{"id":16230,"date":"2026-06-24T14:07:14","date_gmt":"2026-06-24T12:07:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/chilli-mind.com\/?p=16230"},"modified":"2026-07-13T11:37:52","modified_gmt":"2026-07-13T09:37:52","slug":"presence-without-compromise","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/chilli-mind.com\/en\/presence-without-compromise\/","title":{"rendered":"Presence Without Compromise"},"content":{"rendered":"
Paper<\/div>\n

Presence Without Compromise<\/h1>\n
\n

How privacy-focused UX design enables children who cannot attend school in person to participate<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

Reading time: approx. 3\u2032 29\u2033<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

\n

Presence Through Design<\/h3>\n

For children suffering from cancer or a serious illness, missing school means more than just falling behind in class\u2014it means losing friendships, routines, and that sense of normalcy that is most important during treatment.<\/p>\n

Telepresence robots promise to bridge this gap. But technology alone is not enough. If a child cannot control what their classmates see, what their teacher hears, or what intrudes into their private space\u2014then participation becomes an exposure.<\/p>\n

PRIVATAR is a research project that places data protection at the center of this challenge. This article by the chilli mind team, published in the CERN IdeaSquare Journal of Experimental Innovation, presents a UX framework in which data protection is not just a legal box to check\u2014but the foundation for trust, self-determination, and meaningful inclusion.<\/p>\n

Through child-centered interface design, spatial privacy boundaries, role-based control options, and AI-generated digital user twins, PRIVATAR demonstrates how informational self-determination can be designed\u2014visually, intuitively, and at the appropriate cognitive level for young and vulnerable users.<\/p>\n

Privacy as empowerment. Not as a barrier.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\"\"
\n\"\"<\/p>\n

\n

Data protection must be visual<\/span><\/h3>\n

Abstract consent forms and legal jargon that\u2019s hard to understand don\u2019t work for children\u2014and they don\u2019t work particularly well for adults in stressful situations either. The PRIVATAR user interface replaces text-heavy privacy notices with a consistent visual language: specially designed icons, clear status indicators, and the \u201cSendbox\u201d\u2014a live display that shows exactly which data is currently being transmitted from home or the hospital to the classroom. Audio on. Camera on. Avatar visible. Each status is immediately recognizable at a glance, giving children a real sense of awareness and control without having to navigate through settings menus or decipher abstract concepts.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

Spatial Privacy Through Restricted and Privacy Zones<\/span><\/h3>\n

Privacy isn\u2019t just about data flows\u2014it\u2019s also about physical space. In a classroom, certain areas are implicitly sensitive: the teacher\u2019s desk during a private conversation, a corner for small-group work, and areas where other children could be filmed without consent. PRIVATAR programs these boundaries directly into the robot\u2019s behavior. \u201cNo-go\u201d zones automatically stop the robot at defined boundaries. \u201cNo-View\u201d zones allow movement but restrict the visual feed or blur the image. When a boundary is reached, the child immediately receives child-friendly feedback explaining what happened and what options are available\u2014thus transforming an abstract privacy rule into a tangible, understandable moment of control.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Core takeaways:<\/h2>\n

To what extent can UX serve as a driver of participation in the field of data protection?<\/h3>\n
\n

When children can decide for themselves what is visible, audible, and present, privacy is no longer an obstacle but becomes the foundation for trust and emotional security. Self-determination is what makes it possible to reveal oneself in the first place.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Which interface designs put \u201cPrivacy by Design\u201d into practice?<\/h3>\n
\n

Three patterns emerged: The \u201cSendbox\u201d provides a live view of all active data transmissions. \u201cNo-Go Zones\u201d automatically stop the robot at defined boundaries; \u201cNo-View Zones\u201d allow movement but blur the visual output. A tried-and-true set of pictograms ensures that important statuses\u2014camera, microphone, avatar\u2014are immediately recognizable to children.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

To what extent do AI-generated digital user twins support the design process?<\/h3>\n
\n

