About Me

UPDATE
Andra Keay | I am a Masters Dissertation student at the University of Sydney in the Digital Cultures Program, working in the area of Human-Robot Interaction. My project on ‘the Naming of Robots’ explores the ways in which robotics research cultures express identity and gender by examining empirical data from robot competitions integrated with a cultural studies of science approach. I studied Communications at UTS and the ABC, working as a film editor, multimedia artist and writer before moving into the area of technology for social justice, non-profit and educational purposes. I have been running science and robot workshops for children since 1995, including coaching competition teams in Moonbots, First Lego League and RoboCup Jnr.

Interest in Robotics: I am always interested in asking ‘what’s at stake?’ as Donna Haraway put it. Robotics for example is a highly gendered field, which is not obviously a requirement. Robots, as engineered (in)organisms, are not dependent on sexual differentiation, so gender in robotics culture is a fascinating expression of human engineering and how we create others. Ultimately, I am interested, much like Haraway is, in Derrida’s robotic cat. http://andragy.com http://robotstate.com

Contact: andra[at]robotstate.com