Sub-Studies | Description |
Survey on grandparent-grandchild communication | An online survey of students was conducted in February 2021 to explore how young adults communicate with their grandparents through media. In addition, an integrated online vignette experiment was conducted to examine how young adults view CO-HUMANICS scenarios with regard to communication with their grandparents. For this study, a positive ethics vote of the ethics committee of the Technical University of Ilmenau has been obtained (January 19, 2021) and a pre-registration is available. For a brief description of the results see here. Döring, N., Mikhailova, V., Brandenburg, K., Broll, W., Gross, H.‑M., Werner, S., & Raake, A. (2022). Digital media in intergenerational communication: Status quo and future scenarios for the grandparent-grandchild relationship. Universal Access in the Information Society, 23, 379–394. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10209-022-00957-w Doering, N., Mikhailova, V., Brandenburg, K., Broll, W., Gross, H.‑M., Werner, S., & Raake, A. (2021, 3.-5. November). Saying “Hi” to grandma in nine different ways: Established and innovative communication media in the grandparent-grandchild relationship [Conference presentation abstract]. Technology, Mind & Society 2021, Virtual Conference. https://doi.org/10.1037/tms0000107. Download PDF |
Combating loneliness and social isolation among older people using digital technologies (review of previous research) | The state of international research on combating loneliness and social isolation in older people using digital technologies was reviewed and presented in the form of a scoping review of reviews according to the guidelines of the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-Analyses extension for Scoping Reviews (PRISMA-ScR). Döring, N., Conde, M., Brandenburg, K., Broll, W., Gross, H.-M., Werner, S., & Raake, A. (2022). Can communication technologies reduce loneliness and social isolation in older people? A scoping review of reviews. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 19(18), Article 11310. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph191811310 |
Use and effects of innovative communication technologies among older people (review of previous research) | The state of research on the use and effects of innovative communication technologies among older people is currently being prepared for publication in the form of book chapters: Döring, N. (in preparation). Social Media. In B. Schorb, A. Hartung-Griemberg, C. Bogen, J. Stiel, & M. Marquard (Hrsg.), Handbuch Mediengeragogik. Kopäd Verlag. Döring, N., Conde, M., & Mikhailova, V. (in preparation). Avatare und Roboter. In B. Schorb, A. Hartung-Griemberg, C. Bogen, J. Stiel, & M. Marquard (Hrsg.), Handbuch Mediengeragogik. Kopäd Verlag. |
Requirements analysis for the two CO-HUMANICS scenarios based on robotics and augmented reality | The requirements analysis will determine how older people, their relatives and friends, and professionals assess the CO-HUMANICS scenarios and what requirements they place on them. The requirements analysis includes individual interviews with N = 30 older adults who share their opinions and experiences with different technologies. Requirements analysis is a part of the human-centered design process and ensures that the expectations of future users are incorporated into technology development. For the requirements analysis, a positive ethics vote of the ethics committee of the TU Ilmenau has been obtained (July 13, 2021). The study has been pre-registered. Download recruitment flyer (Link). The first results of the study were presented in the form of a poster at the Department Day of the Department of Economic Sciences and Media at the TU Ilmenau and at the HCI International 2023 conference in Copenhagen, Denmark: Conde, M., Mikhailova, V., & Döring, N. (2023, June 21). Towards augmented reality-based and social robot-based social integration of older adults: A user requirements analysis [Poster presentation]. Fakultätstag 2023, Technische Universität Ilmenau, Germany.
