Meet the Team
Dr. Conor McGinn
CEO
Highlights
PHD in Robotics @ Trinity College Dublin
Design/Robotics Consultant @ NASA
Prof. of Engineering @ Trinity College Dublin
MIT 35 under 35
National Coordinator of Infection Prevention & Control Society for Ireland & The UK
Specialises in product design & development, sales, and IPC
Bio
Conor is the CEO of Akara and a renowned robotics expert. He was named on the MIT Technology Review on its Next Generation of 35 Innovators Under 35 list and was the youngest ever recipient of the Engineers Ireland Excellence Award for Innovation. He has won numerous awards for research and his work has featured on the cover of Time magazine. He earned Bachelors and PhD degrees from Trinity College Dublin, before becoming the University's first Robotics Professor and establishing the Robotics and Innovation Lab.
Dr. Michael Cullinan
CTO
Highlights
BE Mechanical Engineering @ Trinity College Dublin
PHD in Robotics @ Trinity College Dublin
Elected Scholar of Trinity College, awarded to <1% of undergraduates
Specialises in the areas of embedded systems, control and actuation
Bio
As an undergraduate, Michael was elected as a Scholar of Trinity College based on his academics; this is widely considered the “the most prestigious undergraduate award in the country” and is typically given to <1% of the undergraduate population. Michael has authored and co-authored numerous papers on robotics. He brings deep technical expertise, more than a decade of experience in robot development and excellent person management. Michael is an outstanding leader and as a senior member of the team, holds several important administrative responsibilities including company secretary. He also leads the ISO 9001 and Quality Management activities within the company.
Niamh Donnelly
Chief Robotics Officer
Highlights
BSc Mechanical Engineering @ DCU
MSc AI and Machine Learning @ UCD
Lead engineering roles @ Syze (startup), Etsy, Krisolis
Specialises in deep learning, computer vision, AI system design, edge AI
Bio
At Akara, Niamh is responsible for overseeing software development and developing the AI and autonomous navigation systems of the Akara Robot. She also has strong involvement in the areas product development and deployment.Niamh has won awards for her AI research, presented at numerous conferences and academic institutions (including MIT) and has been recognized globally as one of "50 women in robotics you need to know about" by Robohub. More recently, Niamh was awarded the prestigious “EU Women Innovators Award” by the European Commission, an award honouring trailblazing young innovators
Eamonn Burke
COO
Highlights
BE Mechanical Engineering @ Trinity College Dublin
MEng Mechanical Engineering @ Trinity College Dublin
Specialises in manufacturing, robotic system design, ISO standardisation
Bio
Eamonn has been working in the area of robotics since he was an undergraduate. He later went on to conduct his Masters research project in robotics under the supervision of Dr. Conor McGinn in 2015. After completing his degree, Eamonn stayed on to work as a research engineer in the lab, where he led the design and manufacture of numerous robots.
Eamonn leads the design, fabrication and assembly of the Akara technology platforms, including the Violet robot. He oversees all aspects of robot design, from early conceptualisation through to fabrication and assembly. Eamonn also plays a critical role in standards development, making sure that the robot is designed in line with ISO and CE mark requirements.
Robbie Scott
Director of Innovation
Highlights
MEng Mechanical Engineering @ Trinity College Dublin
Published in The American Journal of Infection Control, IEEE, Frontiers, FIS, and IPS.
Specialises in Infection Control, healthcare innovation, product design and sales
Bio
Robbie's professional journey began at Trinity College Dublin, where he pursued Bachelor's and Master's Degrees in Engineering. It was during his time at the Robotics and Innovation Lab that he developed expertise in emerging technologies, with a particular focus on healthcare robotics, ethical applications of AI, and human-robot interaction. His research has been published in esteemed journals such as AJICl, IEEE, Frontiers, FIS, and IPS.
Robbie leads the innovation at Akara, bridging the gap between emerging technology and practical application. Robbie works across every aspect of the product life cycle, from R&D, scientific validation & operational strategies, to the pivotal stages of commercialisation and fundraising.
Cian Donovan
Lead Dev-Ops
Highlights
Full Stack developer @ startup, Way2b
Embedded systems engineer @ AWN Consulting
Specialises in security, networks & embedded systems
Bio
Cian began robotics research at ‘Robotics and Innovation Lab’, Trinity College Dublin, in 2013. In this time, he acquired specialized skills in electronics and software development in the area of robotics. Cian also has experience working as a full-stack developer and embedded systems engineer and is very active in the open source community. Cian is a former winner of the Senior Group Category of the BT Young Scientist and was the received the Young Scientist Entrance Scholarship to Trinity College. Cian is actively involved with research and has co-authored numerous academic research papers on robotics.
Cian leads Dev-Ops at Akara and has developed automated software that ensures that every new Akara deployment follows the same systematic process and manages over-the-air software updates, eliminating the need for site visits for every software update.
Carl O’Connor
Lead Web-Ops
Highlights
5+ Yrs experience as Full Stack
Developer/Technology Consultant @ BearingPoint
BEng & Msc in Computer Engineering @ Trinity College Dublin
Specialises in WebOps and Mobile App Development
Ilter Savaş
Embedded Software Engineer
Highlights
4+ Yrs Software Design Engineer @ Pavo Group, Turkey
MSc Electronics and Communications Engineering @ Istanbul Commerce University, Turkey
BEng Electrical and Electronics Engineering @ Düzce University, Turkey
Specializes in embedded software design, electronics and networking
Swatheesh Muralidharan
Computer Vision Engineer
Highlights
Firmware Developer @ e-con Systems
BE Engineering & Computer Science @ Sri Sai Ram Institute of Technology, India
MSc Computer Science, major in Machine Learning @ University College Dublin
Specialises in computer vision, machine learning and software development
