Remote control vehicle

A remote control vehicle is defined as any vehicle that is teleoperated by a means that does not restrict its motion with an origin external to the device. This is often a radio control device, cable between control and vehicle, or an infrared controller. A remote control vehicle or RCV differs from a robot in that the RCV is always controlled by a human and takes no positive action autonomously.

Remote control vehicles have various scientific uses including hazardous environments, working in the deep ocean, and space exploration.

The majority of the probes to the other planets in our solar system have been remote control vehicles, although some of the more recent ones were partially autonomous. The sophistication of these devices has fueled greater debate on the need for manned spaceflight and exploration. The Voyager I spacecraft is the first craft of any kind to leave the solar system. The martian explorers Spirit and Opportunity have provided continuous data about the surface of Mars since January 3, 2004.

Jason is the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution's deep water explorer and can withstand depths of up to 6,500 feet. The Scorpio ROV is a British submersible that rescued the crew of the Russian AS-28 on August 7, 2005.

Military usage of remotely controlled military vehicles dates back to the first half of 20th century. John Hays Hammond, Jr., invented and patented methods for wireless control of ships starting in 1910. Soviet Red Army used remotely controlled teletanks during the 1930s in the Winter War and early stage of World War II. There were also remotely controlled cutters and experimental remotely controlled planes in the Red Army.

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