Robin Walker

Professor

  • TW20 0EX

Personal profile

Personal profile

Personal profile

Research interests

EV Platform - for people with Macular Degeneration

EV Platform, a free web app for people with Macular Degeneration, has been released. Text is presented as a single scrolling line (like a news feed) to support the use of reading with the eccentric viewing technique whereby the reader holds their gaze slightly away from text.

www.ev-platform.org

 

Featured on Radio 4 In Touch (21-1-2020)

 

Research Interests

My research involves studies of the human saccadic eye movement (or oculomotor) system using both behavioural and neuroimaging (fMRI) techniques. The aim is to further our understanding of how the network of cortical and sub-cortical brain regions control the shifts of gaze and attention that are involved in the process of visual cognition. I also investigate reading with dynamic text formats (such as horizontally scrolling text - like a news ticker) especially in relation to how this format can help people with visual loss read more easily.

A recent functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) project (funded by the Leverhulme Trust) with Andy Smith and Michele Furlan investigated saccade planning in the superior colliculus.  The superior colliculus is a small midbrain structure that has an important role in process of translating sensory inputs to control shifts of gaze and attention.  See: Furlan et al. JNP (2015) and Furlan et al PLOS (2016).

 

Research Impact - An iPad App for people with Macular Disease

In collaboration with the Macular Society I have developed two technological aids (the MD_evReader and EV News) to help people with macular disease (the leading cause of vision loss in people over 60) to read eBooks and current news. Our research has shown that people with macular degeneration find that these apps help them to read.  

The MD_evReader was selected by Universities UK as one of 20 world-class research projects featured in their Ideas for Life event and has the approval of Dame Judi Dench! Judi Dench Video

 

This collaborative project was funded by Royal Holloway's Gateway fund and by the Macular Society UK. For more information on Macular Degeneration and the eccentric viewing technique contact the Macular Society- www.macularsociety.org

Expertise related to UN Sustainable Development Goals

In 2015, UN member states agreed to 17 global Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to end poverty, protect the planet and ensure prosperity for all. This person’s work contributes towards the following SDG(s):

  • SDG 3 - Good Health and Well-being

Keywords

  • Experimental psychology
  • Cognitive Neuroscience
  • Eye movements
  • Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation
  • Functional imaging - fMRI

Collaborations and top research areas from the last five years

Recent external collaboration on country/territory level. Dive into details by clicking on the dots or