Children using Tabletop Telepresence Robots for Collaboration: A Longitudinal Case Study of Hybrid and Online Intergenerational Participatory Design

Research Background and Issues

• Issues and Challenges:
  • This study explores children's experiences using desktop telepresence robots for collaborative participatory design in different contexts (online and hybrid), particularly focusing on the impact of robots on interpersonal relationships. It examines how children share and control robots, address challenges in distributed/hybrid collaboration, and manage potential resource conflicts caused by unequal robot allocation.
• Significance:
  • Telepresence technology holds significant potential for children's remote education, social skill development, and maintaining connections with distant family members, especially in the post-pandemic era where remote learning and hybrid education are increasingly prevalent.
  • Children's cognitive and social development is greatly inspired by tangibility and embodied interaction, and telepresence robots with physical feedback can enhance social presence and collaboration.
• Motivation and Related Work:
  • Existing telepresence technologies are primarily designed for adult work environments, with limited research on their use in children's participatory design (PD).
  • Previous studies have insufficiently addressed the functional design and social impact of remote collaboration technologies for children, with shallow analysis of specific features such as resource allocation and dynamic interactive coordination.

Solution

• Proposed Approach:

  • Conduct a three-year longitudinal case study to explore the functionality and effectiveness of desktop telepresence robot platforms in children's collaborative design. The study focuses on ownership, collaboration methods, and the dynamics of intergenerational roles during the design process.
  • Define four key platform features (anonymous control, robot/material allocation, shape and size, robot management) and analyze their impact on children's interactions.

• Innovations:

  • This study is the first to span remote and hybrid scenarios, focusing on telepresence robot systems for child users and analyzing the interaction dynamics of cooperation and conflict among children.
  • Introduced the new role of "Robot Stewardship," which emerged as a critical facilitator of collaboration and activity coordination in the case study.

• Implementation Steps:

  1. Provide children and researchers with a robot control toolkit, including two controllable robots, video conferencing functionality, a control interface, and DIY materials.
  2. Develop and improve the platform through three stages of iterative design:
     • Stage 1: Basic remote control functions (direction and speed).
     • Stage 2: Added location tracking and expressive buttons (e.g., dancing).
     • Stage 3: Enhanced robot control allocation and integrated activity perspectives in hybrid scenarios.
  3. Observe and record 28 collaborative design sessions involving children, analyzing key interaction segments through a theoretical framework (including ownership dynamics, collaborator pairing patterns, etc.).

Research Outcomes

• Specific Findings:

  • Identified four critical features of children's telepresence robot systems:
    1. Anonymous Robot Control: Lack of clear usage identifiers can lead to conflicts over control, but personalized markers strengthen a sense of ownership.
    2. Robot/Material Allocation: Insufficient robots or uneven resource distribution increases conflict, negatively impacting collaboration.
    3. Robot Shape and Size: Miniaturized, template-based robot designs inspired children's creative behaviors (e.g., decoration and DIY) and enhanced remote collaboration.
    4. Robot Stewardship Role: Naturally developed management roles among children and adults improved the presence and coordination of remote participants.

• Advantages Over Existing Solutions:

  1. The innovative long-term longitudinal research method reveals the profound impact of technology and scenarios on children's collaboration dynamics.
  2. Provides empirical insights into supporting children's collaboration and conflict resolution, such as maintaining activity ownership and enhancing social presence through robots.
  3. Introduces the concept of role division (Robot Stewardship) to address longitudinal technical challenges in hybrid collaboration.

• Experimental and Evaluation Results:

  • The case study demonstrated how robots act as bridges for remote children, facilitating shared ownership and close collaboration. For instance, in hybrid scenarios, remote children could actively participate and co-create activities with on-site children through robots.
  • Significant observations during conflicts (e.g., disputes caused by resource inequality) revealed how design can establish balanced cooperation among children.

• Limitations and Future Directions:

  • The platform primarily focuses on children's collaborative design teams (ages 8–12), and its applicability to different age groups or contexts requires further validation.
  • Future research should explore formalizing the "Robot Stewardship" role to ensure equitable participation for all children.
  • Further technical development should concentrate on dynamic identification solutions and optimized designs for distributed robot management.

Conclusion

This study provides valuable empirical insights into telepresence robot systems for children, emphasizing specific design features while uncovering potential challenges and opportunities in interpersonal interaction, conflict resolution, and resource allocation. It offers a clear and robust design framework for future educational and remote collaboration technologies.