Tele-manufacturing system

A system for manually controlling a manufacturing process remotely, comprising:

• (a) a manufacturing environment, wherein the manufacturing environment contains equipment used for or related to a manufacturing process, and wherein the manufacturing equipment moves with at least six degrees of freedom;
• (b) at least one sensor positioned within the manufacturing environment in proximity to the manufacturing equipment, wherein the at least one sensor is configured to gather data from the manufacturing environment;
• (c) at least one digitizer in communication with the plurality of sensors for receiving data from sensors and converting the data into one or more three-dimensional digital maps;
• (d) at least one processor in communication with the at least one digitizer, wherein the at least one processor includes software for receiving and analyzing the at least one three-dimensional digital map;
• and
• (e) at least one manual controller in communication with the processor, wherein the manual controller moves with at least six degrees of freedom, wherein the at least one manual controller receives motion input from a user of the manual controller, wherein the software on the processor mathematically transforms the motion input into corresponding motion commands that are sent to the manufacturing equipment by the processor, and wherein the manufacturing equipment, which is physically remote from the at least one controller, executes the motion commands in real-time during the manufacturing process.

A method for manually controlling a manufacturing process remotely, comprising:

• (a) installing equipment used for or related to a manufacturing process in a manufacturing environment;
• (b) positioning at least one sensor positioned within the manufacturing environment in proximity to the manufacturing equipment, wherein the at least one sensor is configured to gather data from the manufacturing environment;
• (c) connecting at least one digitizer to the plurality of sensors for receiving data from sensors and converting the data into one or more three-dimensional digital maps;
• (d) connecting at least one processor to the at least one digitizer, wherein the at least one processor includes software for receiving and analyzing the at least one three-dimensional digital map;
• and
• (e) connecting at least one manual controller to the processor, wherein the at least one manual controller receives motion input from a user of the manual controller, wherein the software on the processor mathematically transforms the motion input into corresponding motion commands that are sent to the manufacturing equipment by the processor, and wherein the manufacturing equipment, which is physically remote from the at least one controller, executes the motion commands in real-time during the manufacturing process.