Sean Rintel
Papers
9
Total Citations
190
H-Index
7
About
Sean Rintel is a leading researcher in human-computer interaction and computer-supported cooperative work, with a particular focus on telepresence technologies, hybrid collaboration, and the future of distributed work. His scholarship centers on how mobile robotic telepresence (MRP) systems and extended reality (XR) technologies mediate presence, embodiment, and belonging across remote and co-located settings. Rintel's most influential contributions examine the asymmetries inherent in hybrid organizations—environments where some participants are physically present while others are remote. His 2021 paper "Belonging There," which has garnered 55 citations, investigates how XR telepresence shapes organizational belonging, while his widely cited VROOM project (38 citations) introduced an innovative two-way overlay system enhancing remote user representation in physical spaces. Across multiple longitudinal and interview-based studies, he has probed how MRP users experience presence phenomenologically, why adoption sometimes fails despite promising affordances, and how robot design can better serve real workplace needs. Notable for grounding his work in both field deployments and theoretical frameworks, Rintel has conducted research in partnership with industry settings including Microsoft Research Cambridge. His cumulative body of work, exceeding 190 citations, has meaningfully shaped conversations around equitable hybrid participation, robot-mediated interaction design, and the evolving norms of distributed organizational life.
Research Focus
Key Achievements
Top Papers
- 1Belonging There55 citations · 2021
- 2VROOM: Virtual Robot Overlay for Online Meetings38 citations · 2020
- 3"I can't get round"24 citations · 2021
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- 8Mobility and Utility in Robot Mediated Interaction5 citations · 2023
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