A first generation Mutually-Immersive Mobile Telepresence surrogate with automatic backtracking

Mutually-immersive mobile telepresence uses a teleoperated robotic surrogate to visit remote locations as a substitute for physical travel. Our goal is to recreate to the greatest extent practical, both for the user and the people at the remote location, the sensory experience relevant for business interactions of the user actually being in the remote location. The system includes multi-channel bidirectional video and audio on a mobile platform as well as haptic feedback. The user-controlled surrogate can autonomously backtrack along the path it has previously been driven if it loses wireless connectivity.