Hiya! I'm Erin, also known as RobotZwrrl!
I spend most of my time thinking about and building robots that relate to the environment in different ways. The rest of the time is spent being outdoors in nature, sometimes taking photographs too. I envision a future with gentle robot creatures that help restore nature and interact with wildlife. My heritage is a fifth-generation Irish Canadian, and that long connection with nature informs my work.
I'm naturally quiet as I tend to express myself more through making than through words. Sometimes what I imagine doesn't fully translate into language. Always happy to talk about my projects and the concepts behind them though!
Here you will find my past projects that demonstrate my continuous pursuit towards my goals. Thanks for taking a look!
Table of Contents
Photo by Kris Davidson during MDRS 261
Artist Bio
Erin "RobotZwrrl" Kennedy enjoys embarking on adventures outdoors alongside her nature-inspired robots. Erin is an eccentric robot maker and analogue astronaut based in Kingston, Ontario. She develops robots that address environmental challenges in creative ways through new media art. Erin engages with local environmental stewards of all ages when testing the robots outdoors in public through a hands-on interactive format, allowing them to tangibly see the steps involved in creating and envisioning future solutions. She unconventionally learned to build robots by being self-taught online and through mentorship, leading to studies at International Space University. To pursue her ideas further she founded Robot Missions Inc.
2026
Choreographic Thinking (Kingston, ON)
Workshop led by Christopher House during the GroundUP Dance Festival.
2 day workshop at Tett Centre
2026
Kingston Neighbourhood Climate Action Champions (Kingston, ON)
Selected to the 2026 cohort. Ongoing environmental stewardship and local climate advocacy training.
2024 - 2025
Kingston Potter's Guild (Kingston, ON)
Throwing I: Jan - May 2025
Handbuilding: Oct - Dec 2024
2020
Women in Communications & Technology (Virtual)
Dr. Roberta Bondar Career Development Program
2019
International Space University (Strasbourg, France)
Space Studies Program: Jun - Aug 2019
2019 - 2023
World Economic Forum - Global Shaper (Ottawa, ON)
Member of the Ottawa Hub
2015 - 2016
MaRS Discovery District (Toronto, ON)
Studio Y Fellowship: Sep 2015 - May 2016
2015
Fab Academy (Virtual)
Rapid Prototyping: Jan - Jun 2015
2013
Stan Winston School of Character Arts (Virtual)
Tentacle Mechanism Basics: Nov 2013
2012
Evil Mad Scientist Laboratories (Sunnyvale, CA)
Mentorship: May - Jul 2012
2007 - 2014
Independent Study (Virtual)
Adafruit Industries and Sparkfun Electronics Tutorials: Jan 2007 - Jan 2014
20XX
Apple World Wide Developer Conference (WWDC) (San Francisco, CA)
Won student scholarship
20XX
Stanford University (Palo Alto, CA)
Educational Program for Gifted Youth - Artificial Intelligence stream. 3 weeks
2026
Tett Centre for Creativity and Learning (Kingston, ON)
Tett Artist in Residence Showcase. Curated. Independent.
2025
Boys and Girls Club South East (Kingston, ON)
STEM Innovation Breakfast - Robot Butterfly. Curated. Independent. Exhibition table at event. Presented and engaged with audience.
2025
Robot in the Park (Kingston, ON)
Lake Ontario Park - Robot Butterflies. Participatory open exhibit end of summer. Independent design.
2025
The Kick and Push Festival (Kingston, ON)
Open Gallery - Where the Wild Robots Are. Paid artist fee. Independent.
2023
Union Gallery (Kingston, ON)
Gentle Disruptions - Robot Butterfly. Paid artist fee. Curated. Independent.
2018
Prime Minister of Canada - Technology Demonstration (Ottawa, ON)
Bayview Yards - Bowie the Robot. Curated. Independent.
2018
Robot Missions Municipal Trials (Ottawa, ON)
Westboro Beach - Bowie the Robot. Participatory open exhibit twice monthly during summer. Independent design. Presented with team.
2018
Canada Science and Technology Museum (Ottawa, ON)
Galatecha - Robot Missions. Independent. Exhibition table at event.
2016
Toronto Public Library (Toronto, ON)
Toronto Maker Festival - Robot Missions. Independent. Exhibition table at event.
2016
MaRS Discovery District (Toronto, ON)
Studio Y Showcase - Robot Missions. Curated. Presentation at showcase. Exhibition table at event. Independently designed and developed art piece. Presented and engaged with audience.
2015
RoboGames (San Francisco Bay Area, CA)
Best of Show - My robots. Selected. Independent. Exhibition table at event. International event.
