VROOM: Virtual Robot Overlay for Online Meetings

TLDR

Telepresence robots enable users to explore remote spaces but lack a compelling representation of the remote user in the local environment. VROOM is a two‑way system aimed at improving the social experience of robotic telepresence. It overlays a life‑size avatar of the remote user onto the robot via AR for the local user, while the remote user wears a VR headset that tracks head pose and hand movements to animate the avatar in a 360° view of the local space. The system provides the remote user with identifiable self‑embodiment and allows the local user to see the remote user’s head direction and arm gestures.

Abstract

Telepresence robots allow users to freely explore a remote space and provide a physical embodiment in that space. However, they lack a compelling representation of the remote user in the local space. We present VROOM (Virtual Robot Overlay for Online Meetings), a two-way system for exploring how to improve the social experience of robotic telepresence. For the local user, an augmented-reality (AR) interface shows a life-size avatar of the remote user overlaid on a telepresence robot. For the remote user, a head-mounted virtual-reality (VR) interface presents an immersive 360° view of the local space with mobile autonomy. The VR system tracks the remote user's head pose and hand movements, which are applied to an avatar. This provides the remote user with an identifiable self-embodiment and allows the local user to see the remote user's head direction and arm gestures.