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 "aboutThisFile": {
  "whatThisIs": "A research brief: a structured summary of one paper, prepared for seanrintel.com from the paper's full text.",
  "howItWasMade": "This brief was prepared with AI assistance and published by Sean Rintel. It is not the authors' published text.",
  "whatIsVerbatim": "Only 'quote' fields, figure captions and 'abstract' are the authors' own words. Research questions follow the paper's wording where it states them. Takeaway, summaries, answers, definitions and method are the site's plain-language paraphrase.",
  "howItIsChecked": "Before publication every quote is matched against the paper and every number in the brief is found in it. 'verified' is the date of the last check.",
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   "For a quick answer, use 'takeaway' and 'questions'. For evidence, use 'findings' (each has a verbatim quote, its location in the paper and a 'url' anchored to that finding on the paper's page).",
   "Locations such as '§5.2, p. 9' refer to the version at 'pageNumbersReferTo'.",
   "For anything not covered here, read the paper itself: 'fullTextSources' lists free versions first.",
   "If 'researchOverview' is present, the paper is part of one of Sean Rintel's research overviews: it gives the overview's thesis, the claims this paper is evidence for and its role in each, and the other papers in the overview.",
   "To find other papers by Sean Rintel, use the catalogue at https://seanrintel.com/publications/index.json."
  ],
  "authorship": "Sean Rintel's role on each paper: lead author when he is first author, sole author when he is the only author, and otherwise senior author. Senior author here means the senior researcher on the team, whatever his position in the author list.",
  "howToCite": "Cite the paper, not this file: use 'citation' or the ready-made 'bibtex' (DOI where given) and name every author. Attribute paraphrase to the paper's findings, and use quotation marks only for 'quote' text."
 },
 "name": "Your Mileage May Vary: Case Study of a Robotic Telepresence Pilot Roll-out for a Hybrid Knowledge Work Organisation",
 "author": [
  {
   "@type": "Person",
   "name": "Andriana Boudouraki"
  },
  {
   "@type": "Person",
   "name": "Joel E. Fischer"
  },
  {
   "@type": "Person",
   "name": "Stuart Reeves"
  },
  {
   "@type": "Person",
   "@id": "https://seanrintel.com/#sean-rintel",
   "name": "Sean Rintel",
   "url": "https://seanrintel.com/",
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    "https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/research/people/serintel/",
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   ]
  }
 ],
 "datePublished": "2023-04",
 "doi": "10.1145/3544549.3573871",
 "url": "https://seanrintel.com/publications/your-mileage-may-vary-case-study-of-a-robotic-telepresence-pilot-roll-out-for-a-hybrid-knowledge-work-organisation.html",
 "citation": "Andriana Boudouraki, Joel E. Fischer, Stuart Reeves, and Sean Rintel. 2023. Your Mileage May Vary: Case Study of a Robotic Telepresence Pilot Roll-out for a Hybrid Knowledge Work Organisation. CHI 2023. https://doi.org/10.1145/3544549.3573871",
 "bibtex": "@inproceedings{boudouraki2023your,\nauthor = {Boudouraki, Andriana and Fischer, Joel E. and Reeves, Stuart and Rintel, Sean},\ntitle = {Your Mileage May Vary: Case Study of a Robotic Telepresence Pilot Roll-out for a Hybrid Knowledge Work Organisation},\nbooktitle = {CHI 2023},\nyear = {2023},\nmonth = {April},\npublisher = {ACM},\nurl = {https://doi.org/10.1145/3544549.3573871},\ndoi = {10.1145/3544549.3573871},\n}",
 "abstract": "Organisations wishing to maintain employee satisfaction for hybrid collaboration need to explore flexible solutions that provide value for both remote and on-site employees. In this case study, we report on the roll-out of a telepresence robot pilot at Microsoft Research Cambridge UK to test whether robots would provide enjoyable planned and unplanned encounters between remote and on-site employees. We describe the work that was undertaken to prepare for the roll-out, including the Occupational Health and Safety assessment, systems for safety and security, and the information for employees on safe and effective use practices. The pilot ended after three months, and robot use has been discontinued after weighing the opportunities against low adoption and other challenges. We discuss the pros and cons within this organisational setting, and make suggestions for future work and roll-outs.",
