Marita Cheng

Business Name: 2Mar Robotics

Age: 24

State: Victoria

Marita Cheng has been passionate about robotics for a long time.

Even as a child, the founder and chief executive of 2Mar Robotics would think about how cool it would be if she had a robot to help her with chores around the house.

Now Cheng, last year’s Young Australian of the Year for her work establishing Robogals Global and encouraging girls to study engineering, is rapidly making her childhood dream a reality.

2Mar Robotics is building a voice-controlled robotic arm to help quadriplegics with tasks such as picking up a drink or pressing a pedestrian crossing button to cross the street.

So far they’ve secured $100,000 worth of orders and plan to ship next year.

“Eventually I want to make robots that are accessible to consumers, that are useable for consumers in their everyday lives,” she says.

Cheng, who’s studying a double degree in mechatronics and computer science at the University of Melbourne, says she was inspired to create a robotics company after seeing others being formed in garages by people who’d dropped out of university.

“I thought if they can, I can too,” she says.

2Mar Robotics is part of the Melbourne Accelerator Program through Melbourne University.

Cheng says the advice she has for other young entrepreneurs is to believe in themselves.

“Even if other people don’t believe in you, it doesn’t matter as long as you believe in yourself.”

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