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Capability: Act

Act, Operator control and human-machine teaming.

Operator control software, teleoperation, drone ground control, and on-device execution for unmanned platforms, robots, and connected devices that have to act in the world, autonomously or under operator direction.

// Overview

The layer where systems perform in the world.

Operator control software is the human side of an autonomous system. It’s the tablet a soldier uses to direct a fleet of UGVs, the ground-control station an incident commander uses to put a drone over a fire, the safety-critical HMI a clinician uses on a diagnostic device. We build operator interfaces, teleoperation pipelines, and the embedded execution layer underneath that turns a decision into motion in the physical world.

Operator control and teleoperation at the human-facing layer let a person direct, supervise, or override what the platform is doing. On-device execution at the actuator layer is where decisions become motor commands, scheduling deadlines get met, and the safety interlocks that keep the platform out of trouble actually run.

This is software for systems where the interface is part of the instrument. When the display shows the wrong state, an operator makes the wrong call. When the execution layer misses a deadline, the platform misses the moment. The work is engineered for that reality from the architecture down.

// 01 Act

Operator control and teleoperation.

Operator control software is the part of the system the human actually uses. Tablet-based universal controllers for unmanned ground and aerial fleets. Drone ground control with low-latency video over cellular. Safety-critical HMI for diagnostic devices where display errors have patient consequences. We build the interface, the comms layer underneath it, and the integration with the autonomy stack so the operator and the platform are looking at the same world at the same time.

This work includes:

The hardest part of an operator interface is rarely the visual design. It’s the conditions the interface has to survive in: sunlight on the screen, cold gloves, hostile environments, and operators managing eight other problems at the same time. The UX still has to perform under those conditions while delivering clear state awareness, fast comprehension, predictable interaction flows, and the right information at the right moment without increasing cognitive load. We build for those realities.

The same discipline carries into safety-critical clinical HMI, where the interface has to behave correctly under stress, and any error that reaches the screen has to reflect the actual state of the system.

// 02 Act

On-device execution.

Underneath the operator interface and the autonomy stack is the execution layer, the embedded software that turns a decision into a motor command, an actuator move, a sensor-driven safety interlock. We build the real-time control loops, the embedded firmware, and the integration with the rest of the platform so what the system decides is what the system actually does.

This work includes:

Execution is where missed deadlines stop being theoretical. A 2 ms scheduling jitter that doesn’t show up in a benchtop test will surface on the eight-hour endurance run, on the rough terrain, or in the certification audit. The judgment is in knowing where determinism is worth the engineering cost, where it isn’t, and where the safety case requires it regardless.

// Recent Work

Operator control, deployed.

Teledyne FLIR universal operator controller for UGV and UAV fleet
// 01
// Defense · Universal Controller
Teledyne FLIR · Bomb-Disposal UGV

One operator. A whole fleet of UGVs and unmanned aircraft. One tablet.

Hover for the numbers →
// Teledyne FLIR

Safety-critical HMI for the conditions operators actually face.

A tablet-based universal controller for UGVs and small aircraft, with real-time picture-in-picture video, joystick and touch control, and the embedded execution underneath. Shipped inside a six-month Army deadline.

6 moMission-critical delivery
1Operator, full fleet
UGV+UAVUniversal controller
Read the case study →
SOS Live drone ground control for first responders
// 02
// Public Safety · UAV Ground Control
SafeOps Systems · SOS Live

Drone ground control for the moment a fire department needs it to work.

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// SOS Live · SafeOps Systems

BVLOS-compliant flight, cellular comms, multi-UAV ops, in one command UI.

Low-latency video, path planning, BVLOS-compliant flight, cellular communications, and a command UI built for the conditions first responders actually operate in. Geisel was the primary software development team from day one.

BVLOSFAA-compliant flight
CellularNo WiFi dependency
Multi-UAVSimultaneous feeds
Read the case study →
Diagnostic blood analyzer Android operator interface
// 03
// Medical · Safety-Critical HMI
Medical Device Manufacturer

A UI for a diagnostic device where display errors have patient consequences.

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// Diagnostic Blood Analyzer

Safety-critical HMI, delivered ahead of launch.

A modern Android interface replacing an outdated text-based UI, architected for reuse across the manufacturer’s product line, and shipped ahead of deadline.

AheadOf launch schedule
ReusableAcross product line
AndroidStoryboarded first
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// Adjacent · Autonomy

Need the autonomy that drives the operator control?

Operator control software is most useful when there’s real autonomy underneath it. The operator stops being a stick-and-rudder pilot and starts being a supervisor, one person directing a fleet, intervening only when the system needs a human in the loop. Decide is the on-device autonomy and decision-system layer that makes that supervision model possible.

Explore Decide, On-device autonomy and decision systems →
// Common Questions

Questions about the work.

Does Geisel build operator control on tablets?
Yes. Tablet-based operator control is one of our most common form factors, including the universal controller we built for Teledyne FLIR’s bomb-disposal UGV program, where one operator directs a multi-platform UGV and UAV fleet from a single device. We also build console- and laptop-based operator stations and embedded touch HMI when the platform calls for it.
Does Geisel do BVLOS-compliant drone ground control?
Yes. We’ve shipped BVLOS-compliant ground control for SafeOps Systems’ SOS Live platform, which puts autonomous UAVs over fire and incident scenes ahead of first responders. BVLOS compliance is engineering work, not a checkbox, it’s built into the safety case from the architecture down.
Can Geisel ship operator HMI under IEC 62304 for medical devices?
Yes. Safety-critical HMI for medical devices runs through the same IEC 62304 software lifecycle discipline as any other medical device software we ship, design controls, hazard analysis, software requirements traceability, and the verification and validation evidence appropriate to the device’s risk classification. We’ve built diagnostic-device interfaces under that framework.
What’s the difference between teleoperation and supervised autonomy?
Teleoperation puts the human in the control loop, the operator drives the platform directly, with the system relaying state and accepting commands. Supervised autonomy puts the human on the loop, the platform decides for itself, and the operator monitors, redirects, or intervenes when needed. Most modern operator control we build is somewhere on the spectrum between the two, with the level of autonomy adjustable based on the situation.
Does Geisel build the embedded execution layer too?
Yes. The operator UI is one half of Act; the on-device execution layer underneath it is the other. We build the real-time control loops, the embedded firmware, motor and actuator control, and the sensor-driven safety interlocks, on RTOS targets including QNX and Zephyr, on real-time Linux, and on bare-metal where the platform calls for it.
Does Geisel work outside ROS 2?
Yes. ROS 2 is common in the autonomy and control work we ship, but we work in non-ROS architectures whenever the platform calls for it, proprietary middleware, RTOS environments, custom comms, and bespoke embedded execution stacks built for specific deployment constraints.

Building perception, autonomy, or operator control?
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