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   "url": "https://doi.org/10.1145/3544549.3573871",
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   "url": "https://seanrintel.com/publications/your-mileage-may-vary-case-study-of-a-robotic-telepresence-pilot-roll-out-for-a-hybrid-knowledge-work-organisation.pdf",
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 "fullTextAvailable": true,
 "takeaway": "Office telepresence robots went largely unused because their value likely never outweighed the effort. Hybrid staff socialised on office days and wanted home days free for focus. Fully remote staff wanted the connection but found poor audio, few occasions to move around, and robots that couldn't join usual video meetings.",
 "whyItMatters": {
  "stateOfTheArt": {
   "summary": "Earlier studies of mobile robotic telepresence in offices mostly reported users' experiences of temporary use.",
   "quote": "There have not, to our knowledge, been reports on what is involved in fully implementing a real-world MRP technology roll-out in a knowledge work organisation to directly support day-to-day hybrid work.",
   "location": "§1, p. 1"
  },
  "contribution": {
   "summary": "A case study of the preparation for a pilot roll-out of five robots (health and safety, accessibility, security, placement, user information) and of how employees responded.",
   "quote": "our study attempts to promote a change in the unit of analysis away from the device itself towards the device's organizational, social, situated embedding",
   "location": "§2, p. 2"
  },
  "whoCares": {
   "summary": "Organisations designing hybrid workplaces and planning telepresence deployments, and researchers studying technology adoption at work.",
   "quote": "so we hope that the work we present here helps others be more prepared in what to expect",
   "location": "§7, p. 6"
  }
 },
 "researchQuestions": [
  "Would mobile robotic telepresence robots provide enjoyable planned and unplanned encounters between remote and on-site employees, and improve connections between them?",
  "What is involved in making the robots available for office use, and what are the opportunities and challenges within this organisational setting?"
 ],
 "concepts": [
  {
   "term": "Mobile Robotic telePresence (MRP)",
   "definition": "Videoconferencing on a remotely driven mobile robot, letting a remote user move around an office.",
   "quote": "a videoconferencing system on a remotely controlled mobile robotic",
   "location": "§1, p. 1"
  },
  {
   "term": "Effort vs. value",
   "definition": "Grudin's explanation for why systems for collaborative work fail:",
   "quote": "the disparity between the work required to make a system function (and who has to do that work) and its benefits (and who receives them)",
   "location": "§6.1, p. 5"
  },
  {
   "term": "Critical mass",
   "definition": "Enough users for a communication technology to be adopted. For a telepresence robot, that means more than the remote user:",
   "quote": "However it is a medium for interactions, and therefore both the remote and on-site parties need to collaborate to make it work, as well as all peripheral members such as bystanders and building management.",
   "location": "§6.2, p. 5"
  },
  {
   "term": "Non-use",
   "definition": "Drawing on Satchell and Dourish, the varied reasons people do not adopt a technology, from disinterest to active resistance. Why they matter:",
   "quote": "Non-users' perspectives can teach just as much as those of users.",
   "location": "§6.3, p. 6"
  }
 ],
 "method": {
  "design": "Case study of an organisational pilot roll-out of mobile robotic telepresence.",
  "setting": "A corporate research lab in the UK, which bought five Double 3 robots, one for each floor of its building.",
  "sample": "15 new users signed up. Non-adopters around the office were informally surveyed, and remote users were asked why they stopped.",
  "duration": "The pilot ran for three months. Preparation tasks took several weeks.",
  "analysis": "Descriptive account of the preparation work and of employees' responses, drawing on informal surveys and user comments."
