Marita Cheng, 28, robotics engineer.
2015 JUDGES’ CHOICE CO-WINNER:
Born in Cairns, Marita grew up in Housing Commission, with her brother and single parent mother. A mechanical engineer who develops robots to improve the lives of others, Marita’s company, aubot, began by creating robotic arms for people with limited mobility. Her second invention, Teleroo, was a video telephone to assist people connect with others.
After being awarded a NASA scholarship in 2015, Marita and her team created Aipoly, an app that recognises objects in real time and then relays them to people who are visually impaired via a smartphone. “We made a brain controlled robot, which was released this year,” Marita tells The Weekly. Her robot, Teleport, incorporates a headset which, together with functions that are brain controlled, can “transport” its users, giving them the experience of being somewhere else. “You can literally be in two places at once,” Marita says.
“The scholarship meant that I could travel all over the world to meet suppliers, attend conferences, and learn about the industry.
The travel bursary meant that I could develop my robots a lot quicker. Things that would have taken me seven months only took a day because I was in the same room as my suppliers.”
“The travel bursary meant I could develop my robots quicker.”