Samantha Joanne Payne MBE is an English entrepreneur. The co-founder of Open Bionics, a bionics company developing affordable prosthetics for children,[1] Payne has won a number of international awards for her work. These include the MIT Technology Review 'Innovators under 35' in 2018,[2] James Dyson gong for innovative engineering[1] and Wired Innovation Fellow in 2016.[3] In the Queen's Birthday Honours list 2020, Payne was awarded an MBE, for her work making bionic technology more accessible.[4]

Early life and education

Born and raised in Knowle West, outside of Bristol, England.[5] Payne is a graduate of Whitworth University and has a Bachelor of Arts/Science.[6]

Career

She worked as a journalist, specialising in technology before becoming a co-founder of Open Bionics.[7] In 2013, whilst working as a journalist, Payne interviewed Joel Gibbard, who was a robotics graduate at the time.[1] Gibbard and Payne later became business partners and co-founders of Open Bionics.[1]

Payne and Gibbard founded Open Bionics in 2014.[1] The start-up was initially based at the Technology Business Incubator at Bristol Robotics Laboratory.[8] The aim of the company was to develop "affordable, assistive devices that enhance the human body."[4]

Open Bionics has partnered with Disney to make prosthetics based on Disney characters for children.[4]

Her work at Open Bionics has been featured in The Guardian [1] and Daily Mirror.[9]

Innovation

Open Bionics uses 3D scanning to take the initial prosthetic fitting and 3D printing to improve the prosthetic design.[1] These innovations significantly reduce the build-time and the material costs for a personalised hand, making prosthetics more affordable for amputees.[1] Payne estimates that, if bought from private providers, bionic hands with multi-grip functionality cost up to £60,000, compared to £5,000 from Open Bionics.[1]

Awards and recognition

In 2015, Payne was shortlisted for Women in Business 'Young Entrepreneur of The Year' award.[8] In 2018, Payne featured on the Forbes 30 Under 30 list in the Sciences and Healthcare category.[10]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Sheppard, Emma (3 May 2017). "The entrepreneur behind a revolutionary 3D-printed robotic hand". Guardian. Guardian. Retrieved 3 May 2017.
  2. ↑ "Artificial intelligence & robotics - Samantha Payne". MIT Technology Review. MIT.
  3. ↑ "WIRED2016: Innovation Fellows". Wired Magazine. Wired. 4 November 2016. Retrieved 4 November 2016.
  4. 1 2 3 Baker, Hannah (13 October 2020). "Bristol entrepreneurs recognised in Queen's Birthday Honours 2020". Business Live. Retrieved 10 March 2021.
  5. ↑ "Toyota presents: Driven - The story of Samantha Payne". Toyota EU (Video). Retrieved 8 March 2023.
  6. ↑ "Samantha Payne". Forbes. Retrieved 10 March 2021.
  7. ↑ "Samantha Payne | Innovators Under 35". www.innovatorsunder35.com. Retrieved 10 March 2021.
  8. 1 2 "Samantha Payne of Open Bionics shortlisted for 'Women in Business Awards' - UWE Bristol: News Releases". info.uwe.ac.uk. Retrieved 10 March 2021.
  9. ↑ "Bionic gran who lost all four limbs 'gets her life back' thanks to 3D printed robotic arm". Mirror Online. The Mirror. 20 October 2018. Retrieved 20 October 2018.
  10. ↑ "30 Under 30 Europe 2018: Science & Healthcare". Forbes. Retrieved 10 March 2021.


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