Susan J. Lederman

Queen's University

Papers

12

Total Citations

1,105

H-Index

9

About

Susan J. Lederman is a pioneering researcher in haptic perception — the science of touch and manual exploration — whose work has fundamentally shaped our understanding of how humans and robots identify and interact with objects through tactile sensation. Her most influential contributions center on the systematic study of **exploratory procedures (EPs)**, the specialized hand movement patterns people deploy when extracting object properties such as texture, weight, and contour. Her 1993 paper "Extracting object properties through haptic exploration" (388 citations) and her 1990 study on knowledge-driven haptic classification (257 citations) established foundational frameworks demonstrating that haptic exploration is neither random nor passive, but purposive and highly structured. Lederman also made significant contributions to multisensory perception, notably investigating how haptic and visual cues interact in phenomena like the size-weight illusion. Her computational modeling work proposed formal architectures linking exploratory behavior to object identification, bridging cognitive science and robotics. Indeed, a recurring theme across her career is the translation of biological touch insights into robotic tactile sensing systems, reflecting both the breadth and applied relevance of her scholarship. With hundreds of citations across multiple decades, Lederman's research remains essential reading for anyone entering the fields of haptics, sensorimotor cognition, or human-robot interaction.

Research Focus

Key Achievements

9
H-Index
12
Papers
1,105
Total Citations
92
Avg Citations/Paper
🏆 Most Cited Paper
Extracting object properties through haptic exploration
388 citations · 1993
📈 Most Prolific Year: 1993 (4 Papers)
🤝 Key Collaborators: 6
🏛 Institutions: Queen's University

Top Papers

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Key Collaborators

Contact & Links

Available for collaboration
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