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Telepresence Robots for Remote Participation in Higher Education

Hu, Junrui; Reyes Cruz, Gisela; Fischer, Joel; Maior, Horia Alexandru

Authors

Junrui Hu

Dr HORIA MAIOR HORIA.MAIOR@NOTTINGHAM.AC.UK
TRANSITIONAL ASSISTANT PROFESSOR



Abstract

Telepresence robotics enable people to synchronously communicate and interact at a distance. The Covid-19 pandemic caused in-person teaching and research activities to migrate online in almost all society sectors (including higher education). In hybrid learning environments, telepresence robots have the potential to increase the effectiveness of distance learning by enhancing user presence, allowing students to remain physically embodied and socially connected. However, to be accepted, trusted, and adopted in higher education, more work is needed to investigate the specific requirements of telepresence robotics in these settings. In this paper, we present the results of a mixed methods study exploring how the use of a telepresence robot in a simulated learning and research environment affects trust in and user experience of telepresence robots used in higher education. We aimed to understand users' attitudes and requirements for the use of telepresence robots in academic teaching and research. Our findings suggest that the level of trust is contingent upon the user, the performance of the robot, and the credibility of the developing organisation. We additionally map out the current challenges encountered by the use of telepresence robots in these settings and provide suggestions to improve user experience by highlighting new software and hardware capabilities.

Citation

Hu, J., Reyes Cruz, G., Fischer, J., & Maior, H. A. (2024, June). Telepresence Robots for Remote Participation in Higher Education. Presented at CHIWORK 2024, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK

Presentation Conference Type Edited Proceedings
Conference Name CHIWORK 2024
Start Date Jun 25, 2024
End Date Jun 27, 2024
Acceptance Date Mar 23, 2023
Online Publication Date Jun 25, 2024
Publication Date Jun 25, 2024
Deposit Date Aug 14, 2024
Publisher Association for Computing Machinery (ACM)
Peer Reviewed Peer Reviewed
Article Number 6
Book Title CHIWORK '24: Proceedings of the 3rd Annual Meeting of the Symposium on Human-Computer Interaction for Work
ISBN 979-8-4007-1017-9
DOI https://doi.org/10.1145/3663384.3663394
Public URL https://nottingham-repository.worktribe.com/output/36579928
Publisher URL https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/3663384.3663394