Special Thanks to our 2012 Get Your Bot On! Mentors

Without mentors there would be no hackathon.   We thank them all for their time and for working closely with our participants. We received amazing feedback from all the robohackers, all were grateful you were there. Many of them would not have been able to demo on Sunday without your guidance.

We hope you will join us again in the future!

Norman White started his art career as a painter, but in the late 60’s he taught himself electronics and began to create electrical machines in order to better model the often unpredictable behavior of dynamic systems, especially that of living organisms. In1978, he helped to initiate at the Ontario College of Art and Design a program dedicated to teaching electronics, mechanics, and computer programming to artists. He teaches now in the Image Arts Department of Ryerson University in Toronto, Canada.

Peter Slack is a musician, computer geek, engineering designer and entrepreneur. Peter spent some time gold-digging in the north (literally) and can tell you where to take your pickaxe and gold pan. Peter and his partners also founded a home elevator design and manufacturing company which made homes accessible. Peter is currently part of an elite group of programmers working on the next generation of music information retrieval algorithms. Peter’s first love is music and he is currently working on a new album of folk rock tunes. You can check out his latest recording of “When I’m With You” at: http://pjslack.net/whenimwithyou.mp3

Matthew Bailey, Thalmic Labs

Steve Daniels uses electronics and communication technologies to create hardware agents, kinetic sculptures, ubiquitous spaces and networked events.  He is currently interested in the non-utilitarian possibilities of DIY social devices.  Through his practice Steve juxtaposes disparate knowledge systems and experiences in an effort to reveal their underlying structures and assumptions.  Steve has presented his work at the Ontario Science Centre, Future Sonic (UK), DorkBot (Toronto), Bay Area Maker Faire(USA), thelivingeffect (Ottawa Art Gallery) as well as at festivals including Elektra (QC), Subtle Technologies (CDN), and Common Pulse (CDN).  His work was recently included in the MACHines show at the Centre des Arts, Enghien Les Bain (FR).

Steve is currently assistant professor in the RTA School of Media and past Director of the New Media program in the School of Image Arts (Ryerson).  Steve teaches courses in Malleable Media, Physical Computing, Telepresence and Networked Objects.  He holds an MSc from the University of Manitoba (Zoology, Behavioural Ecology) and is a graduate of the Integrated Media program at OCAD (Toronto).

Steve can be found online at www.spinningtheweb.org

Stephen Lake is an entrepreneur and engineer from Toronto, Canada. He is a graduate of the University of Waterloo’s Mechatronics Engineering program and has worked in aerospace, space and medical fields at organizations such as the Canadian Space Agency, The Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids), and the Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt (DLR – German Aerospace Center) on high technology projects. Currently, he is a co-founder of Waterloo-based hardware startup Thalmic Labs.

Stephen has been named one of Canada’s Top 20 Under 20, and one of The Next 36 high-impact leaders of Canada.

Andrew Lovett-Barron is an Interaction Designer, technologist, and principal at Relay Studio. He focuses on designing for computer vision and mobile platforms, because they let him design for collective behaviour. He is really interested in cities, habit, decision making, and identity. Check out his work at http://readywater.ca

Aaron Grant, Thalmic Labs