Robot-Mediated Attendance Verification in Higher Education: A Socio-Technical Evaluation

Attendance tracking remains an essential administrative task in higher education, particularly in large classes and examination settings where accurate identity verification and time efficiency are critical. Traditional manual methods are time-consuming, prone to error, and difficult to manage in high-volume scenarios, motivating the need for automated and reliable solutions. This study evaluates a robot-mediated multi-factor attendance verification system through a socio-technical perspective, considering the interaction of its technical components, users, and institutional workflows. The proposed system was tested in a real classroom environment and compared with traditional manual attendance methods to evaluate time efficiency, accuracy, usability, and user acceptance. The results indicate a lower estimated average attendance-processing time when using robot-assisted verification compared with manual attendance under experimental conditions, while also demonstrating reliable identity verification for supported ID cards. Student and lecturer feedback highlighted the system's efficiency and ease of use, with lecturers reporting perceived reductions in administrative workload. The multi-factor verification approach supports stronger identity assurance and attendance-record integrity.