Keywords

1 Introduction

Service/social robots, often clustered in the same category, are gaining popularity, particularly in health care, home care and education. Although the differences appear nuanced, the former (service robots) are purely functional machines, while the latter (social robots) develop stronger interpersonal skills. From the most specific services offered in terms of order execution to more complex cognitive processing, the service/social robot possesses its physical form (a body) and a communication system based on sensory properties expressed at different levels: capable of speaking, touching, gesturing, pointing, even expressing emotional reactions. Bartneck & Forlizzi [1] define a social service robot as “an autonomous or semi-autonomous robot that interacts and communicates with humans by following the behavioural norms expected of the people with whom the robot is intended to interact.” Therefore, these robots take on different identities depending on their functional role and the context for which they are designed. In other words, they possess an overall form (the Anglo-Saxon form) that is not only determined by the sophisticated technologies used here but is the result of well-defined design choices [2]. The service/social robot, as an intelligent machine to entertain, assist, and educate, or as a telepresence robot to communicate with people at a distance, is perhaps the object with the most complex system of interaction with humans. It is a system that can offer different performances, the impact of which has to be measured through the degree of acceptability of the robot by the people who interact with it, obviously divided into categories: children, adults, the elderly, the frail, etc. The aesthetics of the machine, which in this category of the robot is determined by a complex of relationships not only of a somatic character but also of a sensory and interactive nature, has its fundamental importance [3]. In robotics, the concept of functionality proper to industrial objects extends to the semantic nature of formal and interaction relations, with the primacy of embodiment, i.e., the principle of the embodied mind, where human reactions arise from a complex interweaving of mind, brain and body [4].

In this multidimensional direction that places at the basis of the morphological reading of the robot the integration of interaction and expressiveness of the body, there are several studies of an anthropological and psychological nature that inform us about the requirements for the acceptance and adequacy of certain forms without, however, systematizing all the elements that contribute to a descriptive synthesis of the methodologies for their measurement.

The research, therefore, aims to present a series of approaches aimed at characterizing telepresence robots through the analysis of case studies in the literature to identify the directions that telepresence should take in the future. These robots enable remote communication between people so they can fully experience individual, group, and remote spaces through the functions and features they possess motion, screens, sensors, and voice commands [5]. This task raises questions about the characterization of the machine depending on who experiences and shares it.

2 Enhanced Human-Robot Interaction and Human-Robot-Human

In the case of telepresence, human-robot-human social interaction is a dynamic and complex phenomenon influenced by specific factors such as socio-cultural context and past experiences. Therefore, most scholars think that in order to create a positive interaction between the robotic machine and the user, especially in the case of telepresence, it is necessary to introduce the concept of “humanized natural” through the reproduction of only some traits and behaviours that belong to humans [6]. This, on the other hand, is not the case at the two opposite extremes of robotics: at the bottom, household appliance robots, generally characterized by a curated but aseptic design expressiveness, typical of tools subjected to a good design process; at the top, humanoid laboratory robots such as iCub, designed by IIT Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia, a reference model for recent application experiments such as RoBee, the first Italian cognitive robot intended for Industry 5. 0 (Oversonic Robotics), equipped with anthropometric dimensions and somatic features almost identical to the human standard, to better contribute to the performance of tasks that are not repetitive but require great precision (pick and place) and cognitive performance (facial recognition).

In the less performant, social and service robots, including telepresence robots, we find examples of humanizing aesthetics that look to the human model according to three scalar design attitudes: copying, quoting and allusion.

In the direction of humanoid copying are perhaps the digital technologies that today allow for novel explorations: among them is Furhat Robot (Fig. 1), a rear-projected robotic head that can be modelled after a range of human likenesses through the choice of skin colour, expression of the eyes, mouth, and nose [7]. Experiments that could, in part, be introduced into telepresence machines as well, where the goal of greater acceptance of the robot as a mediating element in human-to-human relationships at a distance is driving research to explore different levels of characterization, most of which use quotation and allusion, particularly in body definition.

Fig. 1.
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The Furhat Robot (2022) designed by the start-up Furhat Robotics.

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The robot Pepper, equipped with a humanoid body and a screen for communication, cites some elements of its human appearance and behaviour (movement and voice) in a comic key. Others, however, depart from the quotation through a formal simplification of the body, which we call allusive. As a result, human features are present only partially, as in Ava Robot (mainly for the hospital context) and Temi (for housing and entertainment) to minimal ones like Double, where the machine is reduced to a few components: a screen representing the head, an adjustable rod for the body, and wheels as feet.

