Sometimes a person must control a robot from a distance, to reach somewhere dangerous or remote. Teleoperation sends the operator's commands to the robot and the robot's sensing back, ideally closely enough that it feels like direct control.
The enemy is delay. Even a small lag between acting and seeing the result makes precise control difficult and can cause overcorrection. Designs fight this by giving the robot enough local autonomy to handle fine details itself, leaving the distant operator to set intent rather than every motion.