Non-technical users' first encounters with a robotic telepresence technology: An empirical study of office workers

Abstract

Robotic telepresence technologies are becoming ever more usable and affordable, as well as increasingly available as consumer products. In the coming years, a significant number of people are likely to encounter the technology for the first time, and many, if not most, of them are going to be "non-technical" users, that is, people who do not have special technical knowledge and skills of IT-professionals. Therefore, understanding how nontechnical users are getting familiar with robotic telepresence technology, how they perceive the technology, learn to control it, and relate it to their everyday work practices, is a topical research issue. This paper reports an empirical study, in which eight non-technical users, office workers who were not IT-professionals, were introduced to robotic telepresence and provided with a practical experience of acting as pilots of a remotely controlled robot. In follow up interviews the participants were asked to reflect on potential uses of the technology in their professional activities. The participants could successfully acquire basic navigation skills and reached a high level of spatial presence, but experienced problems with developing a "new body image". When reflecting on the potential of the technology for supporting their work, the participants envisioned a number of benefits associated with remote physical mobility. The impact of the technology on the quality of workrelated social interactions was expected to be generally positive but somewhat limited.