Pinchy the bestest boi
Have you ever wondered if life would be better with a robot scorpion by your side? Now’s your chance to find out! Meet Pinchy — a Raspberry Pi-powered, fully autonomous, and undeniably eye-catching robot companion.
In this talk, you’ll learn how Pinchy maps its environment and navigates with ease using SLAM algorithms and computer vision. We’ll also dive into the efficient design inspired by real scorpions, blending biology with engineering.
Whether you're into robotics, Python, or just want to see a cool scorpion skitter across the stage, come say hi to Pinchy this PyCon!
See this talk and many more by getting your ticket to PyCon AU now!
I want a ticket!I'm currently still in high school, but I discovered my passion for robotics early on in my tech journey. When I first got my hands on a robotics kit, I surprised myself by putting down my phone just to keep working on my project outside of class — which, at the time, felt like a major breakthrough.
That spark turned into a full-blown obsession. Over the past two years, I’ve spent more than 700 hours developing my own robot companion: Pinchy. Along the way, I’ve gone through countless prototypes and design revisions — starting with foam-core legs and evolving into a fully custom 3D-printed chassis modeled after a real scorpion.
In this talk, I’ll walk you through the journey of building Pinchy — from design challenges to unexpected breakthroughs — and dive into the technical details behind its fully autonomous navigation using Computer Vision and SLAM (Simultaneous Localization and Mapping). I’ll cover how it perceives and maps its environment, how its walking gait is controlled, and how all the systems come together on a Raspberry Pi platform. We’ll finish with a look at what’s next — including my future plans to take over the world, one robot scorpion at a time.
I am currently an A grade high school student with a passion for all things IT. Some of my achievements include attending the National Computing Science School in January 2024, Completing my Bronze Duke of Edinburgh, and being awarded my Australian Scout Award. I am currently working on my Silver Duke of Edinburgh, my Queen scout award, and my certificate 4 in project management.