Marita Cheng

Marita Cheng has spent her career building robots - and has seen firsthand how difficult it is to move from impressive demos to real-world deployment. For decades, robotics struggled with reliability, cost, and scale, leaving most systems stuck in controlled environments. In this talk, she shares a behind-the-scenes perspective on why robotics lagged for so long, what has fundamentally changed with the rise of modern AI, and what it actually takes to deploy robots in the real world. Drawing on her experience across engineering, product, and commercialization, Marita offers a practical, no-hype view of how AI is finally enabling robotics to transition from lab experiments to systems that create real economic impact.

Key Takeaways:

• Why the gap between a working prototype and a scalable product is the hardest problem in robotics
• What recent advances in AI have changed - and why this moment is different from past hype cycles
• The real path forward: how the industry moves from one working robot to millions deployed globally
  

What comes to mind when you think of a robot? For many, it's still science fiction - humanoids from movies or futuristic assistants that don't yet exist. But the reality is both more practical and more interesting. Robots are already working alongside us - in factories, hospitals, warehouses, and increasingly in everyday environments - often out of sight.

In this talk, Forbes 30 Under 30 robotics founder Marita Cheng shares a grounded look at where robotics actually stands today. Drawing on her experience building and deploying robots through Aubot, she explores the systems already creating real impact, the challenges that have slowed progress, and how advances in AI are changing what's possible. From behind-the-scenes automation to robots designed to support people in daily life, this talk examines what's here now, what's coming next, and what it will take before truly general-purpose robots become part of everyday life.

Key Takeaways:

• Where robots are already creating real-world value today - and why most of them are invisible to the public
• What has historically held robotics back - and how recent advances in AI are changing the trajectory
• What it will take for robots to move from specialized tools to general-purpose systems in everyday life
  

AI isn't just writing emails and generating images anymore - it's learning to move. It's guiding autonomous vehicles through city streets, enabling humanoid robots to manipulate objects they've never seen before, and powering systems that can perceive, reason, and act in the physical world. Marita Cheng co-founded Aipoly, which used neural networks to help blind users identify objects in real time - winning Best of Innovation at CES in 2017 and 2018 - and went on to found Aubot, where AI meets hardware and leaves the lab. Marita walks you through what's genuinely working in AI today, what's coming next, and what happens when artificial intelligence stops being software on a screen and starts operating in physical space.

Key Takeaways:

• AI is no longer confined to screens - it's moving, acting, and interacting in the physical world
• Real-world robotics success requires combining AI with hardware, data, and human-centered design
• The next phase of AI will redefine industries as machines go from observing to actively doing

These are actual headlines from national Australian newspapers. Learn how Marita Cheng went from a small-town girl living in government housing to conquering the globe as one of Forbes Top 50 Women in Tech and the second youngest person to become a Member of the Order of Australia. Noticing the limited number of girls in her engineering class, at just 19, Marita founded Robogals to inspire girls into robotics, growing it into an international movement. She then co-founded Aipoly, an AI company helping blind users identify objects in real time, which resonated with millions worldwide. And with Aubot, she’s building robots that assist people in their everyday lives. Hold on tight as powerhouse Marita shares how she’s changing the world.

Key Takeaways:

• The only failure is failure to try
• You don’t need to be perfect to make a difference
• Choose yourself

Marita Cheng has done it three times. At 19, she started Robogals from her university dorm room - it grew to 4,000 volunteers in 13 countries, teaching 140,000 girls robotics. She co-founded Aipoly, reaching blind users worldwide. And she founded Aubot, deploying robots in hospitals and workplaces across the country. How does the same person keep turning ideas into global enterprises? Learn the practical frameworks Marita uses - 3-Month Goals to create momentum, Accountability Buddies to stay on track, the Wall of Change to visualise progress, and the Uncomfortable Zone to push past the point where most people stop. Figure out how you too can go from zero to "how did I just do that?"

Key Takeaways:

• A repeatable framework - 3-Month Goals, Accountability Buddies, and the Wall of Change - to get any project off the ground
• How to push through the Uncomfortable Zone, where most ideas stall and die
• Real examples of these systems being used to build three global ventures from nothing

How do you lead 4,000 people who don't report to you, aren't getting paid, and can quit at any moment? That was Marita Cheng's reality as the founding CEO of Robogals. From her laptop, she built and managed volunteer teams across the USA, Australia, the UK, Japan, and New Zealand - inspiring them to teach 140,000 girls robotics in 13 countries. No budget. No playbook. No direct authority. Marita shares what she learned about leading when you can't rely on titles, salaries, or org charts. How do you motivate people to work towards a common goal?  How do you create community when your team is isolated from one another?  How do you get thousands to follow when you have no formal authority?

Key Takeaways:

• Creating community around a common vision
• Design systems and habits that keep team members engaged, productive, and aligned with your mission
• Frontloading asynchronous communication: freeing yourself for big-picture work while your team keeps moving toward the goal

When Marita first entered her engineering classes, she thought, "where are all the girls?" And so in her second year at university, she decided to do something about it. She founded Robogals to get girls interested in engineering and technology careers and tertiary studies by going to schools with robots and teaching girls how to build and program them. Now, the organization has taught over 100,000 girls in 11 countries. Awarded a prestigious Churchill Fellowship to study "strategies to get girls interested in engineering", Marita shares insights from the USA, Canada, the UK, Germany, Jamaica, Japan and Australia on getting girls excited about engineering and giving them the tools to take on any challenge. For her work with Robogals, Marita received the Anita Borg Change Agent Award, Global Engineering Deans Council Diversity Award, and was named the Young Australian of the Year.

Key Takeaways:

• Evidence-based strategies from seven countries on what actually works to get girls into STEM
• It can start with me - How one person taking initiative can spark change that grows into something much bigger
• It doesn’t take confidence, it just takes action