Expert on Wheels: An Approach to Remote Collaboration

Tools used for remote collaboration and assistance within the industrial sector have remained unchanged for a long time. We introduce a concept called "Expert on Wheels" as the next step in development of remote collaboration tools. "Expert on Wheels" is a mobile tele-presence robot designed to support collaboration between a field worker and a remote expert. This paper presents an exploratory research study, in which "Expert on Wheels" was evaluated with target users as well as in a lab environment. The results indicate that the system has potential but requires improvements in key areas such as the situation awareness of the expert and the system's mobility as a whole. We conclude by discussing if and how such systems could be accepted and useful in different industrial settings.