Episode 6: Zoltán Dibó on Rethinking Innovation, Challenging Convention, and Leading Through Change

In this episode, Lucy sits down with Zoltán Dibó to explore innovation, leadership, and what it takes to think differently in a rapidly changing world.

Zoltán shares insights from his journey, reflecting on how curiosity, experimentation, and a willingness to challenge conventional thinking have shaped his approach to business and problem-solving. The conversation dives into the mindset behind innovation — not just big ideas, but the everyday decisions that drive progress.

They also discuss the role of technology, the importance of adaptability, and how leaders can create environments where creativity and new thinking can thrive. Zoltán offers a thoughtful perspective on balancing vision with execution, and why staying open to change is critical for long-term success.

If you’re interested in fresh thinking, innovation, and leadership that embraces change, this episode delivers an engaging and insightful conversation.

Learn more about our work:
Visit our website: https://intechsearch.com

🤝 Connect with us on Zoltán:

linkedin.com/in/zoltán-dibó-28929110a

🤝 Connect with us on LinkedIn:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/lucyrayden/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/chris-thiel-insight/

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:00

Hi, good morning everybody, or good afternoon. Um, I am joined today by Zoltan Dibot, who is the CEO and co-founder of Nortemse, working at the cutting edge of autonomous robotics and physical AI. We're gonna look at what it takes to scale robotics, lead through disruption, and stay competitive. It's about automation that touches real operations. So if robotics is on your radar, this is one to watch. Hi Doltan, welcome. Um, today I'm really looking forward to talking to you. So I wanted to start off by understanding a little bit more about your career. Um, you've built your career at the intersection of IT, AI, and autonomous robotics. What problem were you determined to solve when you founded your company? And why did you believe that robotics was the right answer?

SPEAKER_01 0:56

Hi, Lucy, thank you for having me. Um, yeah, basically, um I started to work in a company 20 years ago. We we did a lot of projects uh for large enterprises in web and mobile developments, and after long, long years of of uh of hard work, we we had the intention to start something new, and basically that was really close to the ChatGPT moment um a few years ago. And then AI was obviously something that we all thought we need to focus on, but also um we wanted to uh jump in a new industry where things are a bit different, but our expertise can be useful, and this is where we felt that maybe moving from digital to the physical space, but still in IT, might be might be a good idea. Um so this is how we ended up to to um establish a new company called Nortemsi, and now uh Nortemsi is 100% focused on robotics and AI that it's connected to it.

SPEAKER_00 2:06

Wow, and how did you decide on the focus, like what you wanted to focus on within robotics?

SPEAKER_01 2:14

So actually, um what just came through is a few years ago is that these autonomous robots are something really, really new. I mean the industrial robotic arms are already with us for long years, but these uh uh quadruplets are really new, and and we had a feeling like this is something that that will be big, really, really big, because these robots are capable to uh go up on high steeps and so on, and and uh even take the stairs. And so we thought like this might be interesting to understand like what are the real capabilities of the technology and and how we can build a solution on top of that. So basically, like half a year before North Mz, we just bought one, a robot, and then started to play with it and trying to understand, like, okay, how can we control the robot and and what can we do with that? Um, and this is where we had the real understanding, like, okay, this is really capable to to move around the place and and uh and do things, and then we started to build our platform uh connecting to the robot.

SPEAKER_00 3:29

Wow, and so where did this kind of enthusiasm for robotics come from? I imagine maybe some of you it even came from your childhood. I don't know if you're all enthusiastic Lego players or where it came from, but it's quite an interesting topic and not one for everyone. So, where do you think it came from for you and where or maybe for some of your colleagues?

SPEAKER_01 3:53

Um basically I was the one who was forcing this uh approach. Uh um, and and to be honest, yeah, a lot of Legos and a lot of uh uh um childhood memories are connected to to robots. And also I I um I'm really fascinated when the technology can bring some autonomy on the table. And I think this is something that is very interesting with AI as well, when we felt that the software can think and it has its own ideas, and and then we say, like, okay, this looks like intelligence. Um, and then the same with robots when we see that even if a vacuum cleaner robot is going around the blaze, sometimes it's really interesting how it struggles to solve uh the problems of the physical space. So I found it interesting, and and uh and to be honest, it was more like a business opportunity uh that we that we understood than hobby.

SPEAKER_00 4:55

Yeah, okay. But I bet everyone was pretty excited when you got your first robot, right?

SPEAKER_01 5:01

Oh yeah, and to be honest, it's really interesting because before that we were working all in the digital space, like creating websites, mobile apps, and so on. And when you have a bug in the software in a website, it's like something is glitching. But if a robot has a software bug, it just walks to the wall or just you know crumbles or do something, really crazy movement, and it's a mad, mad, really, really different bug. Uh and to be honest, these are the small things when we realize that that working in the physical space, um, it's a very, very different uh game.

SPEAKER_00 5:41

Yeah. But I bet you've had a lot of fun, right, in the process.

SPEAKER_01 5:45

Oh yes. We have a lot of internal videos uh when we are uh uh experimenting with the robots, and uh, of course, the first uh few shots are not going the best way. Uh but yeah, I think failure is really uh uh an important part of our work so we understand like what are the boundaries and and how we um how we need to care about the the control of the robots.

