Sometimes I like to take a day to think and reflect. So I get someone else to take away my computer, phone and any electronics in the house - so I don’t know where they are and I can’t access them. Then I spend the whole day thinking and writing on paper.

Pre-pandemic, I used to travel and fly a lot. I would use my time on planes to think and write. I remember when I was 21, I took an Air Asia flight to London from Melbourne via Malaysia and they didn’t provide entertainment consoles on their flight. I was super productive and finished writing all my emails and everything I wanted to write in two batches over just over an hour. And then I sat there incredibly bored and tried to sleep. I was traveling to London to run our Robogals conference.

That experience taught me that planes and a lack of distractions could be incredibly productive!

I used to do this in high school as well. I noticed that if I started using the computer or the internet at any time, then I would keep using it for the rest of the day and evening. So in my final year, in year 12, I would only use the internet after 11pm. That way, I could get all my homework and everything else I needed to get done earlier and then use the internet until I went to sleep.

I use my No Electronics Days to write emails, grants, to-do lists, plans, and to daydream. It’s very refreshing and satisfying to think deeply and cross off items that require deep thinking from my to-do list.

Jevaroo’s base dual plates are weighted with three heavy batteries, two large stepper motors for the neck’s linear actuators and its own two steel plates to provide the robot with a low center of mass, countering balancing forces for when Jevaroo is pushing or pulling at items (for example, to counter the forces needed when Jevaroo is opening or closing a door). This enables Jevaroo to hold its own when interacting with the world.

The coolest thing about Jevaroo’s base though, is its omni wheels, enabling holonomic driving. This means that Jevaroo is able to move in many directions in the most efficient way possible.

Move forwards and backwards
Jevaroo can move forwards and backwards, like regular traction wheels can.

Move forwards and backwards at any angle
Jevaroo may also move forwards or backwards perfectly diagonally at any angle without changing the direction it faces.

Move side-to-side
Jevaroo’s wheels can start moving in any direction without changing the direction that Jevaroo is facing. Which means Jevaroo can move left and right sideways like a crab.

Rotation on the spot - no turning circle
Unlike standard traction wheel driving, with the omni wheels, Jevaroo is able to achieve a much tighter turning circle - namely none at all.  Yes, Jevaroo can turn to any angle with no turning circle!  Jevaroo may turn on the spot, and even turn left or right at a sharp 90 degrees in its current position to face another direction.

Change movement direction from forward-backwards to side-side on the spot, without changing the direction Jevaroo is facing
Jevaroo is so cool - it can rotate on the spot to face a new direction and then travel forward that way.  In any direction.

This versatility of movement at the base of Jevaroo makes it very helpful when used in conjunction with Jevaroo’s neck and limb degrees of freedom. Used in partnership with them, Jevaroo can use the base’s holonomic drive to open sliding doors (the robot hand grabs onto a door handle and Jevaroo’s base moves sideways to open.). Or open hinged doors (the robot hand grabs the handle and the entirety of Jevaroo moves forwards to open the door). Or Jevaroo can throw items into the bin by picking the item up with her hand and then rolling over to the bin.

The three base driving motors each have an encoder to accurately position each motors in its precise, correct location. By allowing for tight, accurate movements at the base, means Jevaroo can rely on her base to accurately help her complete tasks in the real world.

For one of the projects I’ve been leading for over the past 2.5 years, I manage a team of 20 people remotely. I meet with all of my direct reports every Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday morning. I batch all the meetings so they take place one after the other.

My team is located all over the world - mostly all over Australia, so we need to work remotely.

People need to show up to our meetings on time to discuss their work. And they can set their own hours to work outside of that. This allows us to work truly asynchronously. I meet frequently enough that I don’t need to be constantly messaging each of them throughout the day. It’s ok to mostly batch what I have to say until the next team meeting. Since remote work began in full force in 2020, I’ve been trying different ways to optimize the team’s performance. About a year ago, I decided this was the optimal solution for my morale, productivity and happiness.

The team love the flexibility of working whenever they want, while connecting closely with their team three times a week at their meetings.

This process works really well for steady-state work.

I visited Fetch Robotics as part of a field trip for a Stanford course I took. Fetch Robotics sold to Zebra Technologies for $290 million in 2021. They have about 130 employees.  It was so interesting to see another robotics company in full-swing - making, testing and shipping robots. All the while improving their technology and creating more robots to sell.

Fetch robots are used to assist warehouse packers to increase productivity and reduce errors. The robots roam around the floor to where the merchandise is kept - it kind of looks like the part of the IKEA store where the larger IKEA items are placed, except the items are small.  Humans roam around and put the correct items into the container at the base of the robot. The human scans in their id to identify themselves, and then the human scans in the item's barcode to confirm with the robot the item being placed.

After all the items in that location are loaded into the robot’s pouch, the robot then goes to the next location by itself autonomously, and displays the next item to be placed, and its location, waiting for the next human nearby to pack the item.

We weren't allowed to take photos inside - so here's a photo outside of me and the guy who gave our class the robotics demo.

I think that burnout happens when you set a goal, you work really, really hard to achieve the goal, and then the deadline comes and you haven’t achieved your goal.

Burnout happens to me sometimes. I set a deadline, I set a goal, and I work really, really hard. The deadline comes and goes. I think - I’m nearly there; I’m so close, just 10% to go; just these few tasks to go - just keep pushing forwards at the same velocity and you’ll reach those goals.

But it all feels untethered, like I’m not really doing what I’m supposed to be doing. Sometimes I push through and achieve the goal (if it’s linked to an external date that I can’t push). Other times, most often, after a few weeks, I realize I’m not being productive, that I need to recalibrate - forgive myself for the goals not reached, and set new goals taking all my other priorities into consideration. After missing a goal or milestone, when I take time out to recalibrate and take stock, I am only then able to return to my work with renewed energy, enthusiasm and vigour.