Design for smartphone-based teleoperation in manufacturing
DATE: Wednesday, November 19, 2025
TIME: 11:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. ET
LOCATION: Virtual – register to receive the Zoom link; limited in-person spots available
SPEAKER: Rolando Bautista Montesano, PhD; postdoctoral associate with the MIT LEAP Group
Abstract
Recent advances in teleoperation are expanding opportunities for remote learning and industrial interaction by leveraging accessible consumer devices. This work synthesizes three complementary studies exploring smartphone-based teleoperation as an affordable, scalable, and intuitive approach for controlling robotic systems.
The first study introduces TeleopLab, a mobile teleoperation platform that enables students to remotely operate a robotic arm and laboratory equipment for STEM education. The second study extends this concept by investigating gesture-based smartphone control, validating its feasibility and usability through cross-continental user studies with non-expert participants. The third study addresses a key limitation of visual-only teleoperation by introducing symbolic haptic feedback.
Collectively, these studies highlight the potential of everyday mobile devices to democratize teleoperation by improving accessibility, reducing costs, and enhancing interaction through multimodal feedback. The findings provide actionable design insights for developing future smartphone-enabled teleoperation systems that support education, collaboration, and industrial applications.
Biography
Dr. Rolando Bautista Montesano is a postdoctoral associate with the MIT LEAP Group. His research focuses on teleoperation for robotic platforms, digital manufacturing, and workforce development. He previously worked at Tecnológico de Monterrey and focused on reinforcement learning, artificial intelligence, embedded systems, and robotics for automotive platforms. Dr. Bautista Montesano earned his B.S., S.M., and PhD from Tecnológico de Monterrey.