MobileHCI'23 Workshop

Mobility and Utility in Robot Mediated Interaction

An Interactive Workshop for the Identification of Use Cases and Affordances of Telepresence Robots

Call for participation

We are pleased to invite position papers for the half-day workshop on ``Mobility and Utility in Robot-Mediated Interaction: An Interactive Workshop for the Identification of Use Cases and Affordances of Telepresence Robots'' at MobileHCI 2023.

The workshop is intended for researchers and practitioners from industry or academia working in Human-Computer and Human-Robot Interaction, Robotics, Arts, Ethics, Social Sciences, Design, and Psychology. We also welcome contributions from anyone working on topics related to mobile telepresence platforms.

Workshop participants are encouraged to submit position papers that highlight interesting points of discussion, opinions, open research questions, and ongoing or planned research. We accept position papers between 2-4 pages in length, formatted according to the SIGCHI template (\documentclass[sigconf,screen]{acmart}). Topics of interest for the position papers include but are not limited to:

Proxemics (e.g., F-formations) during human-telepresence robot interaction
concrete context in which remote locomotion is beneficial
new interaction modalities for mobile remote interaction
engaging telepresence robot embodiment
pair- or group-based remote interactions
remote collaboration
new methodologies on how to evaluate successful remote interaction
ethical implications of mobile telepresence platforms
how to reduce mental workload for remote operators while manoeuvring the telepresence robot
improvements needed to the navigational capabilities of the telepresence robot
accessibility features for telepresence robots
augmentation of mobile telepresence robots (e.g. through mobile and wearable technology, Augmented Reality, Internet of Things, etc.)

All submissions will be reviewed based on relevance to the conference theme - "understanding of mobility," quality, and diversity. Submissions that interpret mobility broadly and relate to various topics within mobile contexts in robot-mediated interaction are welcome. At least one author of each accepted paper must register for the workshop.

For question or paper submissions please contact: eike.schneiders@nottingham.ac.uk.

The list of accepted papers will be posted on the website and will be available for download prior to the workshop.

Abstract

In recent years virtual meetings have become the predominant alternative to face-to-face meetings. Ongoing efforts in the design of telepresence robots promise remote access to physical settings and a greater sense of presence, leading to improved remote collaboration. However, a comparable sense of physical presence and utility has yet to be achieved. Mobile telepresence still provides limited ways to interact with remote users (e.g., with the environment and other people). This workshop aims to re-imagine telepresence robots, moving away from the decades-old `iPad-on-a-stick' paradigm. Using interactive activities involving existing telepresence robots and a hybrid workshop format, we hope to ideate ways of expanding the capabilities of mobile telepresence robots through a range of mechanisms (e.g., mobile and wearable technology, Augmented Reality, Internet of Things, etc.) and to inform the future design of these devices to provide additional affordances. In doing so, we plan to identify use cases for which mobile telepresence robots can provide additional value through their locomotive capabilities compared to current screen-based remote interactions. Lastly, we aim to identify scenarios for future research in Mobile HCI using use cases and affordances identified during the workshop to support more equitable participation for remote users.