"We define a ``collaborative telerobot'' as a telerobot simultaneously
controlled by many participants, where input from each participant is
combined to generate a single control stream. Collaborative Telerobotics
(CT) is an innovative approach to distance learning and telepresence. With
CT, participants _collaborate_ rather than compete for access to valuable
resources such as historical and scientific sites. A scalable infrastructure
for CT, compatible with the Internet, will allow large groups of students or
researchers to simultaneously participate in remote experiences. For
example, CT can allow groups of disadvantaged students to collaboratively
steer a telerobot through a working steelmill in Japan or the Presidential
Inauguration, and allow groups of researchers to collaboratively move a
telerobot around a newly active volcano or a fresh archaeological site." Ken
Goldberg
http://www.ieor.berkeley.edu/~goldberg/CT/