Does Robotic Telepresence Make the Classroom Accessible?

Telepresence robots are meant to provide physical access to digital remote spaces. However, they have a range of limitation that make spaces less accessible for remote participants. In this study we reveal, catalogue, and examine telepresence limitations in the context of the classroom. Based on ongoing field study results from participatory observations, surveys and interviews with 22 participants we discuss the extent to which telepresence robots make the classroom accessible and whether the telepresence robots are "disabled.

Navigating the Cyborg Classroom: Telepresence Robots, Accessibility Challenges, and Inclusivity in the Classroom

Telepresence robots, designed to bridge physical distances, have unique capabilities and inherent limitations when deployed in classroom environments. This study examines these aspects, focusing on how telepresence robots facilitate or hinder classroom accessibility and inclusivity. Based on field study results from participatory observations, surveys and interviews with 22 participants, we present and catalogue the operational capabilities of telepresence robots, such as mobility and interaction potential, alongside their limitations in areas like sensory perception and social presence. Our findings reveal a nuanced landscape where telepresence robots act as both enablers and barriers in the classroom. This duality raises the question of whether these robots can be considered “disabled” in certain contexts and how this perceived disability impacts remote students’ inclusion in classroom dynamics. Finally, we present use recommendations to improve classroom experience and telepresence design

On the Margins of the Machine: Heteromation and Robotics

Growing interest in robotics in policy and professional circles promises a future where machines will perform many of the social and institutional functions that have traditionally belonged to human beings. This promise is based on the unexamined premise that robots can act autonomously, without much support from their human users. Close examination of current social robots, however, introduces a different image, where human labor is critically needed for any meaningful operation of these systems. Such labor is normally unacknowledged and made invisible in media and academic portrayals of robotic systems. We take issue with this erasure, and seek to bring human labor to the fore. Drawing on the concept of “heteromation,” we illustrate the indispensible role of human labor in the functioning of many of the existing technological systems. Given current uncertainties in the robotic design space, we explore various scenarios for the future development of these systems, and the different ways by which they might unfold.ye

Conceptualizing socially-assistive robots as a digital therapeutic tool in healthcare

Artificial Intelligence (AI)-driven Digital Health (DH) systems are poised to play a critical role in the future of healthcare. In 2021, $57.2 billion was invested in DH systems around the world, recognizing the promise this concept holds for aiding in delivery and care management. DH systems traditionally include a blend of various technologies, AI, and physiological biomarkers and have shown a potential to provide support for individuals with various health conditions. Digital therapeutics (DTx) is a more specific set of technology-enabled interventions within the broader DH sphere intended to produce a measurable therapeutic effect. DTx tools can empower both patients and healthcare providers, informing the course of treatment through data-driven interventions while collecting data in real-time and potentially reducing the number of patient office visits needed. In particular, socially assistive robots (SARs), as a DTx tool, can be a beneficial asset to DH systems since data gathered from sensors onboard the robot can help identify in-home behaviors, activity patterns, and health status of patients remotely. Furthermore, linking the robotic sensor data to other DH system components, and enabling SAR to function as part of an Internet of Things (IoT) ecosystem, can create a broader picture of patient health outcomes. The main challenge with DTx, and DH systems in general, is that the sheer volume and limited oversight of different DH systems and DTxs is hindering validation efforts (from technical, clinical, system, and privacy standpoints) and consequently slowing widespread adoption of these treatment tools

Emerging Telepresence Technologies in Hybrid Learning Environments

The last several years have seen a strong growth of telerobotic technologies with promising implications for many areas of learning. HCI has contributed to these discussions, mainly with studies on user experiences and user interfaces of telepresence robots. However, only a few telerobot studies have addressed everyday use in real-world learning environments. In the post-COVID 19 world, sociotechnical uncertainties and unforeseen challenges to learning in hybrid learning environments constitute a unique frontier where robotic and immersive technologies can mediate learning experiences. The aim of this workshop is to set the stage for a new wave of HCI research that accounts for and begins to develop new insights, concepts, and methods for use of immersive and telerobotic technologies in real-world learning environments. Participants are invited to collaboratively define an HCI research agenda focused on robot-mediated learning in the wild, which will require examining end-user engagements and questioning underlying concepts regarding telerobots for learning

Collaborative modeling for robot design

In this poster, we describe a method for using grounded the- ory and modeling to support collaborative design of social robots for the elderly. Robotic technologies are being de- signed to assist people in their everyday lives in various ways: as companions [9], domestic helpers [4], receptionists [1], and educational aids [8]. In response to the steadily rising av- erage age of the population in the US, Europe, and Japan, the elderly are often designated as an appropriate audience for assistive robotic technologies. Designing robots for the elderly poses a variety of social challenges???understanding the specific needs and desires of the elderly, supporting in- dependence and human dignity, and making sure that tech- nologies can be successfully incorporated into existing social and physical environments, or ???elder ecologies??? [3]. These challenges suggest that designing robots for the elderly calls for attention to individual attitudes towards technologies as well as community norms and practices of social interaction and technology use

You don't always have to fly, sometimes you need to slow down : A qualitative study about how women with immigrant background manage to become leaders in the Swedish labor market despite obstacles they encounter.

The aim of this qualitative study is to examine how women with immigrant backgrounds have achieved leading positions in the Swedish labor market. According to previous research, women with immigrant backgrounds face several barriers when seeking a career and achieving leadership positions. Despite that, a few women manage to succeed in their careers to finally become leaders. Therefore, our research focuses on the question: How do women with immigrant backgrounds manage to become leaders in the Swedish labor market despite obstacles they encounter? In order to gain a better understanding, we have also asked the question:  How does it feel to be a female leader with an immigrant background? The informants in the study were women with immigrant backgrounds working as managers in medium-sized organizations in Sweden. An analysis of the empirical data was conducted based on the career theory, Bourdieu's theoretical perspective on field and capital and emotion theory. The results of this study revealed that in addition to equivalent education, the women who participated in the study obtained their positions through informal connections. Moreover, the study suggests that the women informants did not feel that their immigrant backgrounds hindered their career paths, but rather their age and gender. It appears that these results confirm earlier findings which indicated that age and gender play a somewhat significant role in the Swedish labor market

Robots in the Wild: Observing Human-Robot Social Interaction Outside the Lab

This paper discusses the use of observational studies of human-robot social interaction in open human-inhabited environments as a method for improving on the design and evaluating the interactive capabilities of social robots. First, we discuss issues that have surfaced in attempts to evaluate social interactions between humans and robots. Next, we review two observational studies involving robots interacting socially with humans and discuss how the results can be applied to improving robot design. The first is an analysis of a mobile conference-attending robot that performed a search task by augmenting its perception through social interaction with human attendees. The second is an analysis of a stationary robotic receptionist that provides information to visitors and enhances interaction through story-telling. Through these examples, we show how observational studies can be applied to humanrobot social interactions in varying contexts and with differing tasks to quantitatively and qualitatively evaluate (and discover unanticipated aspects of) the social interaction. Finally, we discuss design recommendations suggested by insights gained through these analyses

Emotions and Willingness to Interact with Robots

Data file, analysis script, and question wordings for paper in press in PSPB, Dec. 201