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
Chief Operations Officer

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. He works across every aspect of the product life cycle, from R&D, scientific validation & operational strategies, to the pivotal stages of commercialization 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 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. He now 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

Shanu D
Perception Engineer

Tehsein Firoze Akhtar
Software Engineer

Fatma Dogan
Junior Engineer

Joe Wellwood
Robot Production Engineer

Gaurav Sethia
Computer Vision Intern

Michael O’Halloran
DevOps & Embedded Systems Engineer