Robotic avatars can help disabled people extend their reach in interacting with the world. Technological advances make it possible for individuals to embody multiple avatars simultaneously. However, existing studies have been limited to laboratory conditions and did not involve disabled participants. In this paper, we present a real-world implementation of a parallel control system allowing disabled workers in a caf\'e to embody multiple robotic avatars at the same time to carry out different tasks. Our data corpus comprises semi-structured interviews with workers, customer surveys, and videos of caf\'e operations. Results indicate that the system increases workers' agency, enabling them to better manage customer journeys. Parallel embodiment and transitions between avatars create multiple interaction loops where the links between disabled workers and customers remain consistent, but the intermediary avatar changes. Based on our observations, we theorize that disabled individuals possess specific competencies that increase their ability to manage multiple avatar bodies.
翻译:机器化身能够帮助残障人士拓展与外界交互的范围。技术进步使得个人有可能同时持有多个化身。然而,现有研究仅限于实验室条件,且未涉及残障参与者。本文介绍了一个并行控制系统的真实世界实现方案,该系统允许咖啡馆中的残疾工作者同时持有多个机器化身以执行不同任务。我们的数据语料包含与工作者进行的半结构化访谈、顾客调查以及咖啡馆运营视频。结果表明,该系统增强了工作者的能动性,使他们能够更好地管理顾客旅程。并行持有及化身之间的切换创造了多重交互回路,其中残疾工作者与顾客之间的联系保持稳定,但中介化身发生变化。基于我们的观察,我们提出理论:残障人士具备特定的能力,增强了他们管理多个化身身体的能力。