Experiment 9-8: XLeRobot Teleoperation¶

This directory is an external reproduction companion, not a local reimplementation and not evidence that a robot was operated. The authoritative implementation is XLeRobot. The source is locked in upstream.lock.json to commit 3d14695e40c9c68229c0aacffca6053c75cd3eb6.

Current evidence status: blocked / incomplete. Source integrity and a non-actuating preflight were verified on 2026-07-29, but no physical teleoperation mode or book task was executed.

Exact manuscript-to-upstream mapping¶

Book requirement	Pinned authoritative source	Acceptance evidence
Keyboard teleoperation	`4_xlerobot_teleop_keyboard.py`, blob `efbe076dfbda3c6280fa54f0eb5bca1a12518a0d`	Direct launcher receipt, video, latency, precision, and quality measurements
Xbox controller	`5_xlerobot_teleop_xbox.py`, blob `de7bc17d570167e58b15e38c06c0fa23af74632a`	Same
Switch Joy-Con	`7_xlerobot_teleop_joycon.py`, blob `21a48258d22b1fc002f63555a2f3dc2950bdfb24`	Same
VR headset	`8_xlerobot_teleop_vr.py`, blob `315bb81f13a37746de0f329e3ba11240a2230806`	Same; treat as experimental until a real run succeeds
Pick, place, and wipe	Operator performs all three tasks across the campaign	Attempts, successes, success definitions, and uncut media
Observe latency, precision, and completion quality	Companion evidence schema	Per-mode latency samples, positional-error measurements, 1–5 quality score

Pinned guide: XLeRobot_teleop.md, blob 3992358282ff54cfce8d90a525e784aedcf045f7. The public ReadTheDocs page is useful for browsing but is mutable.

The pinned guide still says official real-robot VR code is “coming soon,” while the pinned repository contains a VR entrypoint. This companion records both facts and does not promote source presence to successful VR acceptance.

Checkout and verify¶

git clone https://github.com/Vector-Wangel/XLeRobot.git
cd XLeRobot
git checkout --detach 3d14695e40c9c68229c0aacffca6053c75cd3eb6
test "$(git rev-parse HEAD)" = "3d14695e40c9c68229c0aacffca6053c75cd3eb6"

python /path/to/ai-agent-book/chapter9/xlerobot-teleoperation/preflight.py \
  --upstream "$PWD" \
  --serial-port /dev/ttyACM0 \
  --serial-port /dev/ttyACM1 \
  --safety-checklist-complete \
  --output /path/to/preflight.json

The upstream software installation page at the pinned commit requires an editable LeRobot installation and moving XLeRobot's robot, kinematics, and examples into that checkout. It does not pin a LeRobot revision, so record the LeRobot commit in the run notes; this is an upstream reproducibility limitation.

Joy-Con additionally requires the upstream joycon-robotics installation described in the guide. VR requires the pinned XLeRobot VR support and headset setup. Verify each controller without torque before moving the robot.

Guarded execution¶

Dry configuration—safe and non-actuating:

python teleop.py --upstream /path/to/XLeRobot --mode keyboard

The four authoritative modes are selected with --mode keyboard, xbox, joycon, or vr. A physical run is intentionally verbose and fail-closed:

python teleop.py \
  --upstream /path/to/XLeRobot \
  --mode keyboard \
  --execute \
  --authorization-token I_AUTHORIZE_XLEROBOT_TELEOPERATION \
  --operator operator-id \
  --robot-calibrated \
  --clear-workspace \
  --emergency-stop-ready \
  --human-observer-present \
  --receipt evidence/keyboard/receipt.json

This launches the pinned upstream file; it does not reproduce its control logic locally. Repeat separately for every mode. Record controller-input and observed-motion timestamps with an external synchronized camera/logger, measure positional error against fixed targets, and preserve uncut task video. A process receipt alone is not task evidence.

Safety boundary¶

Do not use --execute unless the operator has explicit authority, the motors and zero positions are calibrated, the robot is secured in a clear workspace, an E-stop or immediate torque-disable path is ready, and a second human observer is present. Begin at low speed with no fragile objects or people in reach. The operator remains responsible for the physical system.

Evidence and completion gate¶

Create evidence conforming to evidence.schema.json, then run:

python validate_evidence.py evidence/run.json

complete requires all four modes, all three task categories, real latency/precision/quality measurements, hashed receipts from teleop.py, and locally present hashed video and measurement artifacts. Mocks, simulation, upstream demo videos, dry runs, and evidence.blocked.example.json cannot pass the completion branch.

Current blockers from the saved 2026-07-29 host preflight are: no importable lerobot, no importable joyconrobotics, no serial devices supplied, and no safety attestation. actuation_attempted was false.