^ Photo by johngineer @ OHS 2011

Hi, I’m known as RobotGrrl. This is my blog where I document my various projects and share the learning process, hopefully they will be useful and inspiring to you.

I’m interested in making robots with a personality that is shown through interacting with it. The interaction aspect is the key, and with it we can really unveil how robots can become their own type of creature. Eventually, these robotic creatures will have their own robo-culture, and be able to pass stories and traditions from one robot to the next. With so many robots interconnecting together, sharing stories, and having interesting personalities- it will be a robot society!

Best of all, the technical and creative challenges of robotics are fun (when you solve them). This has lead me to become better at programming, design pcbs, and work on mechanical modelling of robots– and I’m still learning about how to be even better.

If you want to get started in robotics, check out the kit that I designed: RoboBrrd. It was funded 151% in December 2012 on IndieGogo.

Have a question, thought, or idea? Send me an email:

Interview with me by Lem from Robots Dreams about RoboBrrd and robotics in general, from RoboGames 2012.

If this looks a little discombobulated, I’m in the process of updating this with all the cool things that happened in 2012! Happy new year everyone!

Featured Activities & Accomplishments

Outreach & Activities

2011

• RoboBrrd build-a-long video series (electronics sponsored by Adafruit Industries- thanks!)
• Mentor for FIRST Robotics Competition Team 296
• Host the weekly Robot Party online broadcast

2010

• Created interactive Twitter display for the Martin Luther King Jr. Day Dinner hosted by Clarkson University
• Mentor for the FIRST Robotics Competition Team 229
• President of the Clarkson University Autonomous Robotics Club

Fall 2009

• Leader of the first annual Girl Scout Robotics activity hosted at Clarkson University
• Mentored local FIRST Lego League and FIRST Tech Challenge teams
• President of the Clarkson University Autonomous Robotics Club

Summer 2009

• Clarkson University Honors Program Summer Research (Social Robotics)
• Assistant for FLL robotic workshop at Clarkson University for teachers in St. Lawrence County
• Assistant for robotics summer camp (Grades 4-7)
• Assistant for Horizons I and II robotics activity

Spring 2009

• Mentored FIRST Robotics Competition Team 229 (through Spring 2010)

Presentations

• Sharing the Inspiration with Robot Kits! (Open Hardware Summit 2012)
• Eating Fruit – Apps for Arduino & RoboBrrd (SecondConf, September 2012
• Theming your Physical Computing Projects! (Parsons The New School for Design, NYC, September 2011)
• Recycling and mesh robots (Banff Centre presentation, Banff, Alberta, July 2011)
• Ethical Dilemmas of the 3 Laws of Robotics (Freshman Clarkson University Honors Program Class)
• Socializing a Social Robot with an Artificial Society (Poster presentation for Clarkson University’s SURE Conference in Summer 2009)
• Social Robots (PechaKucha Montreal, QC presentation, May 2009)

Honours & Awards

2012

• RoboBrrd appeared on CTV Montreal broadcast (Nov, Dec)
• Maker Faire NYC Educators Choice Award
• Maker Faire NYC Editors Choice Award (x2)
• Maker Faire Bay Area Editors Choice Award (x2)
• Cloud Robotics Hackathon – Team LIGHTNINGBOTS – Won Montreal competition & global competition
• StartupWeekend Montreal – Team EDUBOTICS – Made it through pitch fire round and delivered a final pitch

2011

• Maker Faire NYC Editors Choice Award
• Invited to & presented at international workshop on recycling pervasive media and e-waste at the Banff Centre, in Banff, Alberta
• Awarded a student scholarship to attend Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC)
• Stwutter #5 Social Networking (Paid) in Mac App Store (US, April 20)
• Won morning contest at Confoo YellowAPI HackFest
• Yelling Robot #1 Entertainment (Free) in Mac App Store (US, Jan. 6)
• Yelling Robot #11 Top Free in Mac App Store (UK, Jan. 6)

2010

• MANOI, hockey playing robot, shown on Discovery Channel
• Winner of Pi Mu Epsilon Sophomore award for Computer Science, presented at Clarkson University’s Recognition Day

2009

• MANOI, personal humanoid robot, shown on Discovery Channel
• Guest on the internet TV show: Fat Man and Circuit Girl (it’s really cool)
• Accepted into Honors Program at Clarkson University, Potsdam NY
• The Clarkson School 4.0/4.0 GPA Award

2008

• Top 10 Dvice MAKE Cylon Competition
• Certificate of Recognition For Outstanding Effort and Participation in the Regional Science Fair, Kuper Academy
• Silver Medal Finalist Bell Montreal Regional Science & Technology Fair

2007

• Gold Medal Finalist Bell Montreal Regional Science & Technology Fair
• McGill University – School of Computer Science (Robotics) Award
• Ecole Polytechnique de Montreal Award
• Track & Field Team MVP (2007 & 2006)

Features on Websites:

• IEEE Spectrum – RoboBrrd Highlight Reel: RoboBrrdalicious [link] (Dec 2011)
• NFC Rumors – NFC robot project shows the future of toys [link] (Nov 2011)
• Adafruit Industries – Make Your Own RoboBrrd! [link] (Nov 2011)
• Arduino Blog – Matatino Lets Arduino Connect To Your Mac Apps [link] (Nov 2011)
• Dangerous Prototypes – Matatino lets Arduino connect to Mac apps [link] (Nov 2011)
• Adafruit Industries – #ADA11 – Erin RobotGrrl, Robot builder and iOS & Mac developer [link] (Oct 2011)
• MAKE Blog – A RobotGrrl and Her Bots [link] (Sept 2011)
• Maker Masters – Teen Scientist shows how to control Robots with an Ipad [link] (July 2011)
• Maker Masters – Teen Roboticist Controls Robot from Ipad [link] (July 2011)
• Maker Masters – Meet RoboBrrd [link] (July 2011)
• Maker Masters – Meet Robotgrrl – Making Robots from Popsicle sticks and Arduino. [link] (July 2011)
• Adafruit Industries – Adafruit + RobotGrrl Team Up [link] (March 2011)
• Adafruit Industries – Refurbishing a Robot using Motor Shield and MintyBoost [link] (July 2010)
• MATLAB Central (Link Exchange) – Arduino to Matlab – Read in sensor data! [link] (Jan 2010)
• The Amp Hour – The Amp Hour #12 — Dave Is Back And Blogging! (they mentioned the Robot Party) [link] (Oct 2010)
• BotJunkie – Merry Christmas (Or Whatever) From BotJunkie [link] (Dec 2009)
• MAKE – Hockey playing robot looks meaner than Gretsky [link] (Nov 2008)
• DVICE – Styrobots: Stanford student bankrolls her tuition with adorable robots [link] (June 2008)
• uCHobby – RobotGrrl Styrobots Arrive! [link] (June 2008)
• Robots.net – Help Send RobotGrrl to Stanford [link] (June 2008)
• RoboJenny – Interview with RobotGrrl [link] (June 2008)
• MAKE – MAKE Flickr pool weekly roundup [link] (June 2008)
• Robots.net – Random Robot Roundup [link] (June 2008)
• Nucleus Learning – RobotGrrl [link] (June 2008)
• uCHobby – RobotGrrl needs our help! [link] (May 2008)
• MAKE – Build a BristleBot to clean up your apartment [link] (March 2008)