2014
Canada Science and Technology Museum (Ottawa, ON)
Mini Maker Faire Ottawa - RoboBrrd. Selected. Independent. Exhibition table at event.
2013
MIT - Open Hardware Summit (Cambridge, MA)
Open Hardware Summit - RoboBrrd. Selected. Exhibition table at event. Independently designed and developed art piece. Presented and engaged with audience.
2012
New York Hall of Science (Queens, NY)
Maker Faire - RoboBrrd. Selected. Independent. Exhibition table at event.
2012
Maker Faire Bay Area (San Francisco Bay Area, CA)
Maker Faire - RoboBrrd. Selected. Independent. Exhibition table at event.
2011
Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity (Banff, AB)
Scrumbleflit - (Recycling Pervasive Media, Intervening in Planned Obsolescence, and Practicing Technological Sustainability)
Paid artist fee. Curated. Exhibition at showcase. Independently designed and developed art piece. Presented and engaged with audience.
2010
Artengine (Ottawa, ON)
Mini Maker Faire Ottawa - My robots. Selected. Independent. Exhibition table at event.
2026
Tett Centre for Creativity and Learning (Kingston, ON)
Make a Robot Butterfly - Creative Connections - Supported by Ontario Trillium Foundation. 8 participants, 2.5 hours
2025
Boys and Girls Club South East (Kingston, ON)
Make a Robot Butterfly - Supported by Awesome Kingston. 7 participants, 6 sessions, 2 hours per
2024
Open Hardware Summit (Montreal, QC)
Make a Robot Butterfly. 10 participants, 2 hours
2018
Glebe Tech Girls (Ottawa, ON)
Glebe Tech Girls - Robot Missions Field Test. 10 participants, 2 hours
2018
Canada Science and Technology Museum (Ottawa, ON)
Exploratek - Robot Missions Field Test. 25 participants, 2 hours
2016
Girl Guides (Kingston, ON)
Girl Guides Eastern Ontario and Nova Scotia - Robot Missions Field Test. 10 participants, 2 hours
2016
SHAD - Queen's University (Kingston, ON)
Robot Missions Field Test. 10 participants, 2 hours
2025
The Kick and Push Festival (Kingston, ON)
Aug 2025 - 2 Weeks
2025
Tett Centre for Creativity and Learning (Kingston, ON)
Apr - Jul 2025 - 3 Months
2023
The Mars Society - Mars Desert Research Station (Hanksville, UT)
Analogue Astronaut - May 2023 - 2 weeks
2018
prototypeD (Ottawa, ON)
Mar 2018 - 2 weeks
2016
Structur3D (Kitchener, ON)
Mar 2016 - 2 weeks
2012
Evil Mad Science (Sunnyvale, CA)
May - Jul 2012 - 3 months
2026
Hackaday Europe (Lecco, IT)
2024
TEDx Mechanicsville (Ottawa, ON)
2021
TEDx Ottawa (Virtual)
2019
International Space University (Strasbourg, France)
2018
Prime Minister of Canada (Ottawa, ON)
2018
Ottawa Civic Tech (Ottawa, ON)
2025
Awesome Foundation (Kingston, ON)
Robot in the Park - Kingston - Prize information
2025
The Peak - Emerging Leader (Canada)
Emerging Leader in Technology - Recognition information
2023
Sensors Converge (Silicon Valley, CA)
Rising Star
2022
Hackaday Prize (Pasadena, CA)
Finalist - Planet Friendly Power - Prize information
2020
World’s 50 Most Renowned Women in Robotics (Virtual)
Analytics Insights - Recognition information
2019
European Space Agency Scholarship (European Union)
Scholarship to attend International Space University SSP19 - Program information
2018
Amazon Web Services (Ottawa, ON)
AWS Technology Grant (both monetary support and cloud services), presented Robot Missions at AWS Public Sector Summit, and showcased at uOttawa Women in Tech event
2018
Awesome Foundation (Ottawa, ON)
Robot Missions Municipal Trials - Prize information
2018
Ontario Centres of Excellence (Ottawa, ON)
Customer Demonstration Project grant, partnership with the City of Ottawa
2017
Lieutenant Governor’s Visionaries Prize (Toronto, ON)
Finalist - Environmental Stewardship - Prize information
2017
Queen's University (Kingston, ON)
DDQIC Pitch Competition Winner - Prize information
2016
RBC (Toronto, ON)
Make 150 Count grant - Prize information
2016
Hackaday Prize (Pasadena, CA)
Semifinalist - Citizen Scientist - Prize information
2015
RoboGames (Bay Area, CA)
Gold Medal - Best of Show
2012
Maker Faire (Queens, NY)
Editor's Choice x2 and Educator's Choice
2012
Maker Faire Bay Area (San Francisco Bay Area, CA)
Editor's Choice x2
20XX
Bell Montreal Regional Science & Technology Fair (Montreal, QC)
Gold Medal, McGill University - School of Computer Science (Robotics) Award, and École Polytechnique de Montréal Award
2025
Kingston Theatre Alliance: Erin Kennedy: Where Wires Meet Wilderness
2023
2021
Embedded.fm Podcast: Robot at the Park
2018
Kitchissippi Times: Bowie the robot is coming to Westboro Beach
2018
2017
Hackaday.com: Rovers To The Rescue: Robot Missions Tackles Trash
2014
Make Magazine: RobotGrrl Rulz!
