Ayanna has designed robots that can think for themselves. When she was at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, she worked on developing the next generation of Mars rover. Through artificial intelligence, this robot was designed to be independent-minded enough to explore the Martian terrain on its own, without having its every move programmed by a human. On a future mission to Mars, Ayanna's robot would have been able to collect and analyze data and samples that may help determine whether life ever existed on the Red Planet. Ayanna is now teaching and researching at Georgia Tech, working to discover new ways that robots can help both in space exploration and in assisting people on Earth. Inspired by the TV show “The Bionic Woman,” in which a severely injured woman attains extraordinary powers through artificial (bionic) limbs, Ayanna decided at age 11 that she wanted to create artificial limbs for people. She planned to go to medical school, but discovered she hated biology—especially dissecting frogs. Then she heard about robotics and realized that, if she became an engineer, she could do exactly what she wanted to do. Ayanna developed a math and science mentoring program for junior high school girls. She’s also volunteered as a computer tutor at a shelter for battered women. She likes traveling and going to see live jazz bands. Ayanna also loves watching science fiction movies and cartoons with her son. Watch Ayanna discuss the accuracy of robots from movies and television in this video from Insider.
