Connecting People over Distance Using Furry Mediators

Many people are separated from their families or friends by distance. They want to keep a feeling of connectedness with each other but fail due to distance, time zone differences, or busy lives. Besides, they find it hard to transfer implicit information using traditional ways of communicating. This research concentrates on connecting people over distance using furry mediators. These mediators can share users presence and status information with their remote families or friends using different gestures. A lab study with 7 participants was conducted to explore whether the different gestures can be successfully interpreted by the users. After that, a diary study with 4 participants was conducted to investigate users perception of the furry mediators. Our findings illustrate the potential for using furry mediators as a user interface to connect remote people. The furry mediators increased users communication frequency and provided them with a subtle and ambiguous communication channel.