%0 Journal Article
%T A Review of Mobile Robotic Telepresence
%A Annica Kristoffersson
%A Silvia Coradeschi
%A Amy Loutfi
%J Advances in Human-Computer Interaction
%D 2013
%I Hindawi Publishing Corporation
%R 10.1155/2013/902316
%X Mobile robotic telepresence (MRP) systems incorporate video conferencing equipment onto mobile robot devices which can be steered from remote locations. These systems, which are primarily used in the context of promoting social interaction between people, are becoming increasingly popular within certain application domains such as health care environments, independent living for the elderly, and office environments. In this paper, an overview of the various systems, application areas, and challenges found in the literature concerning mobile robotic telepresence is provided. The survey also proposes a set terminology for the field as there is currently a lack of standard terms for the different concepts related to MRP systems. Further, this paper provides an outlook on the various research directions for developing and enhancing mobile robotic telepresence systems per se, as well as evaluating the interaction in laboratory and field settings. Finally, the survey outlines a number of design implications for the future of mobile robotic telepresence systems for social interaction. 1. Introduction Telepresence [1] is about the sense of being in another environment. In particular, robotic telepresence offers the means to connect to a remote location via traditional telepresence with the added value of moving and actuating in that location. A facet of robotic telepresence is social robotic telepresence where the primary aim of the system is to foster a social interaction between individuals. In this paper, we provide the first literature review of a subset of social robotic telepresence systems whose focus is on mobility. Such systems concentrate primarily on enabling social interaction via a video conferencing system with the added functionalities of moving/steering the system to various locations. Adopted from [2, 3], we refer to this subset of social robotic telepresence devices as mobile robotic telepresence (MRP) systems. Typical MRP systems are characterized by an LCD screen, a web camera, a microphone, and speakers allowing communication between two parties. The units can be moved around by a user who is not situated at the robot site. Today, the field of mobile robotic telepresence is in rapid expansion, with an increasing amount of commercial systems available and research efforts in the field [4¨C6]. The published research spans from issues on navigation and immersion to evaluations in office and health care environments. So far, however, there is a lack of a comprehensive review of MRP systems in the literature, and the primary aim of this work is
%U http://www.hindawi.com/journals/ahci/2013/902316/