This paper presents the development of a teleexcavation system which uses a laser range scanner and a virtual environment to aid a typical remote excavation process. The system includes : a commercial excavator which has been modified for remote operation, a remotely operated sensorized scout vehicle, and a graphical computer workstation. The laser range scanner is attached to a pan-tilt unit on the scout vehicle; the scanner acquires accurate 3D geometric data about the terrain. The scanned data and the excavator telemetry are inputs to the virtual environment that yield an accurate visual model of the worksite that includes the excavator.