 },
 "findings": [
  {
   "headline": "Preparation took weeks, and many teams.",
   "summary": "Preparing a research lab to roll out five telepresence robots took several weeks of overlapping work with health and safety, IT, facilities and other teams. The safety assessors, who tried the robots remotely instead of visiting, rated all potential hazards as low risk.",
   "quote": "The inspectors were able to see each other as robots in the office, so they saw both the perspective of a remote user and how the robot might appear to on-site users.",
   "location": "§4.1, p. 2",
   "url": "https://seanrintel.com/publications/your-mileage-may-vary-case-study-of-a-robotic-telepresence-pilot-roll-out-for-a-hybrid-knowledge-work-organisation.html#at-s4-1-p-2",
   "cite": "Andriana Boudouraki, Joel E. Fischer, Stuart Reeves, and Sean Rintel. 2023. Your Mileage May Vary: Case Study of a Robotic Telepresence Pilot Roll-out for a Hybrid Knowledge Work Organisation. CHI 2023. https://doi.org/10.1145/3544549.3573871 (§4.1, p. 2)"
  },
  {
   "headline": "Cat bells fixed a real problem.",
   "summary": "Because the robots move almost silently, a blind employee could not tell when one was nearby. Bells taped to the wheels, which chime as they turn, solved this.",
   "quote": "Moreover, sighted, on-site users have found it useful to be able to hear when a robot is approaching, as they had also previously found the stealthy movement of the robot unsettling.",
   "location": "§4.2, p. 2",
   "url": "https://seanrintel.com/publications/your-mileage-may-vary-case-study-of-a-robotic-telepresence-pilot-roll-out-for-a-hybrid-knowledge-work-organisation.html#at-s4-2-p-2",
   "cite": "Andriana Boudouraki, Joel E. Fischer, Stuart Reeves, and Sean Rintel. 2023. Your Mileage May Vary: Case Study of a Robotic Telepresence Pilot Roll-out for a Hybrid Knowledge Work Organisation. CHI 2023. https://doi.org/10.1145/3544549.3573871 (§4.2, p. 2)"
  },
  {
   "headline": "Few signed up. Fewer stayed.",
   "summary": "Despite emails, posters and presentations to teams, only 15 people signed up, and most either never used the robots or stopped after a few tries.",
   "quote": "Of those, five did not actually use the robots, two used them once, and four used them a few times each but eventually stopped.",
   "location": "§5, p. 4",
   "url": "https://seanrintel.com/publications/your-mileage-may-vary-case-study-of-a-robotic-telepresence-pilot-roll-out-for-a-hybrid-knowledge-work-organisation.html#at-s5-p-4",
   "cite": "Andriana Boudouraki, Joel E. Fischer, Stuart Reeves, and Sean Rintel. 2023. Your Mileage May Vary: Case Study of a Robotic Telepresence Pilot Roll-out for a Hybrid Knowledge Work Organisation. CHI 2023. https://doi.org/10.1145/3544549.3573871 (§5, p. 4)"
  },
  {
   "headline": "No reason to roam, too much hassle.",
   "summary": "Non-adopters saw no reason to roam the office remotely and found sign-up complicated. Users were put off by poor audio and video, few suitable occasions, and having to run a parallel Teams meeting alongside the robot.",
   "quote": "One on-site employee explained that the users' status on Microsoft Teams could let them know if their colleagues were at their desks, and available to be interrupted.",
   "location": "§5, p. 4",
   "url": "https://seanrintel.com/publications/your-mileage-may-vary-case-study-of-a-robotic-telepresence-pilot-roll-out-for-a-hybrid-knowledge-work-organisation.html#at-s5-p-4-2",
   "cite": "Andriana Boudouraki, Joel E. Fischer, Stuart Reeves, and Sean Rintel. 2023. Your Mileage May Vary: Case Study of a Robotic Telepresence Pilot Roll-out for a Hybrid Knowledge Work Organisation. CHI 2023. https://doi.org/10.1145/3544549.3573871 (§5, p. 4)"
  },
  {
   "headline": "Security could not be guaranteed.",
