Teleoperate

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. To control a machine, robot, or vehicle from a distance using wireless or other remote signals rather than being physically present
2. Running a device or system from afar by sending it commands without being on site with it
3. Directing equipment such as a drone or rover through a remote link while the operator stays at a separate location

Etymology: "Teleoperate" is a plain compound: the prefix "tele-", from Greek "tēle" meaning "far off" or "at a distance", joined to "operate". The prefix turns up in words like "telephone" and "television," and it means something like "operating from a distance." Its earlier sense of "distance" is what gives the verb its meaning: to run a machine, usually a robot or vehicle, from somewhere away from it. Because the verb is built from two familiar parts, it needs no single inventor and its history is mostly the history of the prefix. The "tele-" element entered English through modern scientific and technical coinages from the 19th century onward, so the verb reflects the technology of its own era rather than anything the ancient Greeks would have recognized.

Synonyms: remote-control, telecontrol