it's actually a pinout from the carnegie mellon university. the first market as i mentioned at the beginning is using it as a media for sports. we're also doing security applications, and the show has been extremely helpful or surprisingly helpful in many different applications coming out beyond the health care which we're looking at into the gaming space, into the military space, into the even aeronautics, doing everything. it's a space technology that is very interesting. >> host: what's the work that you do with the national science foundation? how much money has been put in by the nsf? >> guest: as an engineering research program, a ten-year program funded by the national science foundation, a certain amount every year. part of it's contributed, some money's contributed by the universities as matching as well as some industry partners we have that donate money to us, and we also get other funding through different grants that we write and try to continue to raise that. >> host: we've been talking with curt stone of carnegie mellon universi

we also want to talk to a student of carnegie mellon. ms. houston, what is your role at the university of houston? >> i'm a ph.d. student and a graduate student researchers. >> why are you here at the consumer electronics show? >> i am demonstrating the personal manipulation plan. >> where was this developed? >> back at the university of pittsburgh in conjunction with carnegie-mellon university. >> can you explain what this does? >> yes. one of the tasks i need it to do, i've dropped my pen, and i need to get it back to me. so i can have the hand come in and bring it to me. >> this is being operated robotically, correct? >> yes, it is. >> now, is this a product that could be on the market at some point? >> very much so. we are actually hoping it could be commercially available in the next couple years. >> it looks like it has cameras on the side here with the grippers? >> yeah, the cameras will allow someone to remotely operate this device for me. if i were not able to operate it myself via local controls. >> now, are you disabled? >> yes, i

>> guest: this was developed at at the university of pittsburgh in conjunction with carnegie mellon. >> host: can you demonstrate what this does and how it helps you? >> guest: one of the task is going to do is i drop my pen and it has picked it up and now he needed to get it back to me so i could have the hand come in and bring me the pen. can you bring it in? >> host: this is being operated robotically, is that correct? >> guest: open the grouper. yes, it is. >> host: is this a product that could be on the market at some point? >> guest: very much so. we are very much hoping to be commercially available within the next couple of years. >> host: what else does it do? it looks like it has cameras on the site along with the grippers. >> guest: the cameras allowed to remotely operate the device for me if i were not able to operate at myself via local control. >> host: are you disabled? >> guest: yes, i am. >> host: in what way? >> guest: i have multiple impairments which require me to use a power wheelchair. >> host: is his wheelchair yours or is this a demonstration? >> guest: this is