Filo, the reading animatronic
A ferret that reads to children, built to excite young readers: SOLIDWORKS head, 3D printed shell, stepper motor neck, and it talks.
Year2024 to 2025
RoleProject manager
ToolsSOLIDWORKS, Arduino
Drawing set · College portfolio · Rev 2026
Isabelle
Fanfan
Aspiring mechanical engineer and future Imagineer. I look for ways to make things better, from my own designs to the world around me.
A-01 About
Hi, I'm Isabelle.
I'm a senior at West Windsor-Plainsboro with a strong passion for robotics, mechanical engineering and computer science. I like hands-on projects that combine mechanical design with art, and I'm always looking for ways to push my skills further.
I've changed schools more than most, and I've learned that the best way to find my community is to do what you love. At West Windsor-Plainsboro South that meant the theater, the Black Student Union and, this year, the robotics club. At Disney I want to build imaginative, extraordinary and immersive worlds where everyone feels they belong.
- Builds
- Robots, animatronics, mechanisms and solutions
- Languages
- English, French (intermediate), Haitian Creole (elementary)
A-02 Robotics & engineering
From sketch to reality.
Project manager and team lead, Technology Student Association (TSA), 2024 to 2025. The animatronics brief was a character that would excite young readers, so we built Filo, a ferret that reads to children. I designed the head, body and mechanical components in SOLIDWORKS, printed the shell, used a stepper motor as the neck and wired an Arduino to a speaker, an MP3 module and voice recognition while my team focused on the cosmetics.
- Sketch
- Draft
- Dimension
- Build
A-03 Original Filo
Filo 1.0.
Early sketches had a book bat and a reading chair. The ferret won, and the chair was scrapped. Six steps from shell to voice, the finished Filo at competition, and a video of the build.
A-04 Filo, reimagined
Filo 2.0.
For the second version I rebuilt Filo from the frame up: a new 3D printed neck and head and a new set of eyes. I felt we could have done a better design, and I wanted to use my new knowledge and skills on a project I already knew. Plus, I wanted to give him a proper neck.
Atlanta Science FestivalA-05 Leadership & outreach
Changing the World!
Engineering shouldn't depend on which school you go to or who you know.
As Marietta High's Chief Science Officer for Science ATL, I made engineering approachable and welcoming for students and families in my community: hands-on exhibits at an elementary school and helping plan a family day at the Atlanta Science Festival.
63students in 3 classes at the Summer of Exploration alumni panel, Jan 16, 2025
~250students and parents at Powers Ferry STEM Night, Jan 23, 2025
4exhibits we ran there: hovercraft, drone, animals and a hot wire cutter
Legally Blonde
After the show
[Summer film program]
On setA-06 Interests & events
Beyond the lab.
The stage, the screen and the people I build community with.
Theater acting · 2025 to 2026
West Windsor-Plainsboro High School South: I played Pilar in Legally Blonde.
Theater crew & management
On theater crew through high school, and theater manager at Marietta High School from 2023 to 2025, working with directors and choreographers on blocking and student-led shows.
Film
[Summer film program: its name, where it was and what she did on it.]
Community
Robotics Club, the Black Student Union and HiTOPS, a teen group in Princeton.
Events & visits
The Atlanta Science Festival and the Governor's Honors Program, where I was selected as an alternate.
A-07 Projects
Selected work.
Four builds, each with what it was, her part in it, and what it taught her.
Filo 2.0, reimagined
My own rebuild of Filo from the frame up: a new 3D printed neck and head, and a new set of eyes.
Year2026
RoleDesigner and builder
ToolsOnshape, Bambu Lab X1-Carbon
Pocket cat bot
Our landlord didn't allow pets, so I built one: a pocket cat bot that moves and responds to specific commands.
Year2025
RoleMaker
ToolsOnshape, Bambu Lab X1-Carbon
Searching for Exoplanets
Inspirit AI Scholars project: finding planets around other stars from the dips in their light.
Year2024
RoleAI Scholar
ToolsPython, TensorFlow / Keras
What's next
I am thinking of rebuilding my pocket cat bot and adding more functionality to Filo 2.0.
A-08 Field notes
The rest of the camera roll.
Georgia and New Jersey, 2022 to present: the builds, events and trips behind the work above.
Scrapbook
17 photos: Filo, outreach nights, college visits, awards night, Governor's Honors, a summer on a film set, Legally Blonde and a pocket cat bot.
Open the scrapbookClose the scrapbook
Scrapbook
17 photos: Filo, outreach nights, college visits, awards night, Governor's Honors, a summer on a film set, Legally Blonde and a pocket cat bot.
Open the scrapbookClose the scrapbook
A-09 Milestones & awards
Four years, measured.
Leadership, the stage, and engineering, in the order they happened.
- 2022 to 2023
Student council representative
- Marietta High School, Georgia
- 2023 to 2025
Theater manager
- Marietta High School: blocking, staging, student-led shows
- 2024 to 2025
Chief Science Officer, Science ATL
- Summer of Exploration panel with pre-engineering alumni, Jan 2025: 3 classes, 63 students
- Marietta High exhibits at Powers Ferry STEM Night, Jan 2025: about 250 students and parents
- Designed the flyer for a family STEM outing to the Atlanta Science Festival, Mar 2025
- 2024 to 2025
Technology Student Association (TSA)
- Project manager and team lead: Filo the animatronic
- Fall 2024
Inspirit AI Scholar
- Searching for Exoplanets project, completed Nov 2024
- 2025
Governor's Honors Program
- Selected as an alternate, Mechanical Engineering
- 2025 to 2027
West Windsor-Plainsboro High School South
- Certified SOLIDWORKS Associate
A-10 Contact
Ready to build.
To talk about my work, email me at isabellefanfanmhs@gmail.com or find me on LinkedIn.
Approved for buildChecked by [name] · 2026
Isabelle Fanfan
Drawing set, Rev 2026
Sheets 00 to A-10