Sonya Allin
Post-Doctoral Fellow
Department of Occupational Science and Occupational Therapy (University of Toronto)
s.allin@utoronto.ca
(416) 946-8573
Biography
Sonya Allin joined IATSL in September of 2007 and has been researching the application of low cost technologies, like web cameras, to balance assessment and training of functional activities, like getting out of a chair or walking down the hall. The training and assessment methodologies she is exploring include some that are largely automated, and which rely heavily on relatively novel computer vision algorithms to parameterize mobility changes as cheaply, independently and robustly as possible. Others, however, explore existing video technologies' ability to cost-effectively shift clinical dialogs about functional mobility from hospitals to the home. Prior to joining IATSL, Sonya completed a Ph.D. at the Human Computer Interaction Institute of Carnegie Mellon University (Pittsburgh, PA) where she explored the application of similar, low-cost motion understanding technologies to upper limb assessment after stroke. This research was conducted under the umbrella of the recently founded “Quality of Life” Engineering Consortium joining CMU and the University of Pittsburgh. She has also held diverse positions at non-profit and industrial organizations, including Mitsubishi Engineering Research and gURL.com.