   "summary": "Security could not be assured to the lab's standard. The robots give remote users mobile access to a building without passing physical security, with no direct way to check who is at the remote end.",
   "quote": "Even if the risk of a security breach is low, the repercussions could be very serious.",
   "location": "§4.4, p. 3",
   "url": "https://seanrintel.com/publications/your-mileage-may-vary-case-study-of-a-robotic-telepresence-pilot-roll-out-for-a-hybrid-knowledge-work-organisation.html#at-s4-4-p-3",
   "cite": "Andriana Boudouraki, Joel E. Fischer, Stuart Reeves, and Sean Rintel. 2023. Your Mileage May Vary: Case Study of a Robotic Telepresence Pilot Roll-out for a Hybrid Knowledge Work Organisation. CHI 2023. https://doi.org/10.1145/3544549.3573871 (§4.4, p. 3)"
  },
  {
   "headline": "Effort outweighed value.",
   "summary": "On balance, the effort of using the robots probably outweighed their benefits for these employees, though so little use makes this hard to say with certainty.",
   "quote": "Of course, the catch-22 of technology adoption is that it requires investment without established value, but that value cannot be established without investment.",
   "location": "§7, p. 7",
   "url": "https://seanrintel.com/publications/your-mileage-may-vary-case-study-of-a-robotic-telepresence-pilot-roll-out-for-a-hybrid-knowledge-work-organisation.html#at-s7-p-7",
   "cite": "Andriana Boudouraki, Joel E. Fischer, Stuart Reeves, and Sean Rintel. 2023. Your Mileage May Vary: Case Study of a Robotic Telepresence Pilot Roll-out for a Hybrid Knowledge Work Organisation. CHI 2023. https://doi.org/10.1145/3544549.3573871 (§7, p. 7)"
  }
 ],
 "questions": [
  {
   "question": "Do telepresence robots work for hybrid offices?",
   "answer": "Not easily. They can be made safe and accessible, but adoption depends on whether the benefit justifies the effort. In a three-month research-lab pilot, most of the 15 who signed up never used them or soon stopped, and the lab discontinued them. Other settings may suit them better.",
   "source": "Andriana Boudouraki, Joel E. Fischer, Stuart Reeves, and Sean Rintel. 2023. Your Mileage May Vary: Case Study of a Robotic Telepresence Pilot Roll-out for a Hybrid Knowledge Work Organisation. CHI 2023. https://doi.org/10.1145/3544549.3573871",
   "basedOn": [
    {
     "location": "§5, p. 4",
     "url": "https://seanrintel.com/publications/your-mileage-may-vary-case-study-of-a-robotic-telepresence-pilot-roll-out-for-a-hybrid-knowledge-work-organisation.html#at-s5-p-4"
    },
    {
     "location": "§5, p. 4",
     "url": "https://seanrintel.com/publications/your-mileage-may-vary-case-study-of-a-robotic-telepresence-pilot-roll-out-for-a-hybrid-knowledge-work-organisation.html#at-s5-p-4-2"
    },
    {
     "location": "§7, p. 7",
     "url": "https://seanrintel.com/publications/your-mileage-may-vary-case-study-of-a-robotic-telepresence-pilot-roll-out-for-a-hybrid-knowledge-work-organisation.html#at-s7-p-7"
    }
   ]
  },
  {
   "question": "What does it take to roll out telepresence robots in an office?",
   "answer": "Several weeks of work with health and safety, IT and facilities. It covered a risk assessment, accessibility fixes such as bells on the wheels, and rules for moving abandoned robots. It also covered a security group for access, careful dock placement, and written and video instructions.",
   "source": "Andriana Boudouraki, Joel E. Fischer, Stuart Reeves, and Sean Rintel. 2023. Your Mileage May Vary: Case Study of a Robotic Telepresence Pilot Roll-out for a Hybrid Knowledge Work Organisation. CHI 2023. https://doi.org/10.1145/3544549.3573871",
   "basedOn": [
    {
     "location": "§4.1, p. 2",
     "url": "https://seanrintel.com/publications/your-mileage-may-vary-case-study-of-a-robotic-telepresence-pilot-roll-out-for-a-hybrid-knowledge-work-organisation.html#at-s4-1-p-2"
