Human Being, Robot Body: Hybrid Identity Expression in Teleoperated Robots

Abstract

Historically telepresence research has focused on how interacting through a robot changes feelings of presence, or being ”there” in a remote place. Telepresence robots are designed and used to improve human-human interactions and relationships, so it is important to consider how interacting through a robot changes the human interaction. In this work, we examine how telepresence robots change how users can express their identity and are perceived by others. We abstract prior HRI research and build upon existing HCI and social science theories to develop a novel concept of Hybrid-Identity Expression (HIdE). HIdE suggests that a telepresence robot's physical appearance and behaviors influence identity expression and perceptions. According to HIdE, a telepresence robot's attributes and overall design communicate identity information that can impact the remote user's ability to express themselves. We show how this concept is compatible with existing concepts around identity and robotics, including anthropomorphism, robomorphism, and apparent agency. We use HIdE to identify limitations in and future directions for current telepresence research and practice.