3 Approaches to Telepresence Machine Characterization

The formal reduction that is characteristic of this new generation of telepresence robots, however, brings with it a need of an opposite sign to their minimalist conception: characterization. We are witnessing a phenomenon that had already presented itself with serial design objects and that had led the industry to manufacture differentially from the standard, as a response to the demand for products that are more familiarizing with each specific user but also adapting to different contexts: in other words, custom design [8]. The characterization of social robots, from the hardware point of view, has led researchers to explore different possibilities to transform the morphology of the machine’s appearance. This is a complex concept, away from references to taste, thus also to style, which looks at design as a multidimensional expressive language beyond the actual form, a concept that also applies to robotic design: “a path to the non-thing, where form is immaterial” [9].

The modes of characterization are of course many: from the robotic kit that allows the controlled transformation of the machine directly by the user to spontaneous characterization by adding physical elements to the embodiment of the machine, such as tattooing a body or customizing one’s smartphone to enhance interaction and empathy with the machine [10]. The research, from the perspective of characterization affordance, is also tasked with exploring ways to make the robot’s appearance more consistent with the context of the activity. The motive stems from the observation that, particularly in telepresence, identical machines now operate in fields as diverse as hospitals, care, commercial, and education. Therefore, characterization becomes a central value in telepresence as it can enhance the identity of the remote person to achieve appropriate work cooperation, caring assistance or hands-on learning. This complexity is associated with the two simultaneous roles that the telepresence robot assumes in the task. For the remote operator it is a human proxy, while for the co-located interlocutor it is also a physical machine, which is at the same time and increasingly indestinguishably, embodiment and body.

4 Methodology

This section will discuss different approaches to research on the characterization of human-machine-human interaction (telepresence) through an analysis of case studies that represent milestones in this direction. Several experiments characterizing the telepresence machine have appeared in the literature in recent years, distinguishable into four main approaches. The first is the spontaneous one, in which the robot, through spontaneous initiatives, acquires anthropomorphic characteristics. The second is the playful one, where the user chooses his or others’ configuration through construction kits. The third is an anthropometric approach in which the robot reproduces known human dimensions; finally, mediated reality, where the user’s identity is expressed through different modalities. Indeed, by acting on the material and digital interface of the robot, it is possible to give the machine gender identity and character, where the body (head, torso, and limbs) and sensory communication (looks, gestures, and voice) become the protagonists of the interaction.

4.1 Spontaneous Design Approach: I’m Wearing What I Want

Several studies on the introduction of telepresence robotics in social contexts show spontaneous characterisation initiatives of the robot through the introduction of the dress. The machine wears T-shirts, togas, hats, ties, necklaces, and wigs to acquire more distinctive traits of the subject at a distance. In the study by Fitter et al. (11), the impact of personalisation on clothing was measured. The results showed an appreciation on the part of remote users and the perception on both sides of a humanising effect of the machine. This, however, did not exclude the appearance of feelings of discomfort, especially for in-presence users, associated with the Uncanny Valley [12].

Indeed, when representation becomes stereotypical, it can evoke feelings opposite to the quest for characterisation: standardisation vs customisation.

Among the work on the personalisation of the telepresence machine, the one presented-to by Tsui et al. [13], through the VGo robot, experiments with some modes of communication closer to users with co- cognitive and motor disabilities, in addition to the ease of driving. In summary, these are two proof of concept machines, Margo, and Hugo, characterised by distinctive and easy-to-read symbols such as a Hawaiian shirt for the former and a tie for the latter.

This approach can also be found in the educational sector. This is the case with the study by Han & Conti [14], who, to investigate the factors determining the acceptance of the telepresence machine, made the robot wear a T-shirt to impersonate the student at a distance. Indeed, it has been shown that people are more likely to interact with robots whose personality conforms to their role [15].

4.2 Playful Design Approach: Building Myself

The characterisation in telepresence assumes an increasingly important role, as it is a factor in the interpretation of the individual’s personality. As a result, initiatives for do-it-yourself construction are emerging, as in the case of Smartipresence (Fig. 2), made by The Crafty Robot, a low-cost telepresence robot associated with a smartphone. The small cardboard robot is designed to support one’s smartphone, which enables remote communication via audio, video and movement. Smartipresence was created as an expansion of the Smartibot kit, where the user can build his or her robot with printed circuit boards, motors and a battery, choosing the physical cardboard embodiment from several available characters.