    },
    {
     "location": "§4.2, p. 2",
     "url": "https://seanrintel.com/publications/your-mileage-may-vary-case-study-of-a-robotic-telepresence-pilot-roll-out-for-a-hybrid-knowledge-work-organisation.html#at-s4-2-p-2"
    }
   ]
  },
  {
   "question": "Why might a workplace technology fail even when it works as designed?",
   "answer": "Because adoption depends on effort versus value for everyone involved. A telepresence robot needs remote and on-site colleagues, bystanders and building staff to support it. Without a culture of use, a remote user may log in and find no one to interact with and nothing to do.",
   "source": "Andriana Boudouraki, Joel E. Fischer, Stuart Reeves, and Sean Rintel. 2023. Your Mileage May Vary: Case Study of a Robotic Telepresence Pilot Roll-out for a Hybrid Knowledge Work Organisation. CHI 2023. https://doi.org/10.1145/3544549.3573871",
   "basedOn": [
    {
     "location": "§5, p. 4",
     "url": "https://seanrintel.com/publications/your-mileage-may-vary-case-study-of-a-robotic-telepresence-pilot-roll-out-for-a-hybrid-knowledge-work-organisation.html#at-s5-p-4-2"
    },
    {
     "location": "§7, p. 7",
     "url": "https://seanrintel.com/publications/your-mileage-may-vary-case-study-of-a-robotic-telepresence-pilot-roll-out-for-a-hybrid-knowledge-work-organisation.html#at-s7-p-7"
    }
   ]
  },
  {
   "question": "Are telepresence robots a security risk for companies?",
   "answer": "They can be. They give a remote user mobile access to a building without passing physical security, and there is no direct way to control who is at the remote end. After a pilot, one research lab paused use until enhanced security processes exist.",
   "source": "Andriana Boudouraki, Joel E. Fischer, Stuart Reeves, and Sean Rintel. 2023. Your Mileage May Vary: Case Study of a Robotic Telepresence Pilot Roll-out for a Hybrid Knowledge Work Organisation. CHI 2023. https://doi.org/10.1145/3544549.3573871",
   "basedOn": [
    {
     "location": "§4.4, p. 3",
     "url": "https://seanrintel.com/publications/your-mileage-may-vary-case-study-of-a-robotic-telepresence-pilot-roll-out-for-a-hybrid-knowledge-work-organisation.html#at-s4-4-p-3"
    }
   ]
  }
 ],
 "cites": [
  {
   "url": "https://seanrintel.com/publications/bridging-social-distance-during-social-distancing-exploring-social-talk-and-remote-collegiality-in-video-conferencing.html",
   "title": "Bridging social distance during social distancing: Exploring social talk and remote collegiality in video conferencing",
   "location": "p. 7"
  },
  {
   "url": "https://seanrintel.com/publications/i-cant-get-round-recruiting-assistance-in-mobile-robotic-telepresence.html",
   "title": "“I can’t get round”: Recruiting Assistance in Mobile Robotic Telepresence",
   "location": "p. 7"
  }
 ],
 "quantitative": [
  {
   "measure": "Robots purchased",
   "value": "five Double 3 robots",
   "location": "§2, p. 2"
  },
  {
   "measure": "New users who signed up",
   "value": "15 new users in total",
   "location": "§5, p. 4"
  },
  {
   "measure": "Robot speed limit",
   "value": "1.8mph",
   "location": "§4.3, p. 3"
  }
 ],
 "implications": [
  {
   "summary": "Future deployments should reduce the effort of use, build the system into employees' collaborative and communicative routines, and consider hybrid use when designing spaces.",
   "quote": "future deployments should aim to reduce effort required to use a system, identify specifically how it can be integrated into employees' collaborative and communicative routines, and consider hybrid implementation in the design of spaces",
   "location": "§7, p. 6"
  },
  {
   "summary": "Organisations need to prioritise clearly which population needs a technology serves. Fully remote and flexible hybrid employees may value telepresence differently.",
