Two women from Australia and Germany tell Ella Al-Shamahi about their work in robotics: from tackling loneliness with humanoid companions to making industrial robots more accessible.

Australian Grace Brown began building robots at 15, but it was the isolation of pandemic lockdown - five months without human contact - that led her to create Abi, a friendly humanoid companion robot inspired by Disney and Pixar characters. Working in secret while her family believed she was completing her master’s degree, Grace instead launched Andromeda Robotics from her bedroom, testing early prototypes in Melbourne nursing homes to help combat loneliness. Grace was recently named one of Forbes Australia's 30 under 30.

Maria Piechnick is a German engineer and co-founder of Wandelbots, a company passionate about making robotics accessible to everyone. Her mission is to democratize the field of robotics and enable small and medium sized businesses to be able to deploy robots for any task with ease and efficiency. Maria's work spans a wide range: from enabling a cake company to decorate its products with robotic arms to developing advanced systems that safely defuse unexploded bombs from the Second World War.

Produced by Emily Naylor

(Image: (L) Maria Piechnick credit Wandelbots. (R) Grace Brown credit Andromeda Robotics.)