UMBC robotics student invents help for those with disabilities like hers
From: Baltimore Sun - 09/15/2017
By: Jonathan M. Pitts

Kavita Krishnaswamy had labored through a decade of coursework in math and
computer sciences to achieve a perfect 4.0 grade-point average. The
University of Maryland, Baltimore County graduate student had invented
robotic devices that are discussed around the world. She'd spent three years
narrowing the focus of her doctoral dissertation.

But when the day arrived to defend her dissertation proposal before the panel
of senior academics who would allow her to proceed, she never showed up. She
sent her robot.

Krishnaswamy designs robotic devices to allow severely disabled people to
move their arms and legs simply by moving a computer trackball, speaking, or
changing their facial expressions. She is pursuing a doctorate in computer
science.

Read the entire article and view a video (1:14) at:
http://www.baltimoresun.com/health/bs-hs-kavita-robotics-20170829-story.html

Submitted by Brianna Blaser

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University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC) graduate student Kavita
Krishnaswamy designs robots as assistants for people afflicted with spinal
muscular atrophy, a genetic disorder she suffers from. Her personal robot,
the Beam, is a wheeled telecasting robot she operates remotely from 16 miles
away so she can participate in classes and lectures. Krishnaswamy's devices
enable people with disabilities to move their limbs by manipulating a
computer trackball, speaking, or shifting facial expressions. She has tapped
her expertise in artificial intelligence and software design to invent, via
simulation, 10 robotic assistants so far. The robots have been built by UMBC
engineering students following her specifications. For her doctoral project,
Krishnaswamy is collaborating with University of Washington professor Maya
Cakmak on developing low-fidelity interfaces that can control a
multifunctional robot to help people with disabilities perform various tasks,
such as feeding themselves or brushing their teeth, via a mouse or vocal
commands.