Dr. Lynette A Jones

Dr. Jones' research focuses on a number of areas related to human haptic perception and motor performance. Much of this work is conducted in the context of the design of haptic, tactile and thermal interfaces that human operators use to interact with computer-generated virtual environments or to control robotic devices. This entails basic research on the human proprioceptive and tactile sensory systems in order to understand how these systems operate in terms of their sensitivity to different variables (i.e. force, limb position, inertia, compliance) and to determine the role of various feedback systems (i.e. signals from muscle, joint and cutaneous receptors) in perception. The applied research on haptic interfaces is focused on developing tactile displays that can be worn on the torso or arms and used as navigation aids. A number of tactile displays based on small electromagnetic actuators have been built and evaluated in laboratory and field settings.

Another area of research involves system identification studies of the vestibular ocular reflex (VOR) and the development of a portable vestibular testing apparatus. The objective of this research is to develop the experimental equipment, protocol, and analytic algorithms required to conduct a system identification of the VOR under natural conditions during which the VOR is used to stabilize vision.

A final area of study is related to an interest in human and robotic hand function and involves the design and construction of a hand testing apparatus based on a novel actuator design. The four-finger apparatus enables biomechanical and psychophysical studies to be performed on the fingers, with inputs being delivered simultaneously to up to four digits.