Roberta L. Klatzky

My research focuses on how we come to represent the physical world by means of multi-modal perception and higher cognitive processes, and how our representations guide actions.

These are some of the topics I have been studying:

• Representing space through locomotion and touch

• Identifying objects by touch

• Spatial updating in the absence of vision

• Spatial representations acquired through language

• Reference frames used to define spatial locations

• Haptic perception of materials

• Spatially designated action: reaching, walking, pinching, grasping

• Inter-sensory integration

My research approach is characterized by:

• Varying methodologies and populations – My experiments may use psychophysics, cognitive paradigms, observation, or neuro-imaging. Participants move in physical or virtual spaces and interact with real or virtual objects. Some of my research involves blind subjects or those impaired by stroke.

• An eye for applied problems – among others, navigation aids for the blind, sensory-guided robots, tele-manipulation and stroke rehabilitation.

• Collaborative approaches – Cognitive science is inherently inter-disciplinary, and I have been fortunate to have collaborations with psychologists, neuroscientists, and engineers in the US, Europe, and Asia.