Exploring Human-to-Human Telepresence and the Use of Vibro-Tactile Commands to Guide Human Streamers

Human-to-human telepresence is rising to mainstream use, and there is opportunity to provide rich experiences through novel interactions. While previous systems are geared towards situations where two users are previously acquainted, or provide channels for verbal communication, our work focuses on situations where audio is not desirable or available, by incorporating vibro-tactile commands into a telepresence setup. We present results from a lab-based study regarding a human-to-human telepresence system which enables one person to remotely control another through these vibro-tactile cues. We conducted a study with 8 participants to solicit their feedback when acting as a Streamer, 8 additional participants to solicit feedback as a Viewer, and 30 bystanders, through surveys and debriefing sessions. While our participants generally found the application favorable, we did find mixed feelings towards vibro-tactile devices, and much room for improvement for the whole interaction. We discuss the implications of our findings and provide design guidelines for future telepresence developers.