As countries around the world try to find ways to motivate girls to enter STEM fields, Australia's Marita Cheng is busy developing artificial intelligence products and building robots. She is innovative, energetic and passionate about technology.

By Paul Lachhu

Who could have predicted that a young girl who grew up in a relatively isolated area of Queensland, Australia, would one day be named the "Young Australian of the Year" in 2012 for her entrepreneurship and technology skills? Marita Cheng is a technology entrepreneur who proves that girls and young women can code, develop artificial intelligence products, create apps, and build robots, all of which significantly improve people's lives. She has developed products that assist the blind, disabled, elderly and everyone else interested in human-like communication over long distances.

Remarkably, the now 27-year-old has only just begun what will be a lifelong journey based in technology. She represents the youthful blend of technology know-how and the younger generation's focus on social responsibility, and it is with great anticipation that the world watches to see her next endeavors. Yes, she is really that intelligent, motivated, hardworking, and passionate about making life easier for those facing a variety of physical and communication challenges.

Joining the Robotics Revolution
All the articles about the struggles educational institutions and governments face in convincing women to enter STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) fields make one wonder how many Marita Chengs are out there.

Cheng first took an interest in technology when she discovered the Internet and the vast amount of information it holds. At a very young age, she realized the computer systems could be integrated with mechanical systems to make products in the physical world where everyone must live.

"I looked around and didn't see the mechanical systems powered by computer systems. I knew I wanted to be part of the robotics revolution. I thought, 'Robotics revolution, please don't take off without me because I want to be part of it,'" she says in her irresistible way.

Cheng’s first thoughts of entrepreneurship developed while still in high school. Besides the Internet, magazine articles about young technology wizards like Steve Wozniak, Steve Jobs, Bill Gates, Larry Page and Sergey Brin inspired her. In those articles, she also found the inspiration to read about philosophy in order to develop a deep thinking about the world and the application of technology to the real world. It is the roots of her focus on developing robots that make life nicer, easier and simpler for millions of people.

Entrepreneurship Path to Robotics
To put her inspiration to work, Cheng studied mechatronics engineering at the University of Melbourne in order to gain the practical knowledge as to how mechanics and technology fit together.

"I knew in high school I would one day have my own business, and I liked the idea of working hard and continually improving myself," she explained, with her first business a reminder service for patients taking prescription medications.

At 19 years old, she started her second business called Robogals Global, a student-run nonprofit which aims to get girls interested in engineering and technology. Supported through corporate sponsorship, Cheng initially convinced fellow university engineering students to go to schools and teach girls robotics. Robogals now has more than 30 chapters around the world.

She started Aipoly with Alberto Rizzoli and Simon Edwardsson. The Aipoly app helps blind people "see" objects through an image recognition algorithm combined with a smartphone. Hold the phone over an item, like a chair or food, and it names the item. She left that company to pursue robotics full-time.

After starting the robotic company Aubot, Cheng first developed a telepresence robot named Teleport. The robot enables people to transport themselves somewhere else and navigate through an office, home or other space, even meeting people along the way. It allows people with a disability to teleport into a workspace, elderly people to socialize, and children in hospitals to attend school. Aubot is currently working on Jeva, a robotic arm that attaches to wheelchairs or other items. She developed the idea after visiting the Australian Quadriplegic Association in Melbourne, and meeting with people at the Spinal Cord Injuries Association in Sydney and a variety of care organizations. The final product will be a robotic arm that opens doors, pours drinks, picks up phones, turns light switches on and off, picks items off shelves, and performs many other everyday activities.

Surrounded by Inspiration
How does she manage all this at such a young age?

"It is pretty lonely, so I try to surround myself with people who inspire me. The people on my team think big, do more, work harder, do better, and have a passion for technology and entrepreneurship," Cheng explained. She goes on to explain that she has learned that being a good leader means understanding that she does not have all the answers. She listens to people like the engineers and empowers people to do their tasks.

Of course, Cheng is a risk taker to a certain degree. "Taking calculated risks means being smart about how much you are willing to lose and recognizing your skill level. I knew when I started Aubot that there were a lot of skills I needed to learn. I use caution when approaching a project when I still need to learn a skill," she said. She is always working on growing her business, solving problems, overcoming challenges and developing robots.

Growing Confidence in STEM in Young Girls
As countries try to figure out how to encourage young girls to take an interest in STEM careers, Cheng offers the following advice based on her experience and the experience of women on her team.

"Young girls should be encouraged to get started on a small project, and then another small project, and so on until confidence grows in their ability to do larger projects. It makes coding, math, science and robotics interesting," she said.

She believes if more money was put into schools to teach women coding that eventually technology will become a common skill like writing. Everyone will have a great tool in their tool kit for generating creativity. Her advice to entrepreneurs who want to go from idea to reality in a business is to start with the simplest iteration and move forward as quickly as possible while remembering the importance of measuring calculated risks.

"Start with something simple and always be learning. Once you start a business, you will know what skills you already have and what skills you need to learn when starting the next business," she said.

Set goals, Cheng says. It is the way to achieve the next big thing. She should know as she proves to the world that girls cannot only code. They can start businesses that make the world more accommodating and a lot nicer place to live.

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