Guide · Comparison
Teleoperation service providers compared (2026): managed operators, data labs and software
Who will run your robot remotely, who will collect demonstrations for you, and who only sells the tools. Checked against each provider’s own pages on October 26, 2026.
Updated
Quick answer: if you want a dedicated team of trained remote operators on your own robot (arms, humanoids or drones), with every session delivered as training data in LeRobot, RLDS or HDF5, that is what RoboPilots does. If you want something else, another provider below is a better fit, and we say which.
Disclosure: RoboPilots wrote this page and sells one of the services compared. We list ourselves first only for the need we are built for. Every other entry is taken from that provider’s own website, quoted or paraphrased, and dated. If something here is wrong or out of date, write to partners@robopilots.ai and we will correct it.
The short answer, by what you need
Trained remote operators on your own robot, plus the data
RoboPilots. Also consider FS Studio (US-based crews on site at your facility), Scale AI (“your hardware, managed and operated by Scale”) and Encord (operators running daily tasks with your robot).
Low-cost monitoring and tele-assistance for a deployed service-robot fleet
OBI Services, an outsourcing company with office-based teams in the Philippines and a published rate from USD 4.95 an hour for large volumes. Your company trains the operators on your software.
A fixed-price pilot dataset collected in someone else’s lab
Robotics Center of Silicon Valley publishes a 20-demonstration pilot for $2,500 and a 100-demonstration campaign for $8,000, delivered as HDF5, RLDS or LeRobot.
Human demonstration video at volume (egocentric, not robot state)
Claru, DataX Power and AuraOne. Claru’s own comparison notes this captures human demonstrations, not robot state-action pairs.
Cheap remote demos on a LeRobot-class hobby arm
AY-Robots: plans from €49.99 a month and operators from €6 an hour, on SO-100-class arms.
Software only, with your own operators
Formant or InOrbit for fleet operations, Extend Robotics for VR teleoperation with ROS bag, HDF5 or LeRobot export.
Hardware to collect your own data
Trossen Robotics, home of the original ALOHA design, with a data SDK that exports to LeRobot.
All seventeen at a glance
| Provider | What they sell | Robots (as stated) | Formats stated | Published price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| RoboPilots | Managed remote operators trained on your robot | Arms, humanoids, drones, vehicles | LeRobot, RLDS, HDF5; MCAP or ROS 2 bags for vehicles | Quoted per deployment; one-week trial |
| OBI Services | Managed operators (outsourcing, Philippines) | Delivery, security, cleaning, warehouse, hospital and retail robots | Not stated | From USD 4.95/hour at large volume |
| FS Studio | Managed operator crews and data collection | Customer-provided robots; UMI grippers | “Your formats” | Not published |
| Scale AI | Data collection in its own cells and on your hardware | Bimanual manipulators; customer hardware | Not stated | Not published |
| Encord | Lab and in-field data collection with annotation | Leader-follower rigs; your robot; UMI grippers | Not stated (into Encord’s platform) | Not stated |
| Cogito Tech | Expert teleoperation inside an annotation company | Industrial, mobile, VR-humanoid systems | Not stated | Not stated |
| Robotics Center | Data collection in its own lab, plus hardware | OpenArm, UR3e/UR5e, Unitree G1, xArm, Kinova Gen3 | HDF5, RLDS, LeRobot | $2,500 pilot (20 demos); $8,000 (100 demos) |
| Humaid | Arm teleoperation data collection | Single and dual-arm robots | MCAP, JSON, video overlays | Not stated |
| AuraOne | Human data programs, including teleoperation | Your robot; phone and wearable capture | MP4/MOV; JSON/JSONL; contracted export | “No rate card” |
| Claru | Human demonstration video network | Mainly human demonstrations | Image sequences with metadata | Not published |
| DataX Power | Managed video data collection (Southeast Asia) | Humanoid manipulation, AMR, surgical (video) | “Your preferred format” | Not published |
| PrismaX | Teleoperation data marketplace and on-demand collection | Robot arms and humanoids | JSON via browser or API | Enterprise by contract |
| AY-Robots | Remote operators on LeRobot-class arms | SO-100-class arms | LeRobot | €49.99 or €299.99/month; operators from €6/hour |
| Extend Robotics | VR teleoperation software | ROS robots, cobot arms, humanoids | ROS bag, HDF5, LeRobot | Not stated |
| Formant | Fleet operations software | Multi-vendor fleets | Not stated | Not stated |
| InOrbit | Robot operations software | AMR and multi-vendor fleets | Not stated | Not found |
| Trossen Robotics | Hardware and data-collection kits | WidowX arms, mobile manipulators, ALOHA | LeRobot V2 (SDK export) | Hardware prices; cloud pricing not final |
Managed operators: someone else runs your robot
These providers supply the people. The questions that separate them are where the operators sit, who trains them on your robot, and whether every session comes back as data you can train on.
RoboPilots
We train a dedicated operator group on your robot and your task protocol, run shifts across time zones including US Pacific, and deliver each session cut into labeled episodes: LeRobot, RLDS or HDF5 for manipulation, MCAP or ROS 2 bags for vehicles, tagged flight logs for drones. Engagements start with a one-week trial that sets the baseline that matters, clean episodes per operator hour (flights per pilot shift for drones). Best for robot-learning teams and fleets that want operators and data from one team. How it works.
