Perception in the Wild

Roberta Klatzky, PhD
Professor of Psychology and Human-Computer Interaction
Department of Psychology,
Carnegie Mellon University

To paraphrase an old line, "What's a nice cognitive scientist like you doing in a _ like this?" In my case, the blank can be filled with robot factory, biopsy suite, or summer camp for the blind. If I had been asked that question as I found myself in any of those places, my answer would have been, "Pursuing cognitive science and its application." I look for the sweet spot that bridges interesting basic scientific issues to human performance in real-life settings where time and space are critical and even small improvements matter. My research has been applied to tele-manipulation, image-guided surgery, navigation aids for the blind, and neural rehabilitation.