Co-founder of Akara Robotics and Chief Robotics Officer, Niamh Donnelly, has recently been announced as Irish Tatler’s Women of the Year STEM 2023. The ceremony took place in the Shelbourne in Dublin City on the 11th November celebrating the talent and ingenuity of Irish women in the areas of music, film, public life and STEM and many others.
A mechanical and manufacturing engineer with a Master’s Degree in computer science and artificial intelligence, Niamh co-founded Akara Robotics following her graduation. Akara Robotics began as a spin-out from Trinity College Dublin and is now based at The Digital Hub in Dublin’s Liberties. The ADAPT start-up was responsible for the creation of a robot equipped with ultraviolet technology designed to eliminate bacteria and viruses with the aim to make disinfecting hospitals safer and faster.
The team were also responsible for creating ‘Stevie’ a social care robot designed to be an assistant in elder care facilities. The team behind Stevie worked closely with charities supporting the elderly and spent months in trial studies at senior care facilities in the UK and the US. Akara has grown significantly since emerging from Trinity’s School of Engineering and the SFI ADAPT Centre and ADAPT welcome the continued future successes of the team.
Learn more about the awards here.
Follow Niamh on X/Twitter @engineeve and AKara Robotics @Akara_Robotics
