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Closeness is Key over Long Distances: Effects of Interpersonal Closeness on Telepresence Experience

Authors:

Naomi T. Fitter,

Thomas Groechel,

Maja J. Matarić,

Leila TakayamaAuthors Info & Claims

HRI '20: Proceedings of the 2020 ACM/IEEE International Conference on Human-Robot Interaction

Pages 499 - 507

https://doi.org/10.1145/3319502.3374785

Published: 09 March 2020 Publication History

Abstract

Telepresence robots act as the remote embodiments of human operators, enabling people to stay connected to friends, family, and coworkers over lengthy physical separations. However, the factors affecting how humans can best make use of such systems are not yet well understood. This paper explores the effects of personalization and relationship closeness on telepresence via two studies. Study 1 was a between-participants experiment that investigated telepresence robot personalization. 32 pairs of friends (N = 64) participated in the study's team-building-style activities and answered questions about robot operator presence. The results unexpectedly indicated that relationship closeness influenced the interaction experience more than any other considered predictor variable. To study closeness more rigorously as the central manipulation, we conducted Study 2, a between-participants experiment with 24 pairs (N = 48) and a similar procedure. Robot operators who reported a closer relationship with their teammate felt more present in this investigation. These findings can inform the design and application of telepresence robot systems to increase a remote operator's feelings of presence via robot.

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Cited By

Berhane RAkiode DJoshi SElmimouni H(2025)Integrating Function and Connection: Two Perspectives to Telepresence Robot Design for ClassroomCompanion Proceedings of the 2025 ACM International Conference on Supporting Group Work10.1145/3688828.3699633(9-14)Online publication date: 12-Jan-2025
https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/3688828.3699633
Wester JMoghe BWinkle Kvan Berkel N(2024)Facing LLMs: Robot Communication Styles in Mediating Health Information between Parents and Young AdultsProceedings of the ACM on Human-Computer Interaction10.1145/36870368:CSCW2(1-37)Online publication date: 8-Nov-2024
https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/3687036
Elmimouni HŠabanović SRode J(2024)Navigating the Cyborg Classroom: Telepresence Robots, Accessibility Challenges, and Inclusivity in the ClassroomACM Transactions on Accessible Computing10.1145/367256917:2(1-21)Online publication date: 14-Jun-2024
https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/3672569
Show More Cited By

Index Terms

Closeness is Key over Long Distances: Effects of Interpersonal Closeness on Telepresence Experience
1. Computer systems organization
  1. Embedded and cyber-physical systems
    1. Robotics
2. Human-centered computing
  1. Collaborative and social computing
  2. Human computer interaction (HCI)
    1. Interaction paradigms

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cover image ACM Conferences

HRI '20: Proceedings of the 2020 ACM/IEEE International Conference on Human-Robot Interaction

March 2020

690 pages

ISBN:9781450367462

DOI:10.1145/3319502

General Chairs:
Tony Belpaeme
Ghent University, Belgium
,
James Young
University of Manitoba, Canada
,
Program Chairs:
Hatice Gunes
University of Cambridge, UK
,
Laurel Riek
UC San Diego, USA

Copyright © 2020 ACM.

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SIGAI: ACM Special Interest Group on Artificial Intelligence
SIGCHI: ACM Special Interest Group on Computer-Human Interaction
IEEE-RAS: Robotics and Automation

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New York, NY, United States

Publication History

Published: 09 March 2020

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HRI '20: ACM/IEEE International Conference on Human-Robot Interaction

March 23 - 26, 2020

Cambridge, United Kingdom

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Cited By

Berhane RAkiode DJoshi SElmimouni H(2025)Integrating Function and Connection: Two Perspectives to Telepresence Robot Design for ClassroomCompanion Proceedings of the 2025 ACM International Conference on Supporting Group Work10.1145/3688828.3699633(9-14)Online publication date: 12-Jan-2025
https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/3688828.3699633
Wester JMoghe BWinkle Kvan Berkel N(2024)Facing LLMs: Robot Communication Styles in Mediating Health Information between Parents and Young AdultsProceedings of the ACM on Human-Computer Interaction10.1145/36870368:CSCW2(1-37)Online publication date: 8-Nov-2024
https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/3687036
Elmimouni HŠabanović SRode J(2024)Navigating the Cyborg Classroom: Telepresence Robots, Accessibility Challenges, and Inclusivity in the ClassroomACM Transactions on Accessible Computing10.1145/367256917:2(1-21)Online publication date: 14-Jun-2024
https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/3672569
Cha YJackson VFigueira IBranham Svan der Hoek AGraziotin DNolte A(2024)Understanding the Career Mobility of Blind and Low Vision Software ProfessionalsProceedings of the 2024 IEEE/ACM 17th International Conference on Cooperative and Human Aspects of Software Engineering10.1145/3641822.3641872(170-181)Online publication date: 14-Apr-2024
https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/3641822.3641872
Elmimouni HRode JŠabanović S(2024)Articulation work for supporting the values of students attending class via telepresence robotsInternational Journal of Human-Computer Studies10.1016/j.ijhcs.2024.103318190(103318)Online publication date: Oct-2024
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijhcs.2024.103318
Benson WAnderson ZCapelle EDunlap MDorris BGorlewicz JShimizu MWeinberg J(2023)Embodied Expressive Gestures in Telerobots: A Tale of Two UsersACM Transactions on Human-Robot Interaction10.1145/357090812:2(1-20)Online publication date: 15-Mar-2023
https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/3570908
Elmimouni HKinney ABrooks ELi HSabanovic SCastellano GRiek LCakmak MLeite I(2023)"Who's that?"Companion of the 2023 ACM/IEEE International Conference on Human-Robot Interaction10.1145/3568294.3580090(287-291)Online publication date: 13-Mar-2023
https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/3568294.3580090
Elmimouni HYoung CSabanovic SRode J(2023)Does Robotic Telepresence Make the Classroom Accessible?Companion Publication of the 2023 ACM Designing Interactive Systems Conference10.1145/3563703.3596631(194-197)Online publication date: 10-Jul-2023
https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/3563703.3596631
Robinson RMirza-Babaei PAlvarez AGarreta Domingo MMandryk RIsbister K(2023)Games and Play SIG: Connecting Through Social and Playful TechnologiesExtended Abstracts of the 2023 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems10.1145/3544549.3583176(1-4)Online publication date: 19-Apr-2023
https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/3544549.3583176
Lin CRhim JMoon A(2023)Less Than Human: How Different Users of Telepresence Robots Expect Different Social Norms2023 IEEE/RSJ International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems (IROS)10.1109/IROS55552.2023.10341962(3976-3982)Online publication date: 1-Oct-2023
https://doi.org/10.1109/IROS55552.2023.10341962
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