About Us
BirdBrain Technologies’ mission is to inspire deep and joyful learning in all students through creative robotics.
BirdBrain Technologies cultivates creativity and computational thinking by providing flexible and inspiring products: the Finch Robot and the Hummingbird Robotics Kit.
Founded at the CREATE Lab at Carnegie Mellon University in 2010, BirdBrain is a research-based company that promotes gender equality and diversity in computer science, engineering, and robotics.
A large part of our mission is to assist educators interested in bringing computer science and engineering design into any classroom. We work collaboratively to support teachers with free standards-aligned curriculum and professional development. Our products have been used by thousands of teachers around the world to bring creative design and robotics fun into the classroom!
Our History
2005
Founder, Tom Lauwers, begins research on educational robotics at Carnegie Mellon University.
2006-2009
At CMU’s CREATE Lab, Finches and Hummingbirds are made and tested in middle schools, high schools, community colleges, and after-school programs.
2010
Dr. Tom Lauwers completes his thesis and BirdBrain Technologies is born.
2011
The Finch Robot is officially launched.
2012
The Hummingbird Robotics Kit is officially launched.
2015
The second version of the Hummingbird Robotics Kit, Hummingbird Duo, is Kickstarted and shipped.
2016
The BirdBlox app allows for a tetherless option with the Hummingbird Robotics Kit.
2017
BirdBrain Technologies wins NSF grant to develop a new educational tool for elementary school math with CMU’s CREATE Lab.
2018
The third version of the Hummingbird Robotics Kit, Hummingbird Bit, is created and launched.
2020
The second version of the Finch Robot, Finch 2.0, is launched.