Profile

I am a 23 year old robotics researcher in Trinity. My primary research is in robotic arms and hands. I am originally from Donegal and left there when I was 17 to come to Trinity to study engineering. I developed an interest in robotics during my masters project, in my 5th year and have been working in robotics research and development ever since.

When I’m not working on robots I enjoy astronomy and making. I’ve had a love for astronomy since I was a kid. I always enjoyed looking at the stars and when I got my own telescope I began to explore them. I’m very proud of my very modest attempts at astrophotography, click here to see a picture I took of the moon.

I also enjoy making. One of my favorite things to make are props from my favorite movies. I’ve attached a photo of a snitch I made.

I am a PhD student in Trinity. A PhD is a degree which typically takes between 3 and 5 years to complete. During this time I will conduct research into a particular area, in my case robotics, and if the research I do is good enough  and I make a significant original contribution to knowledge, then I am awarded a PhD and become a doctor in my area.

A “significant original contribution to knowledge” means that I do something, build something, or solve a problem which noone has solved before and I am therefore contributing to the worlds knowledge in robotics

My goal is to make this contribution to robotics in the area of robotic manipulation and grasping. Robotic manipulation refers to how a robot uses its arms and robotic grasping means how a robot uses its hands. A robots arms and arms are incredible important I think that by using artificial intelligence, camera and new and specialised computers that haven’t been available to robotics developers and builders before now that robots should be able to pick up objects better than they have ever been able to in the past.