"This really lets us see the entire world:" Designing a conversational telepresence robot for homebound older adults

TL;DR

This paper investigates how conversational telepresence robots can help homebound older adults experience the external world by supporting exploration and reminiscence. It employs a design-through-research approach, starting with a needfinding study (N=8) to identify three experiential needs and followed by a technology probe (N=11) to explore user interactions with a Wizard-of-Oz prototype. Key contributions include design insights on the robot's proactive guiding role, an artifact for remote exploration, and empirical findings on interaction patterns across reminiscence, exploration, and social participation, highlighting both positive experiences and barriers. The work defines a novel design space for dialogue-rich telepresence in aging, offering actionable guidance for future systems to foster meaningful, socially embedded remote experiences for homebound older adults.

Abstract

In this paper, we explore the design and use of conversational telepresence robots to help homebound older adults interact with the external world. An initial needfinding study (N=8) using video vignettes revealed older adults' experiential needs for robot-mediated remote experiences such as exploration, reminiscence and social participation. We then designed a prototype system to support these goals and conducted a technology probe study (N=11) to garner a deeper understanding of user preferences for remote experiences. The study revealed user interactive patterns in each desired experience, highlighting the need of robot guidance, social engagements with the robot and the remote bystanders. Our work identifies a novel design space where conversational telepresence robots can be used to foster meaningful interactions in the remote physical environment. We offer design insights into the robot's proactive role in providing guidance and using dialogue to create personalized, contextualized and meaningful experiences.

Figures (5)

• Figure 1: Overview of the needfinding study. We interviewed older adults about their homebound challenges and things they would like to do at 11 selected locations if they could go there (left). Then, we took those responses and used them to generate designs for the conversational telepresence robots (center). Finally, we presented the designs back to the participants in the form of video vignettes, then asked their feedback and discussed the use of the telepresence robots more generally (right).
• Figure 2: An overview of our needfinding study materials. We created a robot character used in our video vignettes. The robot has advanced sensing, navigation, and manipulation capabilities (upper left). At the start of each scenario, the robot and the remote user Janet introduced themselves to the participant (upper right). We prepared three video vignettes to illustrate the remote experiences: visiting farmer's market (lower left); going to the botanical garden (lower middle); and visiting the lakefront (lower right).
• Figure 3: Components of the Technology Probe study interface we designed.
• Figure 4: Overview of the Technology Probe study. We first held on boarding sessions with older adults and filled in questionnaires about their physical and mental health conditions and experiences with technology (left). In the second and third sessions, participants remotely visited a lakefront park next to a university campus and a botanical garden through the robot where they engaged in three phases: free exploration, chatting with the robot and chatting with the remote bystander (right).
• Figure 5: Finding overview from our needfinding study and technology probe study. We first conducted a needfinding and identified homebound older adults' desired experiences in the telepresence experiences (Left); Guided by the findings, we prototyped a conversational telepresence robot which supports interactive dialogue with the user, provides guidance and control, and facilitates bystander interaction (Middle). We conducted a technology probe study and identified interaction patterns in each experience between our participants and the telepresence robot (Right).