Insect Telepresence: Using Robotic Tele-Embodiment to Bring Insects Face-to-Face with Humans

  • Authors:
  • Stacy All;Illah R. Nourbakhsh

  • Affiliations:
  • ZEFER, Chicago, Illinois, USA. stacyall@zefer.com;Toy Robots Initiative, The Robotics Institute, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA. illah@ri.cmu.edu

  • Venue:
  • Autonomous Robots
  • Year:
  • 2001

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Abstract

The Insect Telepresence project combines expertise from the robotics and human-computer interaction communities to create a robot exhibit that enables telepresence in scale. The underlying mission of this work is educational: to promote appreciation for insect life and small-scale complexity through exploration of live insect colonies. In this article we describe the robot hardware and software used to bring students face-to-face with insects. We also summarize the user-centered design process and formal HCI methods used to design and evaluate the Insect Telepresence robot. The complete working exhibit, now installed as a permanent robot-entomology station at the Carnegie Museum of Natural History, is presented in this paper in words and pictures.