Telenoid: tele-presence android for communication

In this research, a new system of telecommunication called "Telenoid" is presented which focuses on the idea of transferring human's "presence". Telenoid was developed to appear and behave as a minimal design of human features. (Fig. 2(A)) A minimal human conveys the impression of human existence at first glance, but it doesn't suggest anything about personal features such as being male or female, old or young. Previously an android with more realistic features called Geminoid was proposed. However, because of its unique appearance, which is the copy of a model, it is too difficult to imagine other people's presence through Geminoid while they are operating it. On the other hand, Telenoid is designed as it holds an anonymous identity, which allows people to communicate with their acquaintances far away regardless of their gender and age. We expect that the Telenoid can be used as a medium that transfers human's presence by its minimal feature design.