NTT DOCOMO, INC. and Keio University's Haptics Research Center have achieved a significant milestone in remote robot operation by successfully demonstrating high-precision teleoperation over commercial 5G networks. This breakthrough was made possible by integrating Configured Grant, a low-latency network slicing technology, with Keio University's Real Haptics technology.
The demonstration marks the first time Configured Grant has been used to enable practical robot teleoperation over commercial 5G, according to NTT DOCOMO's research as of February 2026. The technology was applied to the radio link between the terminal and base station, effectively minimizing latency and jitter, which are critical for the precise operation of Real Haptics robots.
Real Haptics technology allows a remote operator to perform delicate tasks by controlling a robot with precise force feedback. This requires the mobile data communication network to maintain low latency and minimal jitter to ensure synchronization between the operator and the remote robot. High or fluctuating latency can disrupt this synchronization, compromising the robot's operational precision.
In the experiment, Configured Grant was implemented to pre-allocate communication resources to specific devices, eliminating scheduling delays that typically occur under the Dynamic Grant method. This advancement resulted in reduced latency and jitter, enabling more stable wireless remote operation.
The demonstration utilized DOCOMO's commercial 5G SA network, connecting the operator robot and remote robot via a virtual server running the Bilateral Edge Platform, a proprietary platform under development for robot control. To simulate realistic teleoperation conditions, 20 Mbps of background traffic was added alongside the control traffic.
Results from the experiment showed that using 5G SA with Configured Grant significantly lowered average communication latency and jitter compared to standard 5G SA without it. The force-feedback reproduction rate increased by 40%, and the smoothness of robot operation improved, as indicated by a 59% decrease in Dimensionless Jerk Cost.
NTT DOCOMO and Keio University plan to continue developing and testing technologies to accelerate the practical use of advanced robot teleoperation. The demonstration will be showcased at the NTT Group's booth during MWC Barcelona 2026, highlighting the potential for outdoor operation and expanded use cases for Real Haptics technology over mobile networks.