   "quote": "there needed to be clear prioritisation of sets of population needs within an organisation",
   "location": "§7, p. 6"
  },
  {
   "summary": "Adoption needs a culture of use on both the remote and on-site side, supported by social and technical infrastructure.",
   "quote": "For MRP technology to become a mainstream part of a hybrid office, usage will need normalization and support by the social and technical infrastructure.",
   "location": "§6.2, p. 5"
  },
  {
   "summary": "Experimenting was itself valuable. A culture of experimentation helps organisations through the uncertainty of hybrid work.",
   "quote": "For organisations to thrive in a context of uncertainty, developing a culture of experimentation is crucial.",
   "location": "§7, p. 7"
  }
 ],
 "limitations": [
  {
   "summary": "Employees' reasons come from a brief informal survey. More rigorous study is needed.",
   "quote": "this understanding is only from a brief informal survey and more rigorous study is needed",
   "location": "§7, p. 6"
  },
  {
   "summary": "Fully remote non-adopters were hard to reach, so their views are missing."
  },
  {
   "summary": "The case covers one organisation, whose employees were already practised in remote collaboration. Other organisations will have different friction points."
  },
  {
   "summary": "Accessibility was assessed only for blind and low-vision people."
  }
 ],
 "figures": [
  {
   "src": "https://seanrintel.com/publications/figures/your-mileage-may-vary-case-study-of-a-robotic-telepresence-pilot-roll-out-for-a-hybrid-knowledge-work-organisation/fig-3.webp",
   "caption": "Figure 3: Instructions posted on the back of the robots, for onsite employees encountering abandoned robots in the office",
   "alt": "A telepresence robot with a sign on its back, enlarged: 'Does this robot look abandoned?' and numbered steps to check no one is using it, lift it by the pole, place it near a wall and Wi-Fi hub, and whom to contact.",
   "location": "Fig. 3, p. 3",
   "credit": "Figure 3 from Andriana Boudouraki, Joel E. Fischer, Stuart Reeves, and Sean Rintel. 2023. Your Mileage May Vary: Case Study of a Robotic Telepresence Pilot Roll-out for a Hybrid Knowledge Work Organisation. CHI 2023. https://doi.org/10.1145/3544549.3573871"
  },
  {
   "src": "https://seanrintel.com/publications/figures/your-mileage-may-vary-case-study-of-a-robotic-telepresence-pilot-roll-out-for-a-hybrid-knowledge-work-organisation/fig-2.webp",
   "caption": "Figure 2: Cat bells were attached to the robots' wheels",
   "alt": "Close-up of a robot's wheel with a small bell taped inside it, so the robot chimes as it moves.",
   "location": "Fig. 2, p. 3",
   "credit": "Figure 2 from Andriana Boudouraki, Joel E. Fischer, Stuart Reeves, and Sean Rintel. 2023. Your Mileage May Vary: Case Study of a Robotic Telepresence Pilot Roll-out for a Hybrid Knowledge Work Organisation. CHI 2023. https://doi.org/10.1145/3544549.3573871"
  }
 ],
 "pageNumbersReferTo": "https://seanrintel.com/publications/your-mileage-may-vary-case-study-of-a-robotic-telepresence-pilot-roll-out-for-a-hybrid-knowledge-work-organisation.pdf",
 "verified": "2026-10-25",
 "studyFigure": {
  "about": "The opening figure on this paper's page, made for the site with AI assistance from this verified brief. It is not the paper's own figure. Evidence entries index this file's quantitative, findings and limitations arrays.",
  "study": {
   "kind": "single",
   "summary": "Case study of a three-month pilot of mobile telepresence robots at a corporate research lab in the UK. The robots were meant to connect remote and on-site employees.",
   "steps": [
    {
     "label": "Five robots",
     "detail": "Five Double 3 robots, each a video call on a remotely driven base, one for each floor of the lab's building."
