IEEE WOMEN IN ENGINEERING MAGAZINE JUNE 2009 20 1942-065X/09/$25.00©2009IEEE

BY NANCY SALIM

Digital Object Identifier 10.1109/MWE.2009.000000

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BY NANCY SALIM

Digital Object Identifier 10.1109/MWIE.2009.933445

Changing the World, One Robot at a Time W

Whoever thought that one day there would be a robot to help children with physical disabilities? Corrina Lathan developed a robot that motivates children with physical disabilities. CosmoBot is teaching children with speech, language, and other developmental disabilities how to express themselves. Built to withstand active play, Cos-moBot looks like a spunky sidekick from a science fiction movie, with fully mobile appendages, motorized wheels beneath its feet, and a mouth that moves. The robot cap-tures attention by mimicking a child’s movements and its voice and can guide the child through educational and therapeutic activities under the direction of a therapist. A user controls CosmoBot with wearable sensors, by voice

or with a mission control station, depending on the therapy. The machine is also wired to accept up-

dated software and inputs from the Internet. The robot has three modes a therapist can activate. In the Live Play mode, CosmoBot responds im-mediately to controls or input. For example, a physical therapist will ask a child to cause the

robot to raise its left arm by having the child raise his or her own left arm.The robot was developed with support from the

National Science Foundation’s (NSF) Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Program and the Depart-ment of Education’s Rehabilitation Engineering Research Center (RERC) on Telerehabilitation. The SBIR program is a set-aside program for federal agencies that devotes 2.5% of their extramural budget to domestic, small-busi-ness concerns for research or research and development efforts that have the potential for commercialization. By providing grant money, and not a loan or equity that must be repaid, the program provides financial support to small businesses with innovative ideas.

Lathan’s background includes extensive research, teaching and consulting in the areas of biomedical and human performance engineering, human factors, and education. Prior to founding her company, AnthroTronix, a human factors engineering firm, she was an associ-ate professor of biomedical engineering at The Catho-

Corrina Lathan

PHOTO COURTESY OF CORRINA LATHAN

ENGINEER AND ENTREPRENEUR ENHANCES HUMAN PERFORMANCE THROUGH TECHNOLOGY

PHOTO COURTESY OF ANTHROTRONIX

JUNE 2009 IEEE WOMEN IN ENGINEERING MAGAZINE 21

lic University of America, Washington, D.C. Lathan is also an adjunct associ-ate professor of aerospace engineering at the University of Maryland, College Park, and a consultant to the National Rehabilitation Hospital in Washington, D.C., which specializes in treating per-sons with physical disabilities caused by spinal cord and head injuries, stroke, arthritis, amputation, multiple sclerosis, post-polio syndrome and other neuro-logical and orthopedic conditions.

Lathan was named a Young Global Leader in 2006 by the Forum of Young Global Leaders, an affiliate of the World Economic Forum. Her leadership of AnthroTronix also earned the company the honor of being named a Technology Pioneer by the World Economic Forum in 2004 and a 2005 San Jose Tech Muse-um Awards Laureate. Lathan was named Maryland’s 2002 Top Innovator of the Year, tapped as one of Technology Maga-zine’s Top 100 World Innovators Under the age of 25, and awarded the Women in Technology Leadership Award for Entrepreneurship.

She earned her bachelor’s degree in biopsychology and mathematics from Swarthmore College, in Swarthmore, Pennsylvania, and her doctorate degree in neuroscience from Massachusetts Insti-tute of Technology (MIT), in Cambridge.

Q: Tell us about yourself—your dreams and passions.

A: I wanted to be a ballerina until I was seven years old and then I decided I wanted to be an astronaut instead. I’m still working on that. In the meantime I have been fascinated with human per-formance. I don’t mean the extremes of human performance, I mean all of our ability to adapt to challenging situ-ations specifically using technology. We are great inventors of tools and technol-ogy that enable us to live better lives. A piece of that is exploration and enabling humans to live and work in space. My work in graduate school was looking at how space affects aspects of our func-

tioning and then thinking about how to counteract those changes if needed.

