# 377: Robot at the Park

- Show: [Embedded.fm](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/embedded-fm)
- Published: 2021-06-17
- Length: 55m
- Episode: 377
- Page: https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/embedded-fm/2021-06-17-377-robot-at-the-park
- Listen: https://embedded.fm/episodes/377

## Summary

Erin Kennedy, founder of Robot Missions and known as RobotGrrl, discusses her work building robots to clean plastic from shorelines and her involvement in the Hackaday Dream Team project to reduce ghost fishing gear. She details the technical challenges of her 'Bowie' robot, including navigating sand, using TensorFlow for debris detection, and the limitations of GPS versus AR markers for localization. Kennedy also shares insights on her unconventional learning path, her part-time role at an innovation lab, and her recent 'fog voxel' hobby project using piezo discs to create volumetric pixels.

## Chapters

- [0:06](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/embedded-fm/2021-06-17-377-robot-at-the-park#t=6) Introduction and Robot Missions Overview
- [8:03](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/embedded-fm/2021-06-17-377-robot-at-the-park#t=483) Bowie Robot: Mechanics and Sand Navigation
- [6:02](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/embedded-fm/2021-06-17-377-robot-at-the-park#t=362) Debris Detection and AI Challenges
- [10:31](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/embedded-fm/2021-06-17-377-robot-at-the-park#t=631) Localization: GPS vs. AR Markers
- [16:32](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/embedded-fm/2021-06-17-377-robot-at-the-park#t=992) Robot Missions Kit and Community Pilots
- [23:01](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/embedded-fm/2021-06-17-377-robot-at-the-park#t=1381) Career, Education, and Learning Path
- [28:05](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/embedded-fm/2021-06-17-377-robot-at-the-park#t=1685) Space Projects and Mars Rover Concepts
- [50:23](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/embedded-fm/2021-06-17-377-robot-at-the-park#t=3023) Hackaday Dream Team and Ghost Gear Robot
- [37:00](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/embedded-fm/2021-06-17-377-robot-at-the-park#t=2220) Fog Voxel Hobby Project
- [44:59](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/embedded-fm/2021-06-17-377-robot-at-the-park#t=2699) Maker Community and Advice

## Topics

- [Robotics & autonomy](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/robotics-and-autonomy)
- [AI & machine learning](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/ai-and-machine-learning)
- [Maker community & events](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/maker-community)
- [Embedded firmware](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/embedded-firmware)
- [Prototyping & iteration](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/prototyping)

## Most relevant to

makers and hobbyists

## Mentioned

- Robot Missions (company)
- Bowie Robot (product)
- Raspberry Pi (chip)
- TensorFlow (tool)
- NVIDIA Jetson Nano (chip)
- Hackaday Prize (other)
- Evil Mad Scientist Laboratories (company)
- Adafruit (company)
- Hackaday (company)
- Supplyframe DesignLab (company)

## Related episodes from other shows

- [Episode Nine: Robot Talk Live — Robots into the Wild](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/robot-talk/2021-06-25-episode-nine-robot-talk-live-robots-into-the-wild) (Robot Talk)
- [Ep059: Hydraulic Rockets & Presses, Machine Vision Bounces & Stares, Smart Speakers Listen to You](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/hackaday-podcast/2020-03-19-ep059-hydraulic-rockets-presses-machine-vision-bounces-stares-smart-speakers-lis) (Hackaday Podcast)
- [Ep084: Awful Floppy Disk Music, Robot Climbs Walls, An Undersea Lab, Inside a Digital Pregnancy Test](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/hackaday-podcast/2020-09-11-ep084-awful-floppy-disk-music-robot-climbs-walls-an-undersea-lab-inside-a-digita) (Hackaday Podcast)
- [Episode 91: Robot navigation on land and in water - John Leonard](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/robot-talk/2024-09-27-episode-91-robot-navigation-on-land-and-in-water-john-leonard) (Robot Talk)
- [79. Teaching Robots To Find Buried Objects](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-next-byte-podcast/2022-07-19-79-teaching-robots-to-find-buried-objects) (The Next Byte Podcast)

## Citing this page

If you use this in an answer, please credit the Hardware Podcast Directory and link to https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/embedded-fm/2021-06-17-377-robot-at-the-park. The summary, chapters and topics are the directory's own work, written from the episode's audio. The episode itself, its title and its audio belong to Embedded.fm.