Acceptability, Acceptance and Adoption of Telepresence Robots in Museums: The Museum Professionals' Perspectives

Research Background and Issues

• What problems or challenges did the authors identify?
  Telepresence robots have achieved certain successes across various domains such as healthcare, education, and industry. However, their adoption in public spaces, especially museums, remains limited. The authors aim to explore museum professionals' acceptance, perceived acceptability, and intention to adopt telepresence robots, as well as the barriers to their long-term adoption in museums.

• Why is this issue important?
  Museums, as vital cultural and educational venues, play a crucial role in enhancing visitor experience and accessibility. Telepresence robots have the potential to attract visitors who cannot physically attend (e.g., individuals with physical disabilities). Additionally, this technology could reduce human resource pressures and improve operational efficiency. However, achieving these goals requires addressing challenges related to technological deployment and social acceptance.

• Research Motivation and Related Work
  Previous studies have shown that the long-term success of telepresence robots depends on infrastructure conditions and usage environments. While research has explored their applications in workplaces, conferences, and educational settings, studies focusing on museum contexts remain scarce. This paper addresses this gap by investigating museum professionals' perspectives to better understand the lifecycle of technology adoption, from initial acceptance to long-term use.

Solutions

• What methods or solutions did the authors propose?
  The authors conducted three qualitative studies to systematically analyze museum professionals' views on different stages of technology adoption:

  1. Acceptability Study: Interviews with museum professionals who had no prior exposure to telepresence robots, exploring their expectations, concerns, and hopes regarding the technology.
  2. Preliminary Acceptance Study: Focus group sessions introducing telepresence robots to museum professionals for trial use, followed by recording their reactions and feedback.
  3. Sustained Acceptance Study: Interviews with museum professionals who had long-term experience using robots or similar technologies, examining their attitudes and experiences.

• What is innovative about this solution?
  This study is the first to use the Technology Acceptance Lifecycle (TAL) framework to systematically analyze museum professionals' dynamic attitudes across different stages of telepresence robot adoption, from "acceptance to eventual adoption." By examining user feedback at three distinct stages, the authors not only highlight the technology's potential benefits but also propose practical design and integration recommendations tailored to each stage.

• What are the implementation steps and key technologies used?

  1. Data Collection: Conduct interviews and focus group discussions, analyzing findings using the PACT framework (People-Activities-Context-Technology).
  2. Data Analysis: Deconstruct barriers and opportunities at different adoption stages using the TAL model, integrating user experience theories and feedback to derive design insights.
  3. Recommendations and Design Guidelines: Focus on supporting museums in transitioning from initial acceptance to long-term adoption.

Research Outcomes

• What specific outcomes were achieved?

  1. Identified changes in user attitudes over time and exposure:
     • During initial exposure, professionals were primarily concerned with potential barriers such as technological complexity, security, and privacy issues.
     • With long-term use, users gradually accepted the technology, though resources, support, and security remained key concerns.
  2. Summarized potential use cases for telepresence robots in museums (e.g., improving accessibility, environmental monitoring, remote tours) and key design requirements (e.g., supporting entertainment, flexibility, and interactivity).
  3. Proposed practical recommendations based on the TAL model, including strategies to alleviate early fears, enhance mid-term acceptance, and foster the evolution of long-term usage patterns.

• How does it compare to existing solutions?

  • This study uniquely focuses on museums as a specific case scenario, incorporating the perspectives of museum professionals to develop a multifaceted understanding.
  • By adopting a dynamic perspective through the technology lifecycle, it addresses the limitations of previous studies that only examined single adoption stages.
  • It provides concrete design frameworks and recommendations (e.g., emphasizing assistive functionalities and environment-adaptive designs) to facilitate practical implementation.

• What were the experimental or evaluation results?

  • User feedback varied across adoption stages: during the pre-acceptance stage, users were most concerned about technological complexity, security, and societal impacts; in long-term adoption, robots were perceived as valuable tools, though resource and maintenance issues persisted.
  • Telepresence robots received positive feedback, particularly for their potential to improve accessibility (e.g., enabling visits for individuals with mobility limitations) and enhance interactivity.

• Limitations and Future Directions

  • Limitations:
    1. The study was limited to UK museums, potentially lacking diversity in practitioners and contexts.
    2. Visitor perspectives were not directly included, relying solely on museum professionals' indirect observations.
  • Future Directions:
    1. Expand research to international and non-traditional museum contexts to validate the generalizability of findings.
    2. Conduct studies from visitors' perspectives, particularly analyzing the acceptance and interests of diverse demographic groups in robot interactions.
    3. Explore the role of "trust" in the technology adoption process, including how it evolves through deeper human-robot interaction.

By systematically examining the applicability and lifecycle dynamics of telepresence robots within the museum ecosystem, this study provides novel insights and profound implications for both technological design and societal adoption.