“I work in robotics and artificial intelligence. We build robots that will help the world.” As introductions – or elevator spaces – go, it is particularly strong.
This is how Nia Jetter, senior main technologist for Amazon, answers technology robotics, the question: What do you do?
Jetter is an engineer who has been recognized throughout her career for her implementation in the autonomous system so that her confidence is earned. Her goals extend beyond developing new algorithms and includes the lowering of barriers to understanding technology and cultivating a more different workforce.
“At Amazon, I am working on laying a foundation for how we build cooperative autonomous systems safely across our robotic platforms,” notes Jett. “I am also working to see a researcher in ways to architect and develop security -critical autonomous systems in a way that can be verified while utilizing techniques such as machine learning.”
Jetter’s work is centered on improving the components of Amazon’s delivery operations by focusing on embedding best practices in the design process. She believes that automation, achieved with artificial intelligence and next generation robots, can delve improvements to both Amazon employees and customers.
“People want their packages quickly, including me,” she says with a laugh. “So when you look at our fulfillment centers, I’m extremely passionate about: What is like we can help my colleagues work there? How can we help our customers?”
To this end, Jet analyzes with other researchers and engineers in her organization activities that can be more easily achieved with robots. To support this work, her team and others across Amazon collaborated with a number of universities, the University of Washington. Jetter sits on the advisory board of the UW-Amazon Science Hub and also serves as an Amazon Research connection connection.
“We are working to develop solutions to challenges that face more industries and are working to do it in a scalable way by development in a way that modularity supports. There is a lot of room for innovation in safe car, AI and robotics,” she said. “I am passionate about pursuing research that can be inserted into the product in that room.”
An early love to learn
Jett showed engineering talent from a young age.
As a second grade, she could find scrap -insulated cord at the base of auxiliary poliers, and would save quarters that her grandfather has given her to small duties to buy LEDs, pears and batteries from Radioshack. Her father, an email transporter, would help her find books that explained electrical circuits. While in elementary school, she used a piece of foam core and her radioshack to create an Illumina Valentines Day card for her science teacher.
Her path switched to computer programming while she was still in primary school. She took a computer class and said her interest was immediately obed. She started spending her extra moments in the computer room writing programs on Hypercard, soon followed by Fortran, Pascal and C.
“I loved programming in school,” she says. “I would go to my lunch time and stay after school. When I look back while at the time I did not think about it as something I would do for a career, I am aware that I was good at it.”
In high school, she receives a letter from MIT, encourages her to apply for my introduction to the Technology, Technology and Science program (mites). At that time, the program took 50 high school students and Busht them to campus to take intense science and engineering classes and to make them familiar with the institute.
He didn’t see a black girl who was good at math. He saw me with mathematician. It meant the world to me.
Jetter said that the size of the potential life -changing option was not an imicue obvious to her, namely because she had never heard of mine. “A little bit I realized that this letter, waiting for the MITES program, would be a meaningful part of my origin story as an engineer,” she noted.
Her experience with mites led directly to enrollment to MIT. She was intended to study biokian technique, but when she was an exhibition for more advanced math and computer science classes and found out she loved them. Her career path was set when in her second year she took an artificial intelligence class with the late Patrick Henry Winston, her future mentor and then director of my Artificial Intelligence Laboratory.
“There are more points on my journey where I met people who saw more in me than I saw in Myyself, people who filled a gap for me through exploitation to what was possible. Professor Winston saw me as a scientist and a mathematician first and encouraged me to push the cover and be all I CLD.
“He didn’t see a black girl who was good at math. He saw me a mathematician. That meant the world to me,” says Throw.
At Lifelong Science Fiction -Fan, Jetter also put his views on working for NASA. Shell there for three summers.
“When I was the atmospheric experience team, I recognized that their algorithms could be improved. I’m not sure they took the proposal from an intern, but I wrote a paper explaining what I saw and I gave it to the department head,” she remembered. “The next Monday he came into the office and asked me to get started.
“What I learned from my NASA practice places was the value of being a mathematician or computer scientist.
Prior to her exam from MIT in 2000, a chance to encourage to encourage in recruits from Hughes Space and Communications (acquired in October 2000 by Boeing) her to work there on a project involving automated controls. Although she had some early challenges, she quickly realized that she could solve them by drawing on her own experiences.
“I derived mathematical models, and eventually I was asked to ‘derive the winnings for the controller.’ At that time, I had no idea what it meant.
In milestone at least
In 2013, her work in Boeing led her to be honored as Boeing Associate Technical Fellow – the first level of the technical scholarship. At the Boeing plant in El Segundo, California, in what is “Hall of Flags”, there is a wall with photos of Boeing technical fellows.
“From when I first saw the wall, I knew my face one day would be on it. I will never forget the day I went down the hall and my photo was up! I was the first black woman with my face on the wall of my place. When I first saw it on the wall, it really stood out.”
By 2020, it took to throw what she admitted was a tough decision. “I decided to leave the space to innovate faster and see the fruits of innovation before.” She knew that such opportunities existed with Amazon and joined the company in January 2021 to work with the Robotics team.
“While I thought I was making a decision to leave aerospace, I actually made a decision to expand my expertise in Autoomy and AI. As much of the work I do now is activated by my space foundation. What excites me about robotics and artificial intelligence really changes the game, changes how we do things for a further set of customers,” Throw said.
Blazing a trail
As a leader in AI and Robotics, Jetter Macy People is approaching her with an interest in pursuing a similar path and asking where they can emulate her. Many of those approaching her have what is for her a familiar experience: a lack of exposure.
“This has inspired me because I am often approved by people who clearly have fitness but do not have a leg exhibition for a mechanism – including tools they need to move down the path. Sometimes they just need exhibition to people who look like them. Building a solid technical foundation when mentoring I focus on exhibition, encouragement and help people see things that they may not see themselves.”
It is also the reason why diversity matters to people who solve complex science and technical problems. If you have different perspectives in the room, you can reach the optimal solution for the target customer faster.
To make access barriers, Kast gives time to give guidance to others. She does this in a number of ways, included small group mentoring sessions, which she calls “Shades of Tech”. In addition, this year, Jetter speared Amazon in the city’s responsible AI panel with the support of Amazon’s inclusive experiences and technology teams. The event together has “leaders from and outside Amazon to share perspectives on the importance of justice in tech, as AI-based technology has been developed and implemented.”
Along with Jetter, wait heard from Nashlie Sephus, Main AI/ML Evangelist with Amazon Web Services; Chad Jenkins, Associate President of Bachelor Studies and Professor of Robotics at the University of Michigan; And Nii Simmonds, non-resident fellow at the Center for Global Development. Panelists talked about responsible AI and the impact of diversity in the workforce.
Jetter drew her own experiences with past past when she was considering the initiative.
“There are certain types of optimization algorithms where, when you optimize, you come to a point where you actually converge on a local solution, as opposed to the global solution. And to get to the global solution, you actually have to inject variation – you need to inject diversity.
“It is also the reason why diversity matters to people who solve complex science and technical problems. If you have different perspectives in the room, you can reach the optimal solution for the goal customer faster.
What is artificial intelligence?
In another effort to expand access, Jetter created a series of YouTube videos explaining automation and artificial intelligence called “Thinque bytes.”
“I feel very lucky to be where I am Tougay. I will give exposure to activating as many people as possible who may not have easy access to knowledge and technology to learn and eventually influence these areas.”