Help Send RobotGrrl to Stanford

Posted 1 Jun 2008 at 20:35 UTC by steve

Robots.net reader Erin (aka RobotGrrl) writes, I'm currently in Grade 11, and for the summer I have been accepted into a Stanford EPGY Artificial Intelligence program. I extremely want to go, especially since I created a program for Mac OS 10.5 called 'Robbie the Robot' that can have a conversation with you, vocally. Imagine if it could be artificially intelligent, and one could apply different levels of vocabulary and it could algorithmically learn, similar to a child. This is where I need some help, as the tuition for this program is expensive. So, I created Styrobots. Styrobots are tiny and cute styrofoam cups that move around and jiggles its eyes. They use a vibrating DC motor and a 3V battery. The styrofoam cup is hand painted, too! They sell for $20, which allows me to make a profit to put towards this tuition. RobotGrrl needs to raise $3700 to pay for tuition and books, so go buy a Styrobot and help send her to Stanford. What is a Styrobot? It's a bristlebot with a handpainted styrofoam exoskeleton. See her YouTube video of a Styrobot doing its thing. Pretty cool. Even if you don't want to buy a Styrobot, consider sending her a PayPal donation from the link on her homepage.

Excited about supporting RobotGrrl; Buy Her Styrobots!, posted 2 Jun 2008 at 16:42 UTC by jlin » (Master)

Congratulations to Erin for not only applying and being accepted into the program, but also having the initiative to get hands-on experience with robotics. I have a soft-spot myself for people interested in the software-side of robotics, another one for pre-college students who create their own robots, and yet another one for high school girls interested in robotics. RobotGrrl has turned me into a pile of mush, being a combination of the all three. I simply love that she is selling her self-made robots to raise money for her trip to a summer education program on robotics.

IMHO, a very worthy cause to support. Thanks for posting and giving me and opportunity to assist her.

Stanford, posted 2 Jun 2008 at 17:39 UTC by Rog-a-matic » (Master)

Many of us will live precariously through you on your journey to Stanford. Good luck!

Hot Item - Sold Out!, posted 2 Jun 2008 at 18:31 UTC by The Swirling Brain » (Master)

Wow, I looked on Etsy and all the Styrobots are already sold out! Way to go RobotGrrl!

Update, posted 5 Jun 2008 at 16:20 UTC by steve » (Master)

Standford is helping out RobotGrrl too - they've granted her a $1500 scholarship and pushed the deadline back to June 13th. That leaves her only about $1200 short of her goal.