Exploring Mediated Communication with Older Adults: Comparing AR Avatars, Telepresence Robots, and Face-to-Face Interaction

Arevalo Arboleda, Stephanie and Hartbrich, Jakob and Weidner, Florian and Conde, Melisa and Mikhailova, Veronika and Immohr, Felix and Benedikt Fischedick, Söhnke and Vorhof, Bea and Gerhardt, Christoph and Richter, Kay and Kunert, Christian and Döring, Nicola and Gross, Horst-Michael and Broll, Wolfgang and Raake, Alexander (2026) Exploring Mediated Communication with Older Adults: Comparing AR Avatars, Telepresence Robots, and Face-to-Face Interaction. In: IMX '26: ACM International Conference on Interactive Media Experiences, 9th June - 11th June 2026, Athlone Ireland.

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Abstract

Older adults, a growing demographic, face an increased risk of experiencing loneliness and are less exposed to emerging communication technologies. Augmented reality (AR) avatars and telepresence robots have been proposed as tools to foster social connection, yet their suitability for older users remains underexplored. We present an exploratory study with ten healthy older adults who engaged in both conversational and spatial collaboration tasks using AR avatar-mediated communication, robot-mediated communication, and face-to-face interaction. We collected self-reported measures of co-presence, social presence, closeness, uncanny valley, preferences, and open feedback. Our findings suggest that telepresence robots enhanced co-presence, while avatars were valued for their expressivity and humanlike qualities. Task type influenced co-presence in spatial collaboration only during communication using the telepresence robot. Other measures, such as social presence and closeness, were unaffected by task type or representation. While neither technology outperformed face-to-face interaction, both were positively received, underscoring their potential to address the social needs of older adults and highlighting the importance of enhancing nonverbal expressivity, particularly nonverbal cues in mediated communication. Ultimately, our results contribute to the fundamental understanding of mediated communication with older adults, motivating further empirical work to confirm and extend these findings.

Item Type:	Conference or Workshop Item (Paper)
Identification Number:	10.1145/3788851.3805002
Dates:	Date Event 1 June 2026 Accepted 9 June 2026 Published Online
Uncontrolled Keywords:	Telepresence Robot, Avatar, Augmented Reality, Communication, Co-presence, Social Presence, Uncanny Valley, Nonverbal Behavior, Older Adults
Subjects:	CAH11 - computing > CAH11-01 - computing > CAH11-01-01 - computer science
Divisions:	Architecture, Built Environment, Computing and Engineering > Computer Science
Depositing User:	Gemma Tonks
Date Deposited:	12 Jun 2026 12:45
Last Modified:	12 Jun 2026 12:45
URI:	https://www.open-access.bcu.ac.uk/id/eprint/17073

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