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Sofie Welvaert, part of the team at Dunedin based startup Bristlebotics, tells us about transforming a toothbrush into a robot.

"Often people think that making robots is just for nerds with screen tans, we want to show that anyone can make a robot. Bristlebots show that robots are a great way to learn."

Sofie Welvaert, part of the team at Dunedin based startup Bristlebotics, tells us about transforming a toothbrush into a robot.

"Often people think that making robots is just for nerds with screen tans, we want to show that anyone can make a robot. Bristlebots show that robots are a great way to learn."

They'll be showing off their robots BUZZY and IO Moth and letting people have a play at the Makertorium exhibition at Te Papa.

During what hours of the day do you feel most inspired?

Mornings and evenings, before lunch and after dinner is best. Especially in summer when the sunshine streams in the window at 6am. But it really depends on whats happening in my day, anytime can be inspiring.

How would a good friend describe your aesthetic or style?

Eclectic, influenced by whats inspiring me on the day or the medium I'm working in. But always with a hint of my great loves – invertebrates, education, and the natural world.

What aspect of your creative practice gives you the biggest thrill?

Seeing things come off the page and having people interact with them. You sort or get in the zone when things are being built/made and some of the magic gets lost in work it takes to make a thing, but you get that back when other people get to use/appreciate that thing.

How does your environment affect your work?

It's my source of inspiration, every day a new idea goes in the collection of “hmm, I might use that someday”. It might be a feather pattern on a bird, the way a spider moves its leg, or an old PCB sitting around the office.

Do you like to look at the big picture or focus on the details?

Both, it depends on the project and what the inspiration was. For me the details are important, but achieving a great result requires me to work at both levels.

What's your number one business tip for surviving (and thriving) in the creative industries?

Create something worth creating – it's got to be a great product and you have to think so. And show your passion, if you are genuinely excited about something other people will be too.

Which of your projects to date has given you the most satisfaction?

The film Green or Gold, it's Not Black and White which I created as a part of my Masters thesis. It's one of the most challenging things I've ever done and having never made a real film before, it threw me out of my comfort zone and into the deep end.

The process of making a film is a complex one and doing so was a lesson in figuring it out, a lesson I feel now I can apply to any situation I'm in – Step one, what do you want to achieve, Step two find out how, Step three just do it.

Having been through that process and creating a film I am actually proud of was a great achievement – Now I can look forward to bigger and better challenges.

Who or what has inspired you recently?

Educators. Teachers not just in schools but LEOTC providers and tour guides and DoC staff. It's been a bit of a struggle lately but these people just keep fighting, and that's huge because they're fighting for our future. Particularly Linus Turner, a teacher at Dunedin's Kavanagh College, he is one of those people you can't talk to and not be inspired by, he's fighting to save the rainforest – ensuring not only that students are prepared fort he future but that there is one waiting for them.

Tell us a bit about your background.

I grew up in North Taranaki, surrounded by trees and under the mountain.

My educational background is in natural science and I have just completed a masters in Science Communication. I am privileged now to be applying that in my work, both through Bristlebotics and also as a member of the education team at the Orokonui Ecosanctuary.

I have always been interested in performing arts, particularly theatre and am currently an actor and costume designer for the Globe Theatre in Dunedin as well as being a member of the Gassworks Guild of Gadgeteers (our local Steampunk group).

Tell us a bit about Bristlebots

Bristlebots aren't a new discovery, they have been zooming about the internet for some time now. We first encountered them in an online article written by Evil Mad Scientist Laboratories in 2007. In principle they are simple and easy to build, but in practice it can be difficult to get the parts and frustrating to make good ones.

We have developed bristlebots to get you started, and from here? The sky's the limit. The BUZZY bot is a your basic bristlebot and it comes as a kit which you assemble yourself, all you need is a soldering iron and the instructions on the website. BUZZY is a great first soldering project, and can teach you all kinds of things from basic electronics and soldering techniques all the way up to bio-mimetics, using robots to understand the natural world, or using our understanding of the natural world to build better robots.

BUZZY is an excellent teaching resource and we hope to see them in every school someday.

The next step in bristlebot technology is the IO Moth. The IO Moth has simple light sensors and can respond to it's environment. You can use theses sensors to decide how fast it goes and how it responds, will it follow light, dance, or simply run in circles? You decide.

Who else is involved?

Bristlebotics is owned and run by Mike Paulin and Edwin Nieman. This is their brainchild and their goal is to make robotics more accessible to schools and give students the opportunity to learn the skills to thrive in an increasingly technical world. Anyone should be able to build a robot.

Edwin is the owner of Dunedin based Tech company, Kamahi electronics, and his daughters (7&9) are our greatest trial team.

Mike teaches in the Zoology department at the University of Otago and has been mucking about with bristlebots longer than any of us, as you can tell from the hundreds of transformed toothbrushes and scrubbing brushes around his house.

Why are robots misunderstood? What is the role of robotics in education?

I think the public perception of robots is starting to change, but there's still a long way to go. Often people think that making robots is just for nerds with screen tans, we want to show that anyone can make a robot. Bristlebots show that robots are a great way to learn.

What are you doing at Makertorium?

Playing with Robots of course! And talking to people about what we love, and hearing what they love about robots!

We will have a great collection of bristlebots for people to play with and learn about, we also have our teaching resource to show anyone who might be interested in using bristlebots in their classrooms. And probably a few kits and bits to give away, you'll have to drop by and find out.

If you could choose a different career path to the one you've chosen, what would it be?

That's a hard one. I'm still not sure what career path it is I'm on, but I love it. There are always things I would like to do like act or study insects, but that might still happen, or I might play with bristlebots forever – either way sounds good to me

What place is always with you, wherever you go?

The Orokonui Ecosanctuary at dawn

What's the best way to listen to music, and why?

Loud, in the car, on the way to the mackenzie country or somewhere with equally beautiful highway views. Or quietly in your headphones staring at the stars. So you can sing along, and let in all that great mountain air, getting amped up to tramp a valley and look at grasshoppers or quiet and peaceful to allow your thoughts to stew and formulate into ideas that might one day become your next big idea but for now just wash over you wearing away the stress of a busy day.

You are given a piece of string, a stick and some fabric. What do you make?

It depends on whats inspired me that day. Perhaps a flag or a bug trap or a kite, or even a sail for a paper boat.

What's the best stress relief advice you've ever been given?

To remember, even though what you're doing is important, it's ok not to take everything so seriously.

This is something my friend (a restaurant manager) tells her staff and I think it can be applied to most people and situations:

“We are not fighting wars or saving lives, we are serving food and beverages”

What’s great about Makertorium?

It's an opportunity to show off our wonderful robots, and for people to have a play and see what we're about. And hopefully I'll escape the stall and get to see what everyone else has been creating, there are going to be some really clever cookies there on Saturday and I cant wait to meet some of them.

I'm really looking forward to chatting to people about our project and get to know what they're passionate about – maybe they'll inspire the next big Bristlebotics idea.

What’s your big idea for 2013?

To take it all in. I've been at university for the past 7 years and I've been in a bit of a study bubble, now its time to throw myself wholly into every project that inspires me and create great things.

So whats the big idea? Well I'm not sure yet but it's going to be wonderful!