***Best Poster award*** Conde, M., Mikhailova, V., & Döring, N. (2023). Towards augmented reality-based and social robot-based social integration of older adults: A user requirements analysis. In C. Stephanidis, M. Antona, S. Ntoa, & G. Salvendy (Eds.), HCI International 2023 Posters. HCII 2023. Communications in Computer and Information Science: Vol. 1833 (pp. 426-432). https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-031-35992-7_5 Detailed technology-based results of the requirements analysis are published in scientific journals: Döring, N., Mikhailova, V., & Conde, M. (2023). Soziale Nähe durch Roboter und Avatare: Eine Chance für die alternde Gesellschaft? [Social closeness through robots and avatars: An opportunity for the aging society?]. Medien & Altern - Zeitschrift für Theorie und Praxis, 22, 71-86. Link to journal Mikhailova, V., Conde, M., & Döring, N. (2024). “Like a virtual family reunion”: Older adults defining requirements for an augmented reality communication system. Information, 15(1), Article 52. https://doi.org/10.3390/info1501005 Conde, M., Mikhailova, V., & Döring, N. (2024). "I have the feeling that the person is here": Older adults' attitudes, usage intentions, and requirements for a telepresence robot. International Journal of Social Robotics, 16, 1619–1639. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12369-024-01143-z In addition, the data from the requirements analysis was used to develop user personas that represent three archetypes of technology users: Arevalo Arboleda, S., Conde, M., Doering, N., & Raake, A. (2024). Introducing personas and scenarios to highlight older adults' perspectives on robot-mediated communication. HRI '24: Companion of the 2024 ACM/IEEE International Conference on Human-Robot Interaction, USA, 209-213. https://doi.org/10.1145/3610978.3640659 |
Videoconference communication as a comparative condition to the CO-HUMANICS scenarios | Conceptual analysis of the videoconference experiences and in particular the causes of videoconference fatigue. Döring, N., Moor, K. D., Fiedler, M., Schoenenberg, K., & Raake, A. (2022). Videoconference fatigue: A conceptual analysis. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 19(4), Article 2061. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19042061 Raake, A., Fiedler, M., Schoenenberg, K., Moor, K.D., Döring, N. (2022). Technological factors influencing videoconferencing and Zoom fatigue. arXiv:2202.01740. https://doi.org/10.48550/arXiv.2202.01740 |
Social interaction with avatars in AR | An experimental online study examined the perception of aging characteristics in avatars with varying levels of realism among younger, middle-aged, and older technology users. The results of the study with N = 2,086 participants from Germany were presented at the international conference IEEE VR 24 in Orlando, USA and published in the conference proceedings: Mikhailova, V., Gerhardt, C., Kunert, C., Schwandt, T., Weidner, F., Broll, W., & Döring, N. (2024). Age and realism of avatars in simulated augmented reality: Experimental evaluation of anticipated user experience. 2024 IEEE Conference Virtual Reality and 3D User Interfaces (VR), USA, 89-93. https://doi.org/10.1109/VR58804.2024.00032 Additionally, a more in-depth analysis was conducted based on the open-ended responses collected in the study (N = 1,672) to explore how users define authenticity in avatar-based self-representation. The study examined which attributes users consider most important for self-avatars and how these priorities differ across gender and age groups. The results of the study will be presented at the HCI International 2026 conference in Montreal, Canada and published in the conference proceedings: Mikhailova, V., Shidujaman, M., & Döring, N. (2026, July 26–31). Myself, reimagined: Users’ perspectives on authentic self-representation through avatars in social virtual environments. 28th International Conference on Human-Computer Interaction, Montreal, Canada. |
The laboratory tests of the first prototypes of an AR communication system and a telepresence robot (user tests with older adults) | The first prototypes of an augmented reality communication system and a telepresence robot, developed in the CO-HUMANICS project, were tested in the laboratory of TU Ilmenau with older adults as participants. The two separate laboratory studies aimed to describe the user experiences of older adults with the developed technologies, highlight the key benefits and challenges of use, and contribute to the improvement of both prototypes. The user experiences of the participants were evaluated using written questionnaires with established scales, as well as qualitative interviews and observations. The first results of the AR-centred study were presented in the form of a poster at the international conference IMX'24 in Stockholm, Sweden, and published in the conference proceedings: Mikhailova, V., Kunert, C., Hartbrich, J., Schwandt, T., Gerhardt, C., Raake, A., Broll, W., & Döring, N. (2024). Work-in-progress: Older adults' experiences with an augmented reality communication system. IMX '24: Proceedings of the 2024 ACM International Conference on Interactive Media Experiences,Sweden, 382-387.