Now I’m the board chair and chief executive officer of AnthroTronix, Inc., a human factors engineering company, which I founded in 1999. I work with a team of mechanical, software, and bio-medical engineers developing robotic and computer-based technology for use in defense, homeland security, search and rescue, law enforcement, emergency response, and other security domains. Prior to starting AnthroTronix, I was a professor of biomedical engineering and worked closely with the National Reha-bilitation Hospital. I was taken aback at the lack of technology for children with disabilities. To meet that need I founded a subsidiary company to AnthroTronix called AT KidSystems, which created Cosmo’s Learning Systems, an alterna-tive computer interface and educational software for children with disabilities.

Q: Why did you choose to work as a ro-botics engineer? How did you start An-throTronix, Inc.? How did it become one of the best successes of the incubation program at the University of Maryland, which provides funding support, exper-tise, resources, and infrastructure to re-gional entrepreneurs?

A: I started AnthroTronix with one grant from the Department of Education and one from DARPA (Defense Advanced Research Project Agency). Both grants were to look at bioinstrumentation of the human hand to control technology. In the first case, it was to help children with disabilities use a computer. In the second case, it was to help a soldier control a robot. Both cases involve a person in a challenging environment whose task can be enabled by technology. These examples reflect our company vision, which is to create human-centered technology.

There were several reasons the incu-bator worked for us and many others. One of the biggest reasons was that it provided infrastructure that would have been very difficult to afford. I am refer-

ring to the most basic of needs such as space, phones, and the Internet. Another reason is that the academic environ-ment provided us with a community that helped generate and nurture new ideas.

Q: You are actively involved in educa-tional outreach programs that empower women and minorities in science and technology. As founder of Keys to Em-powering Youth, a motivational program that brings 11–13 year old girls together with MIT women students to participate in workshops held periodically through-out the school year and once over the summer. You’re also an advisor for FIRST, Inc., a not-for-profit public charity that designs programs that motivate young people to pursue education and career opportunities in science, technology, en-gineering, and math (STEM). How does it make you feel to know you’ve made a positive difference in the lives of others?

A: The best way to explain it is to borrow a phrase from the wonderful Montessori School my children attend—the oneness family school. Oneness is dedicated to world peace and personal excellence and strives to build a culture of connectedness. In other words, every-thing we do has an impact and connects us to others around the world. An aware-ness of this will hopefully inspire each of us to make the world a better place in our own way.

Q: What are your hobbies?A: I enjoy spending time with my

family. My husband and I have a daugh-

Lathan started AnthroTronics with grants from the U.S Department of Education and DARPA.

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IEEE WOMEN IN ENGINEERING MAGAZINE JUNE 2009 22

ter and a son, two dogs, and three cats. I enjoy camp-ing, hiking, and trav-eling and just recently returned from a family vacation in France. We are also very involved in the Interracial Family Circle—a support network for interracial children.

Q: What advice do you have for a young woman considering an engineering education?

A: Be clear about your goal and stay committed. Open your mind to seeing the possibilities in any given situation. You may see a need or a problem in a situation to which you have a solution.

Q: What do you like most about being an engineer?

A: I get to meet and work with a lot of great people from

all over the world. Learning about the

newest discoveries and creations by other engineers

is fascinating. There is always some new idea being borne that will help humanity and being involved in this is exciting.

Q: What are the top three challenges you have faced being a woman engineer? How have you overcome these challenges? What are the top three best things about being a women engineer?

A: The top three challenges and the three best things about being an engi-neer are the same. First, you stand out in a crowd, second, you are held to a higher standard of performance than men, and

third, you have a responsibility to pro-mote the STEM fields to young women and girls. Standing out gets you and your ideas noticed, and we should all be held to a high standard of performance. And I have always taken the role of mentor seriously. When I was a grad student, I found Keys to Empowering Youth.

Q: What are your personal and profes-sional goals for 2009?

A: I love to travel so I’d like to take my family on a few travel adventures. Also, I’d like to do more camping. Pro-fessionally, I’d like to take my company to a new level, possibly through finding a major strategic partner.

—Nancy Salim is a freelance writ-er and a regular contributor to IEEE Women in Engineering Magazine.

Open your mind to seeing the possibilities in any

given situation. You may see a need or a

problem to which you have a solution.

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