Demonstrating Virtual Teamwork with Synchrobots: A Robot-Mediated Approach to Improving Connectedness

Abstract

The increased prevalence of online collaborative work, through necessity or preference, is accompanied by measurable drops in satisfaction, creativity and energy, often termed “zoom fatigue.” As loss of physical co-presence and associated nonverbal communication are identified as contributors, we introduce Synchrobots – robots designed to channel human biophysiology for group connectedness. We propose an Interactivity demo wherein two participants perform an online problem-solving task while wearing physiological sensors and holding a Synchrobot as it physically renders a translation of their partner’s heartrate. The setup involves two stations, each with a laptop running Zoom, a set of wearable sensors recording heart rate, respiratory rate, and electrodermal activity, and a Synchrobot. After the problem-solving task, we will invite participants to reflect on how connected they felt with each other as well as their satisfaction with the collaboration quality. Participants may consent to release this data for later inclusion as part of a study.