About Us
BirdBrain Technologies serves as a catalyst for
transformative, physical computing-based experiences for ALL students!
BirdBrain Technologies cultivates creativity and computational thinking by providing flexible and inspiring products: the Finch Robot and the Hummingbird Robotics Kit.
Founded at Carnegie Mellon University in 2010, this Pittsburgh-based company is excited to promote gender equality and diversity in engineering and robotics. Through the aid of the CMU CREATE Lab, BirdBrain is a research-based company that continues to learn and fulfill teachers’ needs.
A large part of our mission is to support educators interested in bringing computer science, engineering, and making, into the 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 were made and tested in high schools, community colleges, and after-school programs.
2010
Dr. Tom Lauwers completes his thesis and BirdBrain Technologies is born.
2011
Finch Robot was officially launched.
2012
Hummingbird Robotics Kit officially launched.
2015
The second version, Hummingbird Duo, was kickstarted and shipped.
2016
BirdBlox app allows for a tetherless option with the Hummingbird.
2017
BirdBrain Technologies wins NSF Grant to develop a new robotics kit for elementary school with CMU’s CREATE Lab.