🐍 Canberra Python Meetup - Pinchy the bestest boi by Hailey Bartlett

• 🌐 Network over 🍕 pizza and drinks 🍺🥤 with fellow Python users 🐍
• 👀 Watch a presentation
• 🗣️ Discuss the presentation
• 👥 and maybe hit the local pub!

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Pinchy the bestest boi

Have you ever wondered if life would be better with a robot scorpion by your side? Now’s your chance to find out! Meet Pinchy — a Raspberry Pi-powered, fully autonomous, and undeniably eye-catching robot companion.

In this talk, you’ll learn how Pinchy maps its environment and navigates with ease using SLAM algorithms and computer vision. We’ll also dive into the efficient design inspired by real scorpions, blending biology with engineering.

Whether you're into robotics, Python, or just want to see a cool scorpion skitter across the stage, come say hi to Pinchy!

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Hailey is currently still in high school, but she discovered her passion for robotics early on in her tech journey. When she first got her hands on a robotics kit, she surprised herself by putting down her phone just to keep working on her project outside of class — which, at the time, felt like a major breakthrough.

That spark turned into a full-blown obsession. Over the past two years, Hailey has spent more than 700 hours developing her own robot companion: Pinchy. Along the way, she went through countless prototypes and design revisions — starting with foam-core legs and evolving into a fully custom 3D-printed chassis modeled after a real scorpion.

In this talk, Hailey walks through the journey of building Pinchy — from design challenges to unexpected breakthroughs — and dives into the technical details behind its fully autonomous navigation using Computer Vision and SLAM (Simultaneous Localization and Mapping). She covers how the robot perceives and maps its environment, how its walking gait is controlled, and how all the systems come together on a Raspberry Pi platform. The talk finishes with a look at what’s next — including Hailey’s future plans to take over the world, one robot scorpion at a time.

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Hailey Bartlett (she/her) is currently an A-grade high school student with a passion for all things IT. Some of her achievements include attending the National Computer Science School in January 2024, completing her Bronze Duke of Edinburgh Award, and being awarded the Australian Scout Award. She is currently working towards her Silver Duke of Edinburgh, her Queen’s Scout Award, and her Certificate IV in Project Management.

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📢 Interested in presenting? We'd love to have you, submit here!
💬 Want to chat? Get in touch via slack!

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Thanks to our sponsors: Linux Australia and ANU!
Want to sponsor our costs for pizza and drinks, and meet our enthusiastic members? Get in touch!