Hi #smartcommunity friends! In this episode of the Smart Community Podcast I have a fabulous chat with Nicci Rossouw who is the CEO and founder of Exaptec, a robotics company that specialises in telepresence, social and educational robots. Nicci starts off by telling us about her professional background in sales and her passion for robotics, she tells us what a Smart Community is to her before she tells us how she got into the robotics space. Nicci then tells us a bit more about her company and the work they do as well as her Podcast, ‘Let’s Talk Robotics’ and how she showcases and celebrates people and their businesses in the robotics and AI space. We discuss the value in different expertise and the importance of harnessing those expertise in Smart Communities before we discuss how automation can enhance businesses and how technology is changing our society. We finish our chat discussing the emerging trends of AI and robotics and the positive impacts they are having on communities. As always, we hope you enjoyed listening to this episode as much as we enjoyed making it! 

Listen here: 

What we cover in this episode:

• Nicci’s background in sales
• Her passion for her children firstly and for robotics 
• What a Smart Community is to Nicci
• Nicci’s professional background and how she got into the robotics space
• Her startup Exaptec and what they do 
• A bit about Nicci’s podcast and how she showcases and celebrates people and their businesses in robotics and AI
• The value in different expertise of people and harnessing those in Smart Communities 
• How automation can enhance businesses and how technology is changing our society 
• The emerging trends of AI and robotics and the positive impacts they are having 

Quotes: 

“I think if you’ve got Smart Communities, that are well set up, there’s good infrastructure, there’s good social support networks for people, there are lots of clubs that they can belong to, I think this impacts positively on communities.”

“My podcast focuses on the Australian community predominantly about the wonderful people we have in robotics and AI here, the depth of maturity is just astounding. And these people just go about their business, so quietly, you don’t even know about them. Like that always just amazes me, I [say], you need your trumpet blown, and I will be it for you. So I celebrate these people in the work that they do.”

“I think, for engineers, they do need an artistic [side] because you’re doing very creative work, you’re doing very specific work, but it doesn’t mean you can’t do it with flair, and creativity.”

“There’s a great exodus of jobs going to happen, because we of course, can now work from anywhere, which you and I have been fortunate to do in the work that we do, I’m not office bound the whole time.”

“I look at girls, especially and I go, having said that I’m a fiercely independent woman, but I look at them and I [think], have a career where you can look after yourself, you’ve got financial independence. It makes a huge difference when you can make decisions [and you can say] ‘I’ve got the capabilities of doing things because I can look after myself and I can look after my kids as I need to’.”

“I think for people that are working in the [robotics] industry, it is our responsibility to, as best we can,  educate people about the usefulness of [robotics and automation], and it can actually improve your bottom line.”

“If you automate, everything just improves from there, because you can upskill people, your turnover increases, you can employ more people. So there’s a positive to it as well.”

“I think with all technology you need to be aware of the technology, you need to be aware of how you can use it and then the detriment to it.”

“I think there’s room for a lot more discussions and collaboration [in Smart Communities]. And that’s the way forward again, with all stakeholders involved in it whether it’s Smart City, robotics, AI, everyone involved in this and getting them all together.”

Links: 

Let’s Talk Robotics with Nicci Rossouw

Exaptec Website 

Connect:

Find the full show notes at: www.mysmart.community 

Connect with Nicci via LinkedIn 

Connect with me via email: hello@mysmart.community  

Connect with My Smart Community via LinkedIn or Twitter and watch on YouTube

The Smart Community Podcast is produced by Perk Digital