Simone Giertz
- Swedish inventor, maker, robotics enthusiast, TV host, and professional YouTuber
Travels From
California
Simone Giertz Speaker Biography
Simone Giertz is a Swedish inventor, maker, robotics enthusiast, TV host, and professional YouTuber. She has also previously worked in MMA sports journalism, and as an editor for Sweden's official website Sweden.se
She studied engineering physics in college but dropped out after a year, going on to study at Hyper Island in Stockholm, and took an interest in programming and robotics. Giertz's interest in electronics began in 2013; she made a toothbrush helmet for a children's show pilot episode on electronics, which was uploaded to YouTube after not being picked up, starting her YouTube career.
Reddit has branded Simone as “the queen of shitty robots," and she runs a YouTube channel where she employs deadpan humor to demonstrate mechanical robots of her own creation to automate everyday tasks. Despite working from a purely mechanical standpoint, they often fall short of practical usefulness, for comic effect. Giertz's creations have included an alarm clock that slaps the user, a lipstick applier, and one that shampoos the user's hair. When building her robots, Giertz does not aim to make something useful, instead coming up with excessive solutions to potentially automatable situations.
In 2016, Giertz joined Tested.com, collaborating with Adam Savage on her first project, the Popcorn Feeding Helmet. In 2017, she hosted the comedy TV show Manick with Nisse Hallberg on Swedish TV6, where the hosts invent funny and creative solutions to everyday problems.
Why You Should Make Useless Things
Simone focuses on the things you cannot plan for. Instead, she is enthusiastic about life — and she shares that enthusiasm to highlight the beauty in not always knowing the answer. Turn off that voice in your head demanding you know exactly how the world works. Maybe a toothbrush helmet isn’t the answer, but at least you’re asking the question.
Robot Workshop
Simone will customize and facilitate a workshop for up to 50 participants at your company or event. Attendees will receive hands-on guidance from Simone during the build process as well as discussion about the importance of building useless things. A competitive element to the workshop enhances its team-building component while encouraging creativity.
Queen of Sh*tty Robots
I Had a Brain Tumor
