Patent ID: 8682486

Claim:
A robot system, comprising: a robot that has a camera and a monitor; a first remote station that has a monitor and is configured to access and control said robot, said first remote station having a first input device operated by a first user to cause movement of said robot; a second remote station that has a monitor and is configured to access and control said robot, said second remote station having a second input device operated by a second user to cause movement of said robot; and, an arbitrator that can operate in an exclusive mode to control access and control movement of said robot exclusively by said first remote station or second remote station, said arbitrator provides a mechanism that allows said first remote station to exclusively access and control movement of said robot, said mechanism denies exclusive access to said robot by said second remote station and notifies the second user that exclusive access to said robot is denied, and subsequent to when access is denied notifies the second user that said robot can be exclusively accessed and controlled.