Investigating Social Robot Proxies to Support Situationally Impaired Users in Hybrid Meetings

Abstract

Hybrid videoconferencing often results in conversational dominance by physically present participants, particularly when remote members are unable to use their camera or microphone due to situational constraints. This paper invites exploration into the context of remote situational impairment and the potential of re-embodying a remote meeting participant via a robotic surrogate without active user sensing. We integrate a humanoid social robot with video-conferencing software to develop formative insights about this design space. We conducted an exploratory user study involving four triads (each with one remote and two co-located participants). Using thematic analysis of participant interview..