What We Do

01 RESEARCH

02 DEVELOPMENT

03 OUTREACH

04 TEACHING

Meet the our team

FREDERICK PRETE PHD

FOUNDER / DIRECTOR

is a biological psychologist, vision researcher, lifelong educator, and founder of Haptic Insight. His work brings together decades of experience in science, teaching, and human perception with a passion for creating practical technologies that expand independence and opportunity for people who are blind or have low vision.

BENJAMIN PRETE

ASSISTANT LAB DIRECTOR

is a technologist, computer programmer, and data analyst. He is also a talented and creative videographer and web designer. Ben has a passion for helping others and has been an active collaborator with the haptic Insight team since its beginning.

ANNIE GUTER

WEARABLES CONSULTANT

is a innovative clothing designer. She is lead costume designer for Thin Ice Ensemble Theater, and other not-for-profits, as well as a home schooling mother of three daughters. Annie revels in the creation of novel -- but wearable -- clothing, and is delighted to be on our team.

Product Evaluation and Testing

RICARDO SALAZAR

ASSOCIATE LAB DIRECTOR

is a computer scientist, maker, and Ph.D. student in Robotics at the Robotics Institute at Carnegie Mellon University. He recently earned his Bachelor's degree with research interests at the intersection of artificial intelligence and robotics, aiming to develop technologies that improve everyday life.

AMANDA HETZEL

O&M Consultant

is a certified orientation and mobility specialist and the current President of AER (Association for the Education and Rehabilitation of the Blind and Visually Impaired). Her insights and collaboration has been invaluable for the success of our project.

We are grateful to work alongside these expert cane and assistive technology users, whose critical evaluations from the blind and low vision community keep our design grounded in real-world mobility.

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