Sense of Presence in a Robotic Telepresence Domain

Robotic telepresence offers a means to connect to a remote location via traditional telepresence with the added value of moving and actuating in that location. Recently, there has been a growing focus on the use of robotic telepresence to enhance social interaction among elderly. However for such technology to be accepted it is likely that the experienced presence when using such a system will be important. In this paper, we present results obtained from a training session with a robotic telepresence system when used for the first time by healthcare personnel. The study was quantitative and based on two standard questionnaires used for presence namely, the Temple Presence Inventory (TPI) and the Networked Minds Social Presence Intentory. The study showed that overall the sense of social richness as perceived by the users was high. The users also had a realistic feeling regarding their spatial presence.