Daria became interested in robotics during her studies in high school. "I applied for the OI internship program at FEL for high school students. I was selected," said the student. The internship inspired her to apply to FEL and the collaboration with the lab continued during her studies.
"I am now in my third year working in the humanoid robot lab. We are studying how young children learn and discover the world, and based on these findings we are developing artificial intelligence," Daria Mikhaylovskaya described. "I primarily work with the humanoid robot Pepper, where I developed an app representing our lab, and I also control the robot during various events. Now I am also working on the humanoid robot iCub, specifically its vision - we are working on making the robot see as well as possible and be able to recognize humans," the student explained. She noted that studying at FEL has "changed her life".
With an already busy schedule, Daria also found the desire and energy for other challenges. In the summer of 2022, she completed an internship at Microsoft in Prague and this year at Apple's Prague development office. "Both experiences were beneficial and I am glad that I learned things at OI that made me complete those internships. It was really a highlight that I got to work at Apple developing the operating system for the iPhone," the student summarized.
And it was Daria Mikhaylovskaja's extensive and varied portfolio of experience that led to the award from Google. "First I sent my CV, a cover letter. Then there was an interview, after which I advanced to the semi-finals, where I presented what I do in my scientific work and what my practical experience is - including the aforementioned internships. The main thing that was judged was my motivation and the contribution of what I am researching to the future," recalled Daria Mikhaylovskaya. Winning the final earned her the opportunity to represent FEL at the European level, and she will also speak at a Google conference in one of European cities.
In the future, Daria Mikhaylovskaya plans to study for a PhD, in which she wants to continue working on the development of robots, and later to start her own startup. "I am mainly interested in artificial intelligence in robotics. I come from a small town where women don't have much freedom and have to do a lot of housework. And I want to address that. Maybe develop a robot running on AI to help cook food, iron and do other household chores - make it automatic. So women would then have more time for personal development," the student concluded.