IEEE Women in Engineering Magazine - June 2008 - 39

istry inside out and backward, and I knew
right away that it inherently can't give you
those properties," Purdy says. With her
technical expertise and her undergraduate
experience in investigative experimental

and gases, and 121 internal and external
electrical cables using six miles of wire.
Purdy virtually walked the astronaut
through the highly precise installation
process. Purdy says of the astronaut she

Ground Robotics (JGR) program needed
restructuring. "They needed someone
with a management background that
knew the technology. Ground Robotics
needed to be restructured so it was more

Connection with Robots
design in mind, her boss immediately put
her in charge. "Unfortunately, several
members of the investigative team objected
to my selection as leader, their reason
being that I was a girl," says Purdy. "Of
course, you know my response was 'I'll
show you.'" Her boss kept her as lead engineer; the team isolated the problem and
offered a solution.
From TARDEC, Purdy participated in
an executive leadership program that landed her a developmental assignment at
Army headquarters in the Pentagon, working on computer simulation and modeling.
Purdy's responsibilities led her to work
with diverse clients including Disney Imagineering and NASA. Purdy used simulation
to help her design virtual environments "so
that our soldiers could train in environments that would be like the real thing."
She also worked with NASA on practicing
the installation of pieces of the International Space Station that connects the Russianbuilt Zarya Control Module to the Unity
Node. The Unity Node is a connecting passageway to the space station's living and
work areas and contains more than 50,000
mechanical items, 216 lines to carry fluids

assisted, "She had half an inch on each side
to install it and a gazillion, million dollars
worth of damage if it wasn't right."

Cutting Edge Simulation
Her boss at headquarters knew that the
Army's Future Combat Systems (FCS)
program would benefit from cutting-edge
simulation technology. "He said to me,
'You need to go work on that program.
FCS has a lot of robots in it,'" Purdy says.
Her simulation experience made her a
natural candidate. "I was the test 'modeling-simulation guy.' I got to work on
every single platform." Purdy worked on a
variety of assignments for five years until
her next developmental assignment at the
Office of the Under Secretary of Defense
(OSD) for Acquisition, Technology, and
Logistics. She had been at OSD only a few
months when, she says, "The Deputy for
Land Warfare and Munitions asked if I
would be interested in working ground
robotics for the entire department. It was
too good an offer to pass up."
With an engineering management
degree from The George Washington
University, Purdy could see that the Joint

balanced between technology push and
requirements pull," says Purdy. "Because
there are always more good ideas than we
have funding, I try very hard to ensure we
are only pursuing those robotic technologies that meet our highest priority needs
at lowest risk." Her position as enterprise
director allows her to match up technology with military needs such as disarming
mines and improvised explosive devices
(IEDs) and exploring tunnels without
using military personnel.
New technology that JGR is exploring
is the Battlefield Extraction Assist Robot
(BEAR) designed by Vecna Technologies
Inc. The BEAR is designed to rescue
wounded troops and reduce the risk to
medics attempting to treat soldiers on the
battlefield. "Today many of our casualties
are from trying to rescue wounded soldiers. Not only do we lose the originally
injured soldier, but the ones who tried to
rescue their downed colleague." For
Purdy, developing the robotics technology
is as much a personal mission as a professional one. Purdy's uncle was killed while
exploring a tunnel in Vietnam. "We are
fast approaching a time where we won't

PHOTOS COURTESY OF IROBOT CORP., VECNA TECHNOLOGIES, INC., AND FOSTER-MILLER, INC.

(a)

(b)

(c)

(d)

(e)

Robots in action: (a) iRobot PackBot, (b) Battlefield Extraction Assist Robot, (c) a TALON robot in Mosul, Iraq, (d) the first
place Johnny-5 robot at the Autonomous Challenge during the 15th Annual Intelligent Ground Vehicle Competition,
and (e) a competitor in the Intelligent Ground Vehicle Competition.
SUMMER 2008

IEEE WOMEN IN ENGINEERING MAGAZINE

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of IEEE Women in Engineering Magazine - June 2008