Designing more acceptable Mobile Robotic Telepresence systems, a user-centered study

Mobile Robotic Telepresence systems (MRP) basically consist of video, audio, networks and services that are applied as an aggregate technology that allows individuals in different places of the world interact with each other while they feel being present in the remote location. This technology can provide more realistic images and clearer communication for the users in compare to traditional mediated communication technologies and comes with the added value of moving and operating in a remote location controlled by a pilot user from a distance. Prior studies have reported a variety of benefits for telepresence robots in social interaction, though, most of these telepresence robots have the least equipment used for a social interaction such as a camera to show a remote site, microphones and speakers to share the audio stream, and a user interface to control the system, move around, and have a voice chat. These robotic telepresence systems have limited capabilities concerning mobility, immersiveness, and embodiment. Due to the existing limitations, some questions still need to be addressed to understand whether these MRP systems are really useful for some type of applications. The main purpose of MRP systems is developing a social interaction among people; however, one of the most promising application areas for MRP systems is museum. MRP systems can be used in museums to provide superior services. Using MRP systems, people are able to visit a museum from the comfort of their homes; while previously, visiting a museum was possible only by the physical presence of the visitors. Museums can also provide robotic tour guide for their local visitors or use the system to give them information about directions. Despite all these advantages, using an MRP system in either ways may pose some challenges for people who have never seen or experienced the interaction with a telepresence robot. However, designers have always tried to provide systems that are more useful and easy to use and are able to provide more pleasant experience for their users. The main aim of this compilation thesis is to make a contribution to the current literature by discovering how this goal can be achieved by designers. The thesis conducts user-centered studies that evaluates the interaction of potential users with a telepresence robot and provides valuable guidelines to designers. Therefore, the focus of the current thesis is on people’s perception about the application of MRP systems in museums with the purpose of developing more acceptable systems. The thesis proposes a set of useful Human-Robot Interaction (HRI) experiments to address the general question of “which aspects of MRP systems, technological and non-technological, are useful to promote the users’ acceptance of the system by fulfilling their needs and desires?” The thesis includes six chapters and consists of three independent research works that each assesses some specific aspects of the HRI that might influence the users’ acceptance of robotic telepresence. The focus of these studies is mostly on museum setting. These three research work all have a common main objective which is providing guides for designing more usable and acceptable MRP systems. Questionnaire-based evaluations and retrospective interviews are used as the tools to conduct the experimental evaluation of the MRP system. These methods were carefully chosen taking into account the challenges of conducting HRI experiments in natural settings with a variety of users who have different organizational background. In one of the studies, the two factors of robot’s “height adjustability option” and the “interpersonal distance” and their influence on the qualification of interaction through MRP system was tested. The results of the experiments showed that the possibility of adopting the height of robot to the eye level of the local user enhances the quality of interaction by influencing the sense of social presence in the local user. It was also found that in some distances (between robot and local users); better interaction takes place as the sense of social presence is improved in local users. Another study in this thesis evaluates the MRP system when the participants use a robot to visit a remote museum. In this study, some non-technical aspects such as system usefulness, ease of use and some technical aspect such as video, audio and navigation are tested. The results obtained from these evaluations show the problems and difficulties to use the system for a remote virtual visit and proposes the solutions and guides that might be useful to promote the experience of users in future. Last, but not the least, it was concluded that the potential technological and non-technological elements that influence robot acceptance do not only relates to robot, but also relates to users’ characteristics and even the environmental setting that the robot is designed to perform. The third study intends to perform an experiment with the MRP in a real museum setting. This time the robot is used to provide a virtual tour guide for the local visitors. Again a variety of aspects are considered in the experiment including the robot’s appearance, the users’ anxiety and the attitude of the visitors toward the robot. The set of experiments and the analysis of the data and the results obtained provided valuable guidelines regarding the application of MRP systems in museums. It was found that the system can be applied for a variety of tasks and social activities inside museums and the visitors have a positive perception about robots inside museums; however there are still plenty of issues to be solved before huge investments can be done on this type of technology. Robot designers should be able to provide an optimal design to create a comfortable experience for users, support proper feedback to them, and obtain their cooperation. They can improve the users’ acceptance by making sure that the determining factors are all considered when robots are designed and introduced. Although, some prior researchers performed a variety of experiments with different types of robots in museums, they mostly have focused on physical and technological features such as appearance, navigation and obstacle seeking. However, in this study, a variety of aspects are evaluated from both an operator user’s (the person/s who drives and controls the robot) perspective and local user’s (the person/s who is in the same place with robot) point of view.