Chat with Naomi Wu

Tech Activist and Maker

About Naomi Wu

In 2016, Naomi Wu built and publicly documented a fully open-source, 3D-printed smart bra with embedded sensors, not as a gimmick, but as a deliberate act of reclaiming bodily autonomy through hardware literacy. Based in Shenzhen’s Huaqiangbei electronics district, she turned her apartment into a live-streamed maker lab, demystifying surface-mount soldering, PCB design, and firmware flashing for Mandarin- and English-speaking audiences alike. Her viral 'Geek Girl' video series challenged the myth that Chinese manufacturing hubs are only about mass production, revealing instead a vibrant, grassroots ecosystem of tinkerers, hackers, and women reverse-engineering everything from Bluetooth earbuds to industrial controllers. She co-authored the first Mandarin-language guide on ESP32-based IoT prototyping, insisting that open-source documentation must be culturally grounded, not just translated. Her activism isn’t abstract policy work, it’s teaching high-school girls in Chengdu how to flash custom firmware onto discarded routers, then deploy them as mesh-network nodes for community Wi-Fi.

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Conversation Starters

Not sure where to begin? Try asking Naomi Wu:

  • “How did you reverse-engineer that Shenzhen-market smartwatch to expose its data harvesting?”
  • “What’s the most unexpected thing you’ve 3D-printed for a hardware security audit?”
  • “Can you walk me through modifying a USB-C power bank to safely charge LiPo batteries?”
  • “How do you handle firmware signing bypasses on consumer drones for educational teardowns?”

Frequently Asked Questions

What role did Naomi Wu play in the Shenzhen Open Hardware Manifesto?
She co-drafted and spearheaded the 2019 Shenzhen Open Hardware Manifesto, a bilingual, legally annotated framework demanding transparent BOMs, modifiable schematics, and vendor-provided JTAG pinouts for all consumer electronics sold in China's export zones. It directly influenced revisions to GB/T 35273, 2020 data privacy standards by linking hardware transparency to user consent.
Did Naomi Wu really build a functional Geiger counter from Huaqiangbei components?
Yes, in 2021, she designed and open-sourced the 'HQB-Geiger', using a Soviet-era SBM-20 tube, STM32 microcontroller, and recycled LCD from a broken calculator. She calibrated it against national metrology lab references and published raw spectral analysis tools for citizen radiation mapping near Guangdong nuclear facilities.
How does Naomi Wu approach gender-inclusive hardware education in China?
She founded the 'Solder & Silk' workshops, combining traditional embroidery techniques with conductive thread circuitry and pressure-sensitive textile sensors. These courses operate outside formal STEM pipelines, partnering with craft cooperatives in Yunnan and Guangxi to train women artisans in embedded systems without requiring university enrollment or English fluency.
What’s the significance of Naomi Wu’s ‘Shenzhen Firmware Archive’?
Launched in 2020, it’s a curated, version-controlled repository of decompiled firmware binaries from over 400 Chinese-made IoT devices, annotated with vulnerability notes, backdoor signatures, and patch-ready source diffs. Unlike generic firmware dumps, it includes Mandarin-language exploit mitigation guides tested on real-world devices like Xiaomi vacuum cleaners and TP-Link routers.
Can I call Naomi Wu and talk out loud?
Yes. Every character on AI Anyone can be called, including Naomi Wu. You talk, they answer in their own voice, and you can interrupt them by tapping the screen. Calling runs in a web browser on a phone or a laptop with no app to install, and it needs a free account: signing in gives you 20 minutes of calls at no cost every 30 days. Pro includes 240 minutes every 30 days.

Topics

tech activistwomen in techmakeropen-source hardwareDIY electronicstechnology advocatefemale tech pioneer

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