Sharon Ann Stansfield

Associate Professor and Chair, Department of Computer Science

Sharon Ann Stansfield

Sharon Ann Stansfield

Virtual reality for physical therapy use; game development and technologies; robotics and machine perception (tactile, vision). Stansfield is currently working with physical and occupational therapists to develop virtual reality games to engage motor impaired-children in therapy. If a child has an impaired arm, the natural tendency is to use the good arm. The software being developed will only affect the virtual world if the child uses the impaired arm, thus providing the therapy the arm needs.

On the idea that a virtual world may prove less frustrating than the real world, Stansfield is developing similar programs to rehabilitate stroke victims. Other projects include a virtual patient that for physical therapists to practice their skills in the classroom.

In Robotics Stansfield has worked on assistive technology to develop a robot that could recognize items and pick them up.

Research Focus

  • Virtual reality
  • Game development and technologies
  • Robotics and machine perception (tactile and vision)

Education

University of Pennsylvania
Ph.D. in Computer and Information Science, 1987
Thesis Title: Visually-guided Haptic Object Recognition

University of Pennsylvania
M.S.E. in Computer and Information Science, 1984
Thesis Title: ANGY: A Rule-Based Expert System for Identifying and Isolating Coronary Vessels in Digital Angiograms

State University of New York at Potsdam
B.A., Computer Science, Mathematics, and Physics, 1980
Magna Cum Laude, University Honors