ABOUT KATE.
Research Scientist
First Responder Advocate
Data Enthusiast
One of my favorite things about working in research is the opportunity to uproot assumptions. I love challenging myself to learn as much as I can from the perspective of others, because I often discover things I never expected.
For example, my dissertation research involved interviewing a variety of public safety stakeholders. The goal of this research was to understand how to display and present risk analysis information using emerging technologies like AR/VR in complicated, real-world scenarios for fireground incident command. Through an understanding of their experiences, frustrations, values and motivations, my research helped to uncover areas that designers and developers have not considered in the design of current systems for first responders. While I am not surprised to hear that firefighters are frustrated by disparate devices, screen and OS fragmentation, or by interoperability and vendor issues, there were more than a few interesting insights that came from this work. For one, we found that there are small changes and existing solutions to common problems. We uncovered many simple ways in which UX designers and developers could support the end user and help them get home safe from their next incident, including the use of better UI design tools, access to software for testing, and guidance for how to design planning and analysis tools for existing interfaces (e.g., Mobile Data Computers/Terminals).
I have experience working on multiple large scale DoD-funded research programs related to emergency/crisis response, human-robot interaction, team performance, and augmented/virtual reality (AR/VR).
To get in touch with me about my work or to collaborate, please send me an email at kate.kapalo@knights.ucf.edu or find me on LinkedIn!
For example, my dissertation research involved interviewing a variety of public safety stakeholders. The goal of this research was to understand how to display and present risk analysis information using emerging technologies like AR/VR in complicated, real-world scenarios for fireground incident command. Through an understanding of their experiences, frustrations, values and motivations, my research helped to uncover areas that designers and developers have not considered in the design of current systems for first responders. While I am not surprised to hear that firefighters are frustrated by disparate devices, screen and OS fragmentation, or by interoperability and vendor issues, there were more than a few interesting insights that came from this work. For one, we found that there are small changes and existing solutions to common problems. We uncovered many simple ways in which UX designers and developers could support the end user and help them get home safe from their next incident, including the use of better UI design tools, access to software for testing, and guidance for how to design planning and analysis tools for existing interfaces (e.g., Mobile Data Computers/Terminals).
I have experience working on multiple large scale DoD-funded research programs related to emergency/crisis response, human-robot interaction, team performance, and augmented/virtual reality (AR/VR).
To get in touch with me about my work or to collaborate, please send me an email at kate.kapalo@knights.ucf.edu or find me on LinkedIn!
