Beam Stories: CSEE student Kavita Krishnaswamy
Attends events & conferences using a Beam telepresence robot
Kavita Krishnaswamy is a Ph.D. candidate in Computer Science at UMBC working with Dr. Tim Oates. She is both a Ford Foundation Predoctoral and National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellow. She has also worked at the National Science Foundation’s Engineering Research Center - Quality of Life Technology Center (QoLT) in Carnegie Mellon and University of Pittsburgh and IBM Business consulting services.
As a professional researcher with a severe physical disability, Kavita is motivated by a powerful, innate force: autonomy is the soul of independent daily living that is achieved with the advancement of technology. Her research involves the development of robotic systems to provide assistance and increase independence for people with disabilities. She is developing several prototype robotic systems that will support transferring, repositioning, and personal care, with a focus on accessible user interfaces for control that are feasible for persons with severe disabilities.
Kavita attends many events and conferences with the Beam, by Suitable Technologies, allowing her independence and mobility to meet, learn, and network with professionals all over the world. The Beam gives her independence to be visible in the community to explore and expand technological boundaries from her home.
Suitable Technologies thanks Kavita for sharing her story.