Robot Tours Training Guide

The following is a training guide for guides of the new Robot Tour at ANU- Museum of the Jewish People. The robot tour was developed in order to serve the elderly or disabled – those who are not physically capable of coming to visit the museum. Thanks to the robot one may now fully experience the contents of the museum from the comfort of one's own home. This is an innovative product, that takes the notion accessibility one step further – from passive accessibility, to active outreach and unique tours.

Phase 1 – Tutorial for robot:

In the first part of the tour guides will be instructing the user how to use the robot, followed by the tour itself.

The users have on their screen two windows with two views: The robot has a front facing camera (top, main view) and a floor-facing camera (bottom, smaller view). Explain to the user that bottom part of the screen gives them a clear point of view of the base of the device, in this way they will be able to gage whether they have enough space to pass through.

Movement: Explain to the user that they are in control of the device’s movements. The simplest way to direct the movement of this device is by using the arrow keys.

Up Arrow= move forwards

Down Arrow = go backwards

Left and Right Arrow = to rotate

Another way to move the robot is using the letter keys WASD on the keyboard (W=forward, S=backwards, A and D = turn and rotate).

Last – they can use the mouse to move the robot, by clicking on the bottom screen their destination using the mouse.

Give the user a chance to try these functions out. Tell them to move towards you, backwards, left and right, and rotate in place. Let them try several different ways to do so, so they can decide which they like most.

Zoom – on the bottom of the top screen the users have a bar with different functions. At the very left is a magnifying glass – tell them to push this button and play around with the zoom function. They can pan and move around the image when they’re zooming in.  In order to regain control of the robot, they need to click the bottom screen with their mouse, or press N on the keyboard.

End of phase 1 exercise: to summarize both the movement and zoom functions, ask the user to approach a glass case in the lobby straight on, at a 90% angle. They will see their own reflection, which will block their view. Ask them to approach the case again, this time in a 45% angle to the glass, and then zoom around on different details.

They should always try and approach glass cases in a 45% angle, for a better view.

Phase 2 – Guiding the galleries

The viewer is not with you in the gallery and cannot see everything that you see! It is crucial to note that the robot has a limited "visual scope" and movement capability and make adjustments accordingly to the tour structure and guiding style.

Guiding the robot – Best practices:

• Guiding is more “classic” in nature – it is exhibit specific, and information heavy. The user is not exposed to the many interactive elements, movies etc. Therefore, the experience is much more based on the guide and his ability to convey information in an interesting way.
• Focus on specific exhibits that are relevant/key components in telling the story of the gallery.
• Choose items that present a coherent flow when presented one after the other
• Choosing exhibits based on practical considerations – physical accessibility, visual clarity etc.
• Curate and plan ahead – research the exhibits you want to talk about.
• Speak slowly, clearly and remember to be patient

Important to remember:

• Always remind the user to look at the bottom of the screen when navigating – “click the bottom, follow my feet”.
• Keep a distance of a meter/meter and half from the screen when walking with the robot.
• The guide may physically stop the movement of the robot when required.
• When entering the elevator – hold the door and warn the user that they will lose connectivity for few moments
• Never press the green button on the Robot! It turns it off!

Begin the tour:

To user: Let's get started! Please click on the bottom of the screen and follow my feet! Remember to look at your camera and not the screen! (Important to repeat this throughout the tour) This robot is equipped with a noise cancelling function so that the current visitors will not disturb our tour. You should be able to hear me clearly, please let me know when/if you need me to speak up. (The robot will most likely be operated during hours when there is not a lot of 'museum traffic'.)