They make it possible to examine rare, ethically sensitive scenarios\u2014such as the appearance of third parties on camera, conflicting preferences among participants, or a sequence of events occurring during a class\u2014without directly involving vulnerable users. The participation of real users was reduced by about 40%.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

\n

Four rolls. One system. No one is left unprotected.<\/h2>\n
\n
\n
\n

Privacy in a telepresence system cannot be controlled with a single switch\u2014rather, it involves a series of decisions made by different people at different times. A parent who sets the default settings before the school day begins. A teacher who adjusts the volume during group work. A child who decides whether to raise their hand or step away from the camera. The PRIVATAR application organizes these decisions into four clearly defined use cases\u2014each assigned to the right person, at the right time, and with the right level of control.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\n
<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

UC 1 \u2014 Configuration and Setup<\/h3>\n
\n

This is done by the parents or a caregiver. Here, the basic default settings are configured: What data is transmitted to the classroom, and which features\u2014camera, microphone, facial recognition, location tracking\u2014are enabled?<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

UC 2 \u2014 Class Participation<\/h3>\n
\n

The primary user interface for the child. Here, the child can control their presence, visibility, and audio in real time. It also includes hand gestures, detection of third parties in the camera's field of view, and a private chat with the teacher.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

UC 3 \u2014 Teaching Structure<\/h3>\n
\n

The teacher's and classmates' perspectives. This includes starting and streaming lesson content, displaying the streamed data, and adjusting the volume for different situations, such as group work.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

UC 4 \u2014 Robot Control and Spatial Privacy<\/h3>\n
\n

The child controls the robot through the classroom using a remote control\u2014within the boundaries defined by restricted areas and privacy zones.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

Conclusion<\/h2>\n

Well-designed data protection opens up new possibilities.<\/strong><\/p>\n

PRIVATAR demonstrates that telepresence for children with long-term school absences does not necessarily have to mean a trade-off between participation and protection. When data protection is viewed as a central design principle\u2014and not merely as a compliance measure\u2014it becomes the decisive factor that makes true inclusion possible in the first place.<\/p>\n

The project\u2019s findings extend beyond the classroom. The UX patterns, methodological approaches, and role-based control frameworks developed here are transferable: to other vulnerable user groups, other contexts relevant to data protection, and other challenges in the field of health innovation where trust is a prerequisite for acceptance.<\/p>\n

Protecting presence is not a constraint on design. It is the guiding principle.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Download<\/div>\n
\n

https:\/\/doi.org\/10.25368\/2024.EEE<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Published in<\/div>\n
\n

ENTWERFEN ENTWICKELN ERLEBEN<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Year<\/div>\n
\n

2024<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Authors<\/div>\n
\n

Philipp Schu\u0308tz & Oliver Gerstheimer<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Next publications<\/h2>\n
\n<\/div>\n


\n<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Paper Presence Without Compromise How privacy-focused UX design enables children who cannot attend school in person to participate Reading time: approx. 3\u2032 29\u2033 Presence Through Design For children suffering from cancer or a serious illness, missing school means more than just falling behind in class\u2014it means losing friendships, routines, and that sense of normalcy that […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":14,"featured_media":16273,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[260,279,280,285,244,246,247,253,263,266,268,271,274,276],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-16230","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-design-ethics","category-co-creation-participatory-design","category-human-centered-design","category-design-thinking","category-contextual-design","category-consumer-interfaces","category-medical-interfaces","category-interaction-parameters-din-en-iso-9241-210","category-ai-digital-customer-twins","category-digital-innovation","category-user-research-need-analysis","category-behavioral-design","category-experience-design","category-universal-design-inclusion"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/chilli-mind.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16230","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/chilli-mind.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/chilli-mind.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chilli-mind.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/14"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chilli-mind.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=16230"}],"version-history":[{"count":12,"href":"https:\/\/chilli-mind.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16230\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":16294,"href":"https:\/\/chilli-mind.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16230\/revisions\/16294"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chilli-mind.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/16273"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/chilli-mind.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=16230"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chilli-mind.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=16230"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chilli-mind.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=16230"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}