https://doi.org/10.1145/3639701.3663641 Detailed results were presented at the HCI International 2025 conference in Gothenburg, Sweden and published in the conference proceedings: Mikhailova, V., Kunert, C., Hartbrich, J., Schwandt, T., Gerhardt, C., Raake, A., Broll, W., & Döring, N. (2025). Addressing the avatar in the room: A user study on older adults’ experiences with a wearable augmented reality communication system. In Q. Gao & J. Zhou (Eds.), Human Aspects of IT for the Aged Population. HCII 2025. Lecture Notes in Computer Science: Vol. 15809 (pp. 316-336). Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-92707-2_21***Best Paper award*** The results of the study based on the telepresence robot were published in an international journal: Conde, M., Fischedick, S., Richter, K., Arevalo Arboleda, S., Gross, H.-M., Raake, A., & Doering, N. (2025). “The robot should be programmed for me”: User tests evaluating a telepresence robot for the social integration of older adults. Transactions on Human-Robot Interaction. https://doi.org/10.1145/3770851 |
Co-design workshop with older adults for robot gestures and voice commands | Two workshops were conducted to explore older adults’ preferences and ideas for improving robot-mediated communication through robot gestures and voice commands. A total of N = 13 older adults participated in the workshops and shared their opinions and recommendations for future designs. The results of the co-design workshops were presented as a poster at the HCI International 2025 conference in Gothenburg, Sweden: Conde, M., Arevalo Arboleda, S., Raake, A., & Döring, N. (in press). A telepresence robot for the social integration of older adults: Exploring human-robot gesture interaction and voice commands. In C. Stephanidis, M. Antona, S. Ntoa, G. Salvendy (Eds.) HCI International 2025 Posters. HCII 2025. Communications in Computer and Information Science: Vol. 2525 (pp. 181-189). Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-94159-7_19 |
Comparison of AR and robot-mediated communication with face-to-face interactions (user tests with older adults) | Ten older adults participated in an exploratory study in the laboratory of the TU Ilmenau. The aim of the study was to compare communication mediated by AR and a telepresence robot with traditional face-to-face interaction. The participants completed two standardized conversation tasks with an interaction partner who was present in three different forms: as an avatar via an AR headset, via the screen of a telepresence robot, and physically in the same room. The subjective reactions and perceptions of the participants were collected using standardized questionnaires and qualitative, open feedback. Data collection has been completed; the study is currently under peer review. |
Older adults' experiences with wearable AR (review of previous research) | The subjective experiences of older adults with wearable AR were examined in a scoping review in accordance with the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-Analyses extension for Scoping Reviews (PRISMA-ScR) guidelines. Drawing on three large scientific databases, the review summarizes 22 publications to identify common areas of application as well as positive and negative experiences. The results are published in the international, peer-reviewed journal: Mikhailova, V. (2026). A scoping literature review on older adults’ experiences with wearable augmented reality: Opportunities and challenges for successful aging. International Journal of Human-Computer Interaction,42(7), 4739-4760. https://doi.org/10.1080/10447318.2025.2544005 |
Aging in the digital transformation (digital inclusion, exclusion, and implications for media education) | The article provides a brief overview of what aging means in the context of digital transformation: who engages with digital technologies and AI, who is left out, and what this implies for media education: Döring, N. & Conde, M. (2025). Wie digital ist das Alter? Der aktuelle Entwicklungs- und Forschungsstand [How digital is old age? The current state of development and research]. merz | medien + erziehug 69(5), 59-66. https://doi.org/10.21240/merz/2025.05.14 |
Familiarity and social presence in the use of telepresence robots | A controlled laboratory study investigated how partner familiarity and gesture recognition influence older adults’ experiences with a telepresence robot for social interaction. In a within-subjects experiment with N = 24 independently living older adults in Germany, participants collaborated remotely with both familiar and unfamiliar communication partners on a puzzle (Tangram) task. Measures included social presence, co-presence, and aspects of technology acceptance to systematically assess the user experience. Data collection has been completed; two publications based on this study are currently under peer review. |
AR co-play in later life (social connection through shared play) | A laboratory study with N = 12 older adults examined experiences with a shared AR co-play activity in which participants, working in pairs, built a virtual house using head-mounted displays. Measures included user experience, avatar perception, social presence, and perceived connectedness to explore the potential of AR co-play as a form of social and playful interaction in later life. Data collection has been completed; the study is currently under peer review. |
Networking events | German Senior Citizens' Day, November 24-26, 2021, online
Workshop "Exploring socio-technical research", September 22-23, 2022, TU Dresden
CZ STEM Impact School, 30. Oktober-1. November, 2024, Berlin & 6.-8. November, 2024, Mainz
German Senior Citizen's Day, April 2-4, 2025, Mannheim |
