Helen Greiner facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Helen Greiner
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| Born | December 6, 1967 London, United Kingdom
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| Nationality | American |
| Engineering career | |
| Employer(s) | iRobot, CyPhyWorks, Robotic, AI & Autonomy Expert of US Army, Tertill |
| Awards | Anita Borg Institute Women of Vision Award |
Helen Greiner, born on December 6, 1967, is a famous American roboticist. She is best known for being one of the people who started iRobot. This company makes robots for homes and for military use. She also used to be the CEO of CyPhy Works, a company that made small drones. Later, she became the CEO of Tertill Corporation, which focuses on robotic gardening.
In 2013, Helen Greiner was chosen to be a member of the National Academy of Engineering. This was because of her great work in designing and developing useful robots.
Early Life and Education
Helen Greiner was born in London, England, on December 6, 1967. Her father was a refugee from Hungary. He met Helen's mother while studying at Imperial College London. When Helen was five years old, her family moved to Southampton, New York, in the United States.
When she was ten, Helen watched the popular movie Star Wars. She has said that seeing the robot R2-D2 in the film made her want to work with robots.
Helen Greiner studied at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). She earned a Bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering. She also got her Master's degree in computer science. Later, she received honorary doctorates from Worcester Polytechnic Institute and Clarkson University.
Career in Robotics
In 1990, Helen Greiner helped start iRobot with Rodney Brooks and Colin Angle. This robotics company is located in Bedford, Massachusetts. It creates robots for people to use at home. Helen helped design the very first version of the iRobot Roomba, a popular robot vacuum cleaner.
Helen Greiner was the President of iRobot until 2004. She then became the Chairman until 2008. During her time at iRobot, the company released the Roomba. They also created military robots like the PackBot and SUGV. She helped create a company culture that focused on making useful and practical robots. This led to over 6,000 PackBots being used by the United States armed forces. Helen also helped iRobot get important funding, raising money to help the company grow.
Before iRobot, she worked at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory. She also worked at the MIT Artificial Intelligence Laboratory.
In 2008, Greiner started a new company called CyPhy Works. This company created drones like the Persistent Aerial Reconnaissance and Communications (PARC) drone. She left CyPhy Works in 2017. After that, she started working with the US Army.
Since 2018, she has been an advisor to the United States Army. She works with the Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Army for Acquisition, Logistics and Technology. Her role is to be a highly qualified expert in robotics, autonomous systems, and artificial intelligence for the Army.
In September 2020, Helen Greiner was named CEO and Chairman of Tertill. This is a company that makes robotic gardening tools.
Awards and Recognition
Helen Greiner has received many awards for her work in robotics.
In 2000, the World Economic Forum named her one of the "Global Leaders of Tomorrow."
In 2003, she and iRobot co-founder Colin Angle were named "New England Entrepreneurs of the Year" by Ernst and Young. That same year, Fortune Magazine called her one of the "Top Ten Innovators."
Good Housekeeping magazine named her "Entrepreneur of the Year." The Kennedy School at Harvard and U.S. News & World Report also named her one of "America's Best Leaders."
In 2006, she received the Pioneer Award from the Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International (AUVSI).
In 2007, Helen Greiner was added to the Women in Technology International Hall of Fame.
She received the 2008 Anita Borg Institute Women of Vision Award for her innovative work at iRobot. Technology Review Magazine also recognized her as one of their "TR100" "Innovators for the Next Century."
In 2013, Helen Greiner gave a talk at TEDxBoston. She spoke about how robots can help save lives. They can do jobs that are too boring or too dangerous for people.
She received the DEMO God Award at the DEMO Conference in 2014. After this, US President Barack Obama and Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker named her a Presidential Ambassador for Global Leadership (PAGE).
In 2018, she was named "Woman of the Year" at Wentworth Institute of Technology.
Helen Greiner was a speaker at GoFly's 2020 Final Fly Off competition. This event in Mountain View, California, featured teams from around the world competing for prizes.
See also
In Spanish: Helen Greiner para niños
