Developing and evaluating an embodied telepresence system for a real-world context

Nemeth, Alexander (2020) Developing and evaluating an embodied telepresence system for a real-world context. Doctoral thesis, Northumbria University.

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Abstract

This thesis is based on the field trial of a telepresence system. My ambition was to design in a user-centred, collaborative process, a system with simple, embodied control. Elementary in my approach was that the input of the end users extended to the implementation phase, where they could familiarize themselves with an application. A flexible design method allows continuous adaption of the system until the final deployment. I decided to call the design approach I applied in this study conjoint control.

In cooperation with experts in the field of telepresence and remote control of camera systems, whilst also drawing on the worldwide communities of open source programmers and maker culture, the system was built in several design cycles. I subsequently performed a field trial of the system when it was used in an office environment for six months.

Theoretically, the study is grounded in a number of concepts in the HCI field. One of the central ideas is calm technology, advocating a selective, calm approach in our interaction with computers. This study is furthermore inspired by the tangible user interfaces (TUI) concept, that proposes interaction with computers through the physical environment, rather than through screens, keyboards and mice. A more recent theoretical framework that influenced this study is somaesthetic interaction design, that involves our complete body in interaction with computers and advocates more tranquil interaction models with limited functionality.

The results of this study indicate that the design approach of conjoint control generates a good user experience and a high acceptance level. Furthermore, the collaborative design process and the extensive, playful, implementation phase had a positive effect on the validation of users of the system. I conclude in this thesis that conjoint control is a viable approach for the design of a specific area of interactive systems. Simple, physical interaction, based on a collaborative design process with experts and user groups, with a tight coupling to the functionality, could be embraced as a future direction for HCI.

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