Wow! MEAM Student Creates Innovative Device to Work New, Unfamiliar Showers

From a young age, James Robinson (E '19, W '19) was always creating. His parents express fond memories of the Lego cities he built. "He was always tinkering with computers and things," Sandra Robinson, his mother, recalled. In high school, Robinson even built his own homemade vibrators and sold them to girls unsatisfied with their boyfriends, displaying a technical ingenuity and business acumen that made him a perfect candidate for the M&T program. 

Now, he's set his sights on one of the most difficult engineering challenges of post-industrial life. As he said himself, "When you're using a new shower for the first time, you're going to either freeze or scald yourself. My product uses a combination of computer vision, machine learning, and blockchain technology to always adjust your knobs to the right temperature."

Robinson has already raised thousands in venture capital funding and has his eye on the President's Innovation Prize. It's rumored that Amy Gutmann herself considers Robinson a front-runner for the prize, as she has sensitive skin. In addition, several key markets have already expressed interest in Robinson's invention, including hotels, businesspeople, and people who kept showering with their parents past age four.