The telepresence robot uses a new type of hydrostatic transmission that combines hydraulic and air lines to provide more degrees of freedom as well as greater precision and delicacy of touch in a lighter, simpler design.

Since the earliest Waldo manipulators, telepresence systems have favored either mechanical designs using gears, cables, and linkages; hydraulics; or pneumatics. Each of these has its strengths and each has its weaknesses. For example, cables running along pulleys and operating linkages have been used in teleoperators since 1945. These are very basic and the simpler versions don't even require an outside power source. However, these have every strict design limits to accommodate the cable runs and motors, and they provide poor feedback and control.

Hydraulics, on the other hand, can provide enough power to turn any human into a Hercules, in addition to having good feedback for precise control. Unfortunately, they are also bulky, the thick hydraulic lines are difficult to fit, and the manipulator can freeze in place when the power cuts out.