Fun stuff

This is a collection of fun, interesting, or simply random stuff I have been involved in. Mostly with robots.

November: I found a mug of the Chilean football team “Colo-Colo” in the kitchen of the Oxford Robotics Institute. One of the most unexpected things I experienced there so far. Twitter
October: My colleague David Rytz and I designed a classy, robot-inspired English painting for our former office, supported by some style-transfer and superresolution deep learning: Twitter
June: We did some field trials with the quadruped robots in a mine near Bath. I took a chance to make some analog shots. Twitter
March: I was the team lead organizing the CDT Challenge on autonomous exploration at Oxford. It was during COVID, so everything was online, but the teams succeeded in making simulated Jackal robots explore the environment and find interesting objects, like Clifford the dog! Twitter

August: I defended my master and designed a custom tie for the defense. Instagram

December: I supported the organization of the International Symposium on Robotics Research (ISRR) in Puerto Varas, Chile. I did not submit anything but it was a really fun experience, met a lot of robotics people and explored the south of Chile as well. Website

January: I possessed a Japanese robot to had a conversation with the former Chilean president Michelle Bachelet, probably one of the most hilarious experiences I’ve had in robotics. The government really wanted to have someone speaking Spanish with the President, and somehow I ended up doing it. I didn’t make a “robotized” voice as I thought it would be weird, but my voice wasn’t the best choice either I must admit. Video, Universidad de Chile (Spanish), Advanced Mining Technology Center, Chilevision, Las Últimas Noticias

August: 4th and last RoboCup, in Hefei, China. First time in Asia after a 54 hours trip from Santiago (included a 12-hours long connection in Mexico). We got the 4th place again, and while we were doing pretty well it was also my time to leave the team and move on.

January to April: I lived in Victoria, Canada, for 3 months to study academic English. There weren’t real robots, but I discovered second-hand bookshops and it was highly problematic when I had to return to Chile.
August: 3rd RoboCup, in João Pessoa, Brazil. We almost got to the final but we lost against the Leipzig team. The match was pretty tight and we enjoyed it a lot. Video. I designed shirts again.
I also met Rodney Brooks and got my books signed.

January: I did a 2-months internship in the ALMA observatory. No robots, but it was quite interesting living in the middle of the Atacama desert at almost 3000 meters altitude.
August: 2nd RoboCup, in Eindhoven, The Netherlands. First time in Europe. We did a little better. Again designing shirts.

August: My First RoboCup, in Mexico City, Mexico, and first time getting on a plane! I participated with the UChile team in the Standard Platform League. We were (almost the last?) team in the scoring table but I learned a lot. I designed the t-shirt of our team.