The Surrogates project is an exciting and unusual challenge!
I'm getting old and my back doesn't like hauling firewood, I sure could use a Surrogate!
I have proposed an 18 month development schedule because I know what it takes to build machines of this complexity. It is possible that this program can be achieved in as little as 6 months but I feel that would be unrealistic for the level of safety testing.required.
The required robotics is becoming much more mature and available, The "Telepresence" experience could be very good with inertial, tactile, visual, and even olfactory senses. These presently existing technologies must be incorporated in order to achieve minimal development time and costs.
My background is very well suited to this challenge, I have over 25 years experience in robotics. I have been Engineering Manager and Chief Scientist for others. I am expert in systems integration and I am a well-seasoned engineering consultant.
I hope that you will consider me for at least some part of this very interesting opportunity.
Feel free to contact me directly for further discussions.
Sincerely,
Robert O'Brien