SPEAKER_00 6:15

Yeah. So tell me a little bit more about what the robots are used for that you're working on, like what are the everyday um uses, what are people using your the robots that you're specifically working on for?

SPEAKER_01 6:29

So I think there are those situations where where thing simply the level of danger is simply too high. So we don't if we can avoid uh um sending in people, we rather choose to send in a robot. Um so I think that's that's definitely a category um where these robots can can be used. Uh for example, um a suitcase left in the airport, you don't know what's in there. You know, you want to carry away or just analyze it with some sensors. Um even if there is some gas leakage or anything like that, you don't want people to suffer from that. Um maybe you put a gas sensor on the robot and then send it in, and then let's see if there is real danger or not. Um, so this is one one thing, and the other thing is when when you want like real um autonomous working in in a reliable way from the robot, and this is what we are um really working on to have like a security guarding and patrolling um solution with these robots where we have large uh spaces, outdoor or indoor, and you just want a robot to like go around every two hours, capture everything, um, use some AI to understand the videos, what happened um uh throughout the patrolling, and then have a clear vision that all your facilities are are uh um secured, or if there was any breach or anything like that. And because there are always the places where you don't have these fixed cameras or or any other solution to protect your your facilities, and then these robots can go around and and check everything every door, whatever you need, uh that everything is intact.

SPEAKER_00 8:28

That's impressive. And how far along is the technology now?

SPEAKER_01 8:32

Um, so I think that's one of the challenges here that currently robotics is really, really fast-moving technology. Um, in terms of software, in terms of hardware, new robots are showing up every month, new sensors uh showing up regularly, and there is an incredible amount of data generated by these hardware which you need to understand and and process uh software-wise. Um, and then you need uh a lot of CPU and GPU capacity to do that. And so you are in a constantly moving um technology stack. If you start the word with robotics, it's really, really new. I think with human-aid robots we can say that last year was there year zero, basically. For the quadruplets, it's a bit more we can say, like it's the second year probably uh that we are touching here. Um, and and I think a lot of things are are coming uh in the future.

SPEAKER_00 9:34

Yeah. Oh wow. Well, it's a big change and it's very interesting the work that you're doing. When business leaders talk about AI, they often mean software. Um, what do CEOs most underestimate about the impact of physical AI and autonomous robots on their organizations? What's the biggest impact, do you think, or the underestimation?

SPEAKER_01 9:58

Um, so I think we all understand digital space. Um we all have like our digital identities and the social platforms on LinkedIn, uh on the Teams or Slack in the company, uh, internal communication. Uh, we are all there. But once we turn down our notebooks or put down our phones, then we are just with ourselves in the in the physical space. Uh it's a human thing. Um, and I think it will be really, really interesting when this space is also infected by the technology where a robot is coming in and asking me, like, how was your day? You know, and then uh it can do a lot of things and and help me as as as it follows me. Um it can do a lot of things around me in the physical space uh that nobody thinks about. So, you know, like uh you order your food, uh it's down there in the office building. You don't need to go down if you're in a meeting, you know. Yes, there is a robot that will bring it to you and and put it on your table next to you if you want it. And so there are these very small things, and of course, if if we go to the industrial applications, there is a lot of work where it's I think there is a shortage of qualified or reliable workforce, and then businesses can find robots uh to solve these uh issues for them.

SPEAKER_00 11:32

So there's yeah, so there's a lot going on. Do you think we're gonna get really lazy not going to pick our food up from downstairs?

SPEAKER_01 11:40

I think there is there is a a great big risk uh in this, uh but just as the same with AI. I mean, like uh if we use AI really extensively, I think our thinking and raising capabilities might decrease uh uh in a certain time. So we need to be careful with that and have like consciousness in this aspect.

SPEAKER_00 12:06

Yeah, absolutely. And um what's the hardest part of moving robotics from concept um or pilot into the real world? So is it the scaled operational deployment? Where and where do companies most get stuck?

SPEAKER_01 12:25

So I think um having a robot, building up a robot workforce that is reliable, it's really hard. Because you know, there are these fancy YouTube videos where the robot can do something and like a backflip or uh uh or move some boxes all around the places. But having like these one use cases successfully uh done, it's good, we can do that, but in real life, the boxes will be different uh in terms of shape and size. Sometimes the robot will fail and and can't really uh hold the box and so on. And and these are the situations where reliability comes in, and I think it will be really important to to understand like the robots are at least as as reliable as as a human force would be, and it takes a lot of effort to get there in terms of development.

SPEAKER_00 13:26

Because how long have you had your company now? How long have you been going?

SPEAKER_01 13:30

So basically uh 12 months.

SPEAKER_00 13:33

So uh 12 months, so right, so it's pretty new.

SPEAKER_01 13:36

Yes, yes.

SPEAKER_00 13:37

Right. So you've probably learned a lot in the last 12 months.

