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Welcome to the Rehabilitation Technology and Haptics Laboratory at Virginia Commonwealth University.
We are located at Biotech 1 on the MCV campus in Richmond, Virginia
Location: Room 1070
Mail/Cargo: D. Pawluk Rm. 1070C, Biotech One, 800 E Leigh St. Richmond, VA 23219
Our main focus is developing assistive technology for individuals who are blind or visually impaired, particularly providing more effective access to tactile graphics, print information, highly visual software environments (particularly for STEM learning and practice), and the exploration of functional spaces (art museums, botanical gardens, etc.). Additional areas of focus are in basic haptic research, the development of hand prostheses, particularly control algorithms and tactile feedback for dexterous tasks; and situational awareness for emergency personnel. Projects involve hardware and/or software development, as well as user testing.
Potential Openings. We anticipate potential openings for Fall 2022: a PhD position for using machine learning to automate visual to tactile graphic conversion and a Post-doc position for understanding how individuals who are blind or visually impaired explore tactile graphics. Undergraduates are always welcomed to join the lab (if you are interested in paid summer work, please contact Dr. Pawluk by February of the same year). Interested persons should contact Dr. Pawluk (dtpawluk@vcu.edu).
User Studies. We are also currently looking for participants who are blind or visually impaired for several studies on a project developing a tangible interface for the Scratch programming environment. To find out more, please contact: Dr. Pawluk (dtpawluk@vcu.edu). If you know of anyone who is blind or visually impaired who might be interested, please pass along our contact information.