2018
Robot Jam Session with Jesse Stewart (Ottawa, ON)
This collaboration introduced a novel way of interacting with sound by fusing live music with live robot controls. May 2018.
2018
Catalyst Pod with prototypeD Team (Ottawa, ON)
In a collaboration with the team at prototypeD, a solar-powered, off-grid workstation was developed and deployed directly on a beach, demonstrating the potential of renewable energy to power local community initiatives. May - Sep 2018.
2025
2024
International Astronautical Congress (IAC)
Atmosphinder Robot - Human-Robot Interaction in Spacesuits at the Mars Desert Research Station
2024
Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) Designing Interactive Systems
2023
American Geophysical Union (AGU)
FieldKit in the Wild: Inexpensive, Open-Source Dataloggers for Field Measurement Operations
2023
American Geophysical Union (AGU)
FieldKit Underwater: An Inexpensive, Open-Source Sonde Platform for Submerged Measurement Operations
2023
American Geophysical Union (AGU)
2022
International Astronautical Congress (IAC)
2021
International Astronautical Congress (IAC)
Advanced Propulsion as a Cornerstone for Space Exploration and Interstellar Living
2019
International Space University
2012
Electronics Design
- Circuit board layout and schematic capture (KiCad)
- Test equipment: Oscilloscope, power profiling, power supply, digital load
- Soldering: Through hole and surface mount 0603
- Debugging: Optical inspection, multimeter probing, logic analysis, wire-wrap bodge fixes
Embedded Systems
- FreeRTOS on ESP32
- Arduino libraries (C++)
- Bare metal ESP32 / Teensy / Atmel using Arduino IDE (C/C++)
- MQTT protocol for IoT devices
- STM32CubeIDE for programming STM32 Arm Cortex M microcontrollers
- cmake via VSCode for programming Raspberry Pi Pico RP2040 microcontroller
- Hardware and software block diagrams
- printf debugging
Mechanical and Industrial Design
- Computer aided design solids and meshes (Autodesk Fusion 360)
- CFD simulation (Simscale)
- FEA stress simulations (Autodesk Fusion 360)
- Vector paths for laser cutting (Affinity Design / Adobe Illustrator)
- Retouching and repairing 3D models (Meshmixer)
- Surface sculpting or modifications (Blender)
- Visualise (in my mind)
Fabrication
- 3D printer (FDM – hobby, BigRep One, Formlabs 1 & 2 (SLA), Fortus 450MC)
- Laser cutter (CO2 & Fibre)
- CNC milling (Shopbot small & large format)
- CNC milling precision copper circuit boards (Othermill / Bantam Tools)
- Conductive ink deposition (Voltera)
Entrepreneurship
- Crowdfunding
- Grassroots community leadership
- Presenting to stakeholders and leaders of industry
- Raising support and fundraising
- Preparation of pitch decks
- Writing grant applications
- Managing volunteer team
- Being multiple different roles
- Understanding contributing factors and root causes to learning experiences
Marketing
- Photo editing (Nitro (similar to Aperture / Adobe Lightroom))
- Live streaming (Open Broadcast Studio (OBS))
- Video editing (Final Cut Pro X)
- Graphic design (Affinity Photo / Adobe Photoshop)
- Music mixing (basic Garageband)
- Written communication and documentation
Software Development
- Creative coding (Processing - Java)
- Interactive digital art (Processing - Java)
- Simple webpage design (HTML, CSS, Javascript)
- Scripting (Python)
- Image object detection (TensorFlow in Python - prior experience)
- iOS Apps (Cocoa Objective-C - prior experience)
Outreach
- Teach robotics workshops for both youth and adults
- Video tutorials
- Written tutorials
- Engage with visitors at exhibitions
- Technical writing
- Mentoring
Page last updated: June 29 2026 06:35:16.