91: Save Us From Astronauts

What this episode covers

Sophi Kravitz, an electrical engineer and the 'Mythical Creature' (PR lead) for Hackaday, joins hosts Alicia and Christopher White to discuss the upcoming Hackaday Prize, which challenges participants to solve large-scale engineering problems like water conservation and solar power. Kravitz details her work on a soft robotics kit based on Harvard’s open-source toolkit, a balloon-based interactive art installation, and her recent travels to promote the prize in Chicago and at SXSW. The conversation also covers the importance of integrating marketing early in the product lifecycle, as observed at the HardwareCon startup conference, and the practical realities of designing PCBs and managing supply chains for small-batch manufacturing.