Fig. 2.
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Av1 Robot by No Isolation designed for education technology for inclusion.

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My Classroom Robot [16] was realised in this direction as an interactive game led by players (the students) operating a telepresence robot in a virtual classroom. The aim was to explore the use of telepresence robots for K-12 education. The virtual environment allows for fast and flexible experimentation with different telepresence solutions, familiarising the students with the interaction between the machine and the remote subject. With this experience, the students became familiar with the topic of personalisation through different tools. These include the light signals emitted by the robot for non-verbal communication, which makes the interaction more functional and expressive.

4.3 Anthropometric Design Approach: I Am as You See Me

The need to represent a subject at a distance through a robot has led designers to consider certain anthropometric elements for the natural presence of the robot. These include flexibility in height, a feature that some commercial robots offer (e.g. Double Robot, Beam +, Ava robot), to activate a conversation on par with the human individual [17].

However, expressing one’s personality at a distance has also been interpreted by reproducing images that are as realistic and faithful to the human body as possible. This is the case with the Large Screen Mobile Telepresence Robot and Mixed Reality Window prototypes [18]. This is a family of products where large screens are integrated into robotic systems capable of moving in remote environments. Working at full scale, it is possible to imagine new strategies for Mixed Reality and ubiquitous computing for the not-too-distant future. By allowing remote users to participate and superimpose their images and content directly onto the two-way window, accessibility to these spaces is greatly expanded in ways that are not strictly related to physical proximity.

The use of an anthropometric approach has also been used in the Profesor Avatar holographic projection system [19], a telepresence model developed at the Tecnológico de Monterrey that combines the use of real-time holographic projection and telepresence robots. The subject’s image at a distance is projected in real-time and at full scale through a screen that allows the lesson to be followed where there are problematic geographical situations, environmental insecurity, and high travel costs. Furthermore, telepresence specialists, tutors and students interact in real-time, exchanging knowledge and experience in different contexts. Hardly probable but possible, holography presents itself as the future goal of remote telepresence: a robotic representation of the individual in 3-D, full-scale, and capable of moving through space as most social/service robots allow today.

4.4 Mediated Design Approach: See-Through

The mediated reality in telepresence represents one of the most relevant approaches in this field; think of telemanipulation applications where a machine reproduces them in a remote environment through replicating human movements. This approach has also been applied to telepresence social robots such as the AV1 Robot, capable of imitating presence through the robot’s body acting as a representation. The applications of this robot are intended for the school context where the robot represents the child or adolescent in the classroom. Children can control the robot’s head, the direction of the camera in the classroom and the microphone and decide whether it is open for communication or mute and ‘raise their hand’ by switching on the light at the top of the robot’s head. This type of robot design implies that the child cannot move within the remote space and is therefore always dependent on the other students [20]. This customisation is provided by the interface created by the remote user’s movements.

From the perspective of a mediated approach, the study conducted by Luria et al. [21] shows an advancement in the concept of re-embodiment of the machine, communicating through the design of eyes and audio. The work aims to map the design space of social presence flexibility to help designers and researchers understand how to design conversational agents and social robots for personalised interactions.

5 Conclusions

The development of social robots will continue to grow at a strong rate, even during the Covid-19 pandemic. Against this backdrop of future uncertainty, telepresence robots will gain strategic relevance to communicate with humans at a distance.

For these reasons, the degree to which the machine’s appearance matches the context and the actions to be performed will be crucial to the acceptance and introduction of robots with a role and appearance consistent with the assigned context and task. In addition, the shape, size, and technologies used will require human-centred design considerations to enable the design to meet the needs of the various stakeholders. On the one hand, the remote user manifests his/her presence through the robot; on the other hand, the in-presence actors interact directly with the robot. The analysis of the case studies revealed the need to establish specific criteria for characterizing the machine according to the context and the tasks to be performed. The physical characterization of the machine (body) is an aspect that is still under-explored, except for small spontaneous and playful design interventions. However, it is hoped that solutions allow the conformation to be modified through actions left to the discretion of the users and the subject at a distance. Just think of the school context and child users, where the physicality of the machine is crucial for good interaction. At the same time, we are witnessing in the marketplace the proposal of machines that are increasingly an expression of formal synthesis and mediated reality, certainly more aimed at an adult audience. Reflections such as these require further (and rapid) experimentation from the perspective of design thinking to increase a conscious diffusion of telepresence tools that are also consistent with users’ needs and different contexts of use.