PeopleofSuperintelligence

Builder

Andy Flessas

Also known as andyRobot, Andrew Flessas

Andy Flessas is a robotics designer whose work carries computer animation into robot movement. He earned a BA from Columbia College Chicago and began as a computer animator before ABB hired him in 1995 to animate robot installation software. He built Robot Animator, a Maya plug-in for choreographing industrial robots, and brought RoboScreen displays to Bon Jovi's Circle Tour in 2010. NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory acquired Robot Animator for the Asteroid Redirect Mission in 2015. As of October 2026, he works as a robotics designer under the andyRobot name, connecting computer animation with robot performances in live entertainment and film.

Now at
andyRobot
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Timeline

  1. 1990–1995

    From animation to ABB

    He earns a BA from Columbia College Chicago in 1990. He starts his career as a computer animator. ABB hires him in 1995 to animate robot installation software.

  2. 2004

    Robot Animator

    In 2004, he designs Robot Animator, a Maya plug-in that lets users animate industrial robots with computer animation.

  3. 2009–2011

    RoboScreen for Bon Jovi

    He patents RoboScreen, a display system mounted on robotic arms, in 2009. Five ABB robots carry video panels on Bon Jovi's Circle Tour in 2010. ABB Robotics signs him and his company, Robotic Arts, to guide creative direction for entertainment and retail systems in 2011.

  4. 2015

    A NASA software license

    In 2015, NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory acquires Robot Animator for its Asteroid Redirect Mission.

  5. 2024

    Robotics on Drake's tour

    He designs robotic live-entertainment hardware and software for Drake's 2024 Big as the What? concert tour.

  6. 2025

    Robotically controlled speakers

    On June 3, 2025, Andrew Flessas receives a U.S. patent for robotically controlled speakers.

  7. As of October 2026

    Robotics design at andyRobot

    As of October 2026, he works as a robotics designer under the andyRobot name. He carries computer-animation methods into robot performances for live entertainment and film.

Career

  1. NowandyRobotRobotics Designer
  2. From 1995ABBComputer Animator, Creative direction
  3. Robotic ArtsFounder

Education

  1. 1990Columbia College ChicagoBA

From the biography.

  1. Google had the most people shaping AI every year from 2014 to 2025Our estimates of which organizations employed the most people shaping AI from 1961 to 2025, with a year-by-year chart.
  2. The United States employs an estimated 53% of people in our data with a known employment countryOur estimates of where AI careers are concentrated now and how countries’ shares of dated positions changed over time.
  3. 46% of living people in our data with known birth and employment countries work outside their birth countryOur estimate of cross-border careers in AI, from country of birth and the country of each current organization.
  4. More people shaping AI studied at Massachusetts Institute of Technology than at any other institutionOur estimates of where the people shaping AI studied and where their careers led, from education records in cited biographies.

Sources and credits

Photo: We have no published photo of Andy Flessas yet. Send us a free-licensed photo.

  1. andyRobot Profile andyrobot.com. Checked 18 October 2026.
  2. DEMO N–Z – DEMO Magazine blogs.colum.edu. Checked 18 October 2026.
  3. Meet the robot whisperer who 'manufactures fun' | WIRED wired.com. Checked 18 October 2026.
  4. He designs robots that can dance with pop stars | The Straits Times straitstimes.com. Checked 18 October 2026.
  5. ABB Robots Rock - Literally | Automation World automationworld.com. Checked 18 October 2026.
  6. US12323745B2 - Robotically controlled speakers - Google Patents patents.google.com. Checked 18 October 2026.
  7. 269: Entertainment Meets Automation: How andyRobot is Leveraging Robotics for Lady Gaga, Drake, and More | Manufacturing Happy Hour manufacturinghappyhour.com. Checked 18 October 2026.