OBI Services
An outsourcing company that provides dedicated remote robot operators from office-based teams in the Philippines, with a published floor of USD 4.95 an hour for large engagements. Its page says the client trains the operators on its own robot software. Best for service-robot fleets that need low-cost monitoring and tele-assistance shifts.
FS Studio
US-based robot operations crews that work on site at customer labs and facilities, on customer-provided robots and procedures, plus demonstration and egocentric data programs. Priced by team capacity or by batch. Best when you want people physically next to the robot.
Scale AI
Physical AI data collection through its own data factories and partners, validated in a San Francisco lab, and a bespoke option that runs your hardware for you. SOC 2 Type II and ISO 27001 certified, per its page. Best for large programs that also need annotation at scale.
Encord
Bay Area lab facilities, leader-follower rigs and an in-field operator network, with collected data flowing straight into Encord’s labeling platform. Best for teams that want collection and annotation in one tool.
Cogito Tech
An annotation company with an expert-in-the-loop teleoperation service: robotics engineers, automation specialists and industrial robot operators, over a dedicated leased line. Best for buyers already using an annotation vendor who want corrections and demonstrations from the same one.
Data collection labs and networks: they collect, you train
Robotics Center of Silicon Valley
Collects demonstrations in its own San Francisco and Allston, Massachusetts labs on OpenArm, UR, Unitree G1, xArm and Kinova robots, or on yours if it is ROS 2-compatible. The only collection lab here that publishes prices. Best for a fixed-price first dataset.
Humaid
Configures the teleoperation setup, trains operators and delivers synchronized arm trajectories with force-torque as MCAP. Best for arm teams that need force data.
AuraOne, Claru and DataX Power
Human data at volume. AuraOne mixes teleoperation with phone and wearable capture and has no rate card. Claru runs a global contributor network for egocentric video. DataX Power runs managed video programs from Hanoi with participants across Southeast Asia, from 100-hour pilots upward. Best when human video, not robot state, is what your model needs.
PrismaX and AY-Robots
Marketplaces where operators, some with their own robots, run sessions and are paid per session or per hour. AY-Robots focuses on LeRobot-class arms with public monthly plans. Best for small teams and hobby-scale arms.
Software and hardware: you bring the operators
Formant
One platform for mixed-vendor fleets, with time-synced video, sensor and intervention records. Best when you staff your own operations team.
InOrbit
Robot orchestration with monitoring, diagnostics and control tools for warehouse and manufacturing fleets.
Extend Robotics
VR teleoperation software from Reading, UK, with a stated glass-to-glass latency under 150 ms and export to ROS bag, HDF5 or LeRobot.
Trossen Robotics
Arms, mobile manipulators and the original ALOHA design, with a data SDK that exports LeRobot V2. Its cloud teleoperation service is in beta, with pricing not yet final.
What none of the others list: drones and BVLOS
None of the other providers reviewed list remote pilots for docked drones or beyond-visual-line-of-sight operations. Cogito names agricultural and underwater drones as use cases only. RoboPilots supplies remote pilots who supervise several aircraft and take over for takeoff, drop-off and exceptions. See drone teleoperation, model by model.
How we compared
Own pages only
Every fact comes from the provider’s own website, read on October 26, 2026. We did not use review sites or press coverage, and we did not contact the providers.
Published prices only
A price appears only where the provider publishes it. Most quote per project.
“Not stated” is not “no”
A format or robot type missing from the table means we did not find it on the pages we read, not that the provider cannot do it. Ask them.
Left out
Robot makers that teleoperate their own robots but do not sell the service, annotation-only platforms, and Freedom Robotics, whose site did not load on the day we checked.
Several other “best teleoperation providers” lists exist, and most were written by one of the providers they rank, including this one. Before you sign with anyone, run the 12 questions for choosing a teleoperation provider and a paid trial on your own robot.
Frequently asked questions
- What is a teleoperation service provider?
- A company that supplies the people, the tools or both to control robots remotely. Managed providers staff trained operators on your robot; data labs collect demonstrations for you; software vendors sell the stack and leave staffing to you.
- Which teleoperation providers publish prices?
- Of the 16 other providers reviewed on October 26, 2026, three: OBI Services (from USD 4.95 an hour at large volume), Robotics Center of Silicon Valley ($2,500 for 20 demonstrations, $8,000 for 100) and AY-Robots (€49.99 or €299.99 a month, operators from €6 an hour). The rest quote per project.
- Which providers deliver data in LeRobot format?
- Among those that state formats: RoboPilots (LeRobot, RLDS, HDF5), Robotics Center of Silicon Valley (HDF5, RLDS, LeRobot), Extend Robotics (ROS bag, HDF5, LeRobot), Trossen Robotics (LeRobot V2 via its SDK) and AY-Robots (LeRobot).
- Can a provider operate my own robot instead of theirs?
- Yes. RoboPilots, FS Studio, Scale AI, Encord and AuraOne all describe operating the customer’s robot. Robotics Center can collect on a robot you ship if it is ROS 2-compatible. Lab-based offers otherwise use their own hardware.
- Is this list biased?
- RoboPilots wrote it and sells one of the services, so read it that way. We put ourselves first only for managed operators on your own robot, sourced every other entry from the provider’s own site, and say where others fit better.