 
     
     
         4 . The system of  claim 2 , wherein the teleconferencing device is coupled to the broadband network through a wireless base station. 
     
     
         5 . The system of  claim 4 , wherein, during the communication session, the monitor of the first teleconferencing device displays an image captured by the camera of the remote station and the monitor of the remote station displays an image captured by the camera of the first teleconferencing device. 
     
     
         6 . The system of  claim 5 , wherein the first teleconferencing device includes a battery. 
     
     
         7 . The system of  claim 6 , wherein each of the plurality of teleconferencing devices includes a motor configured to cause the camera to swivel when activated. 
     
     
         8 . The system of  claim 7 , wherein each of the plurality of teleconferencing devices includes a tilt motor configured to cause the camera to pivot when activated. 
     
     
         9 . The system of  claim 8 , wherein the camera of each of the plurality of teleconferencing devices includes a zoom feature. 
     
     
         10 . The system of  claim 9 , wherein the first remote station includes an input device that can be used to control the camera of the first teleconferencing device.