    },
    {
     "label": "Weeks of preparation",
     "detail": "Several weeks of overlapping work with health and safety, IT, facilities and other teams."
    },
    {
     "label": "Three-month pilot",
     "detail": "Employees were invited through emails, posters and team presentations, and 15 signed up."
    },
    {
     "label": "Informal surveys",
     "detail": "Non-adopters around the office were informally surveyed, and remote users were asked why they stopped."
    }
   ]
  },
  "tool": {
   "heading": "The roll-out",
   "steps": [
    {
     "title": "Assess safety",
     "text": "Health and safety assessors tried the robots remotely instead of visiting, and assessed potential hazards."
    },
    {
     "title": "Make the robots heard",
     "text": "Bells taped to the wheels chime as they turn, so a blind employee can tell when a robot is nearby.",
     "part": true
    },
    {
     "title": "Control access",
     "text": "A security group controls who has access to the robots."
    },
    {
     "title": "Place the docks",
     "text": "One robot and its dock go on each floor, placed with care."
    },
    {
     "title": "Inform users",
     "text": "Written and video instructions explain how to sign up and drive a robot."
    }
   ],
   "note": "The lab bought the robots and prepared the building for them. It did not build the robots."
  },
  "findings": {
   "legend": null,
   "stages": [
    {
     "title": "Preparing the roll-out",
     "sub": "work needed before anyone drove a robot",
     "items": [
      {
       "dir": "none",
       "text": "Safety assessors who tried the robots remotely rated all potential hazards as low risk.",
       "detail": "The assessors saw each other as robots in the office, so they saw both the remote user's view and the on-site view.",
       "evidence": [
        "findings[0]"
       ]
      },
      {
       "dir": "none",
       "text": "Bells on the wheels let a blind employee hear when a telepresence robot was nearby.",
       "detail": "The robots move almost silently. Sighted on-site employees also found the bells useful, having found the robots' stealthy movement unsettling.",
       "evidence": [
        "findings[1]"
       ]
      },
      {
       "dir": "none",
       "text": "Security of the telepresence robots could not be assured to the lab's standard.",
       "detail": "The robots give remote users mobile access to the building without passing physical security. There is no direct way to check who is at the remote end.",
       "evidence": [
        "findings[4]"
       ]
      }
     ]
    },
    {
     "title": "During the pilot",
     "sub": "who used the robots, and why others did not",
     "items": [
      {
       "dir": "none",
       "text": "Of 15 employees who signed up, five never used the telepresence robots.",
       "detail": "Two used them once, and four used them a few times each but eventually stopped.",
       "evidence": [
        "quantitative[1]",
        "findings[2]"
       ]
      },
      {
       "dir": "none",
       "text": "Non-adopters said they saw no reason to roam the office remotely.",
       "detail": "From an informal survey. Non-adopters also found sign-up complicated. Users were put off by poor audio and video, few suitable occasions and running a parallel video meeting.",
       "evidence": [
        "findings[3]",
        "limitations[0]"
       ]
      },
      {
       "dir": "none",
       "text": "The paper suggests hybrid staff socialised on office days and kept home days for focus.",
       "detail": "Fully remote staff wanted the connection, but fully remote non-adopters were hard to reach, so their views are missing.",
       "evidence": [
        "takeaway",
        "limitations[1]"
       ]
      },
      {
       "dir": "none",
       "text": "The paper concludes the effort of using the robots probably outweighed their value.",
       "detail": "So little use makes this hard to say with certainty.",
       "evidence": [
        "findings[5]"
       ]
      }
     ]
    }
   ]
  },
  "keyTerm": "critical mass",
  "takeaway": "Technology linking remote and on-site staff can be safe and accessible yet still go unused when its value seems not worth the effort. Adoption may need a critical mass of people who share the effort and the benefits."
 }
}