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Emily Rose

    • About Me:

      Hi, I’m Emily! I live by the seaside with my partner James and my cat Lady. I like crafting, reading, board-games, and swimming in the sea.

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      My proudest craft is a cat-sized sofa I crocheted for Lady.

       

    • My pronouns are:

      she/her

    • My Work:

      I’m getting self-driving buses on the roads!

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      Smart cities use robotics, AI, and data to make better places to live and visit.

      For example, I’m working on self‑driving buses. These are buses that drive themselves without a human at the wheel. My job is to make sure they follow all the rules of the road—like stopping at red lights and keeping a safe distance from other vehicles.

      I also use city data to help the buses learn and improve. One project uses live traffic‑light information: unlike human drivers, the bus could “see” ahead and know when someone is waiting at a crossing, even before it turns the corner. This makes trips faster and safer for everyone!

    • My Typical Day:

      I’m studying Robotics while working part time. On a work day, I’ll drive into the city. The office is quite relaxed with people wearing jeans and hoodies and not arriving too early. I’ll head out on the shuttle buses and get them to drive the route – we are testing at this stage with no passengers. I will make note of any areas the bus didn’t behave as expected – sometimes it will stop at a zebra crossing because it detected a bin and thought someone is crossing! All these tweaks need to be corrected before the buses are unleashed on their own.

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      On a university day, I will head to the Robotics lab on campus. I am working on a robot dog for inspection of train tracks – it will walk along side the tracks and make sure there is not litter or damage on the lines.

      On Wednesdays, I attend the Arts and Crafts society – we try different crafts most weeks, my favourite has been punch needle.

    • What I'd do with the prize money:

      I’d like to provide a local school with Arduinos and run robotics sessions.

    CV

    • Education:

      I went to a grammar school which I didn’t enjoy very much. Grammar school suits some people but I felt like I was under an awful lot of pressure. I left school to do my A-Levels. I didn’t apply for university because I wasn’t entirely sure what I wanted to do, and it seemed like a very big commitment. My favourite subject was Chemistry, so I did a Chemistry apprenticeship. An apprenticeship is where you study and work at the same time. I did a degree in Chemistry while working in a really cool lab which used robots to run chemical reactions. I found I was more interested in the robots than the Chemistry, so now I am studying Robotics!

    • Qualifications:

      GCSEs

      A-Levels – Chemistry, Biology and Maths and an AS in further maths

      BSc in Chemistry

      Now an MSc in Robotics – wish me luck!

    • Work History:

      I had a Saturday job as a receptionist at a vets while I was in school. This improved my confidence a lot as I had to talk to strangers. I also got to cuddle lots of puppies and kittens.

      My Chemistry apprenticeship was with a pharmaceutical company. I ran chemical reactions to find the best ones to make useful drugs. I used robots to run lots of reactions at once to get more data. The robots weighed out the powders and carefully measured out the liquid I needed, mixed them together and controlled the temperature.

    • Current Job:

      Now, I’m a Robotics Engineer focusing on self-driving buses and making use of data in cities.

    • My Interview

      • How would you describe yourself in 3 words?

        I love robots

        What did you want to be after you left school?

        Something sciencey - but not sure what

        Were you ever in trouble at school?

        No, I was a goody two-shoes

        If you weren't doing this job, what would you choose instead?

        Singer

        Who is your favourite singer or band?

        Taylor Swift

        What's your favourite food?

        Chocolate

        If you had 3 wishes for yourself what would they be? - be honest!

        1) I'd like to have lots of pets including ferrets, tortoises, and rats. 2) I wish my cat would live forever. 3) I'd like a robotic personal assistant.

        Tell us a joke.

        How do you know when you’re in love with a robot? You feel a little spark.

        How would you describe yourself in 3 words?

        I love robots

Questions answered by Emily

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