Remote control of quadrupedal robots over private 5G networks

The rapid evolution of robotics and communication technologies has opened new possibilities for remote control and monitoring of autonomous systems. Among these, quadrupedal robots have gained significant attention due to their versatility in navigating complex terrains and performing tasks in environments that are challenging for traditional wheeled or tracked robots. However, the remote control of such robots over long distances requires robust and low-latency communication networks. This thesis explores the potential of 5G Stand Alone (SA) private networks to enable effective remote control of quadrupedal robots, focusing on the Unitree Go2 EDU robot as a case study. The motivation for this work stems from the growing demand for remote robotic systems in various applications, including search and rescue, industrial automation, and environmental monitoring. Traditional communication methods, such as Bluetooth, Wi-Fi or 4G LTE, often fall short in providing the necessary reliability, latency, and bandwidth for real-time control, telemetry and video streaming. 5G SA private networks, with their high data rates, low latency, and enhanced reliability, offer a promising solution to these challenges. The main achievements of this work include the successful integration of the Unitree Go2 EDU robot with a private 5G network, the development of a custom Telemetry, Tracking and Command (TTC) system, the deployment of a Web Real Time Communication (WebRTC) infrastructure for video streaming and a system for evaluating the KPIs of UDP-based communications with latencies in the order of a few milliseconds, to assess the system’s effectiveness in both indoor and outdoor environments and provide coverage maps of the test environments.