Teleoperation over a shared network: When does it work?
The development of telehaptic communication protocols has gained widespread focus over the past decade. Several protocols have been proposed for carrying out telehaptic activities over a shared network. However, a comprehensive analysis of the impact of the network crosstraffic on the telehaptic stream, and the feasibility of Quality of Service (QoS) compliance, is lacking in the literature. In this paper, we explore the interplay between the telehaptic stream produced by two classes of telehaptic protocols and the cross-traffic that is commonly present in a shared network. Based on this, we formulate general conditions for QoS compliance of the telehaptic stream. These conditions provide guidelines for the design of telehaptic protocols, as well as for the configuration of shared networks for ensuring QoS-compliant telehaptic communication.