SPEAKER_01 13:41

Oh yeah, a lot. We've we broke a few things. Um we had some failures, of course, down the road, but but also we learned a lot, and it's it's really something that you can only learn when you start to work with a robot, a real robot, and then you understand the technology and and all the problems of uh real-time controlling these robots and understanding and to be honest to understand like what these robots can capture from the physical space, it's also something that we need to we need to understand and learn.

SPEAKER_00 14:13

Yeah, so there's a lot going on, and it's very different, I imagine, from what you were doing before. So, no, I'm I'm I'm fascinated by it, Zoltan, I think it's amazing that you're doing this, and it must come with so many, many challenges. Um, as um robotics and AI change how work is done, um, what leadership mindsets will matter most, and which traditional leadership behaviors will actually start to hold companies back, do you think?

SPEAKER_01 14:44

Um I'm I'm really into is that I think everyone in the organization needs to learn AI, um, no matter what is their role. And so when you want an organization to learn, I mean, all the members of the organization you want them to learn, um you really need a leadership that is capable to help them to do that. And it it's something that should be more like a button-up, bottom-up process instead of a top-down, I think. And if a company has a different company culture uh and they can't align with this learning organization approach, I think for them it's a big disadvantage in in the era of AI and even robotics. You need a lot of openness, you need to try and fail a lot of things to understand what the technology can do for you. Um, and I don't think that that a real top-down organization can be fast enough comparing how the technology evolves these days. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 15:59

And do you feel that um you're seeing now or the need for more and more collaboration within teams to actually make progress? Because the everything's moving so quickly, it's it's difficult to um make sure you stay ahead and don't fall behind. And and I imagine that takes a good amount of collaboration between people as well.

SPEAKER_01 16:22

I think so, yes. And also you need to understand who are the early adapters in your organization because the others can follow them in terms of AI or robotics. And if you know who are these people and you can connect all the other members of the organization with them, then you have a much better chance that they can have a good influence in terms of adapting the technology. And so, for this reason, yeah, they need to connect because otherwise, only your early adapters and your early majority will work with AI, and the other ones are like just waiting for years until it's really proven and it's hands-on.

SPEAKER_00 17:06

Yeah, it's interesting. Okay, um, how do you think CEOs um need to rethink their talent, their roles, their career paths as automation becomes embedded in operations, particularly for people who are maybe worried about displacement or losing their jobs or things like that? How should the CEOs be thinking about this?

SPEAKER_01 17:31

I think they need to be prepared to a huge transition. Um, and so it's not like a small change in every role, it's like really a lot of things have to rewire in the organization, and some roles will totally disappear, and then new roles will show up. And there is always a chance to have people in that transition, but it's uh I think it's it's a big stress for for a company or an organization to make that step. And the sooner they understand the magnitude of the change they need to uh lead, um, the better they can they can achieve that with their organization. Because it's certainly there, and if they are not doing, there will be another company uh managing this transition much more successful.

SPEAKER_00 18:27

Yeah, so they have to be forward thinking and really looking at the whole magnitude of what's happening and how it's going to affect people mentally, but also with the skills that each of those individuals need to need to acquire to be able to stay in the game essentially. Um, but yeah, it's a big change.

SPEAKER_01 18:46

Absolutely. And I think it's a time when people ask themselves, like, what is my value here? Because I have an understanding what AI can do. And maybe I don't say it out loud, but still I have an understanding, like, okay, this is something I did for four hours every day, and now it's like five minutes with AI. And and are those people who who judge my work or make decisions about my role, are they aware of that? Will they give me new tasks so I can spend my time useful in the workplace? Or they just say, like, sorry, nothing left over you. And these fears I think need to be managed. Otherwise, people don't want to walk to over their eye, they just want to move away because it's dangerous for them. And this is the transition that CEOs need to lead, I think, in a way that's that safety is there in the organization throughout the transition.

SPEAKER_00 19:46

That's such an important point, actually. It it is so much about fear from many people, I'm sure. And actually, by having an open dialogue, addressing it head-on, you know, this is what I'm doing in my work. How else can I bring value by talking to the people that are working in the team? I think you'll definitely have less problem with the whole fear piece, which a lot of people are definitely feeling. So I think you're absolutely right. That open dialogue part is absolutely essential. Um, and we all need to be having it with our teams because you know, we want as much as possible for AI to be a great help in many ways to what we're doing, not be just putting people out of jobs, you know, it's not what it's about. So when we can embrace it and help people to embrace it, then we'll have more success as businesses, I think.

SPEAKER_01 20:42

Exactly. And also, if you think about the difference, difference between outcome and and uh and input. So, like there were where people were measured by their input, um, or maybe their their outputs even as well, this is something that AI will be much faster. Um, but if you focus on the outcome, then you can think, okay, how can I improve myself with AI? Because there is something more I need to achieve, and and they are not just measuring uh, you know, like um how much hours I worked on on certain things, because at that point AI will beat me. And it doesn't really help.

SPEAKER_00 21:27

No, absolutely. Well, it'd be nice if everyone could just work less and enjoy life more, right? That's the aim. But if everyone uh can can work it out like that, then we're in a good place, which is where we want to be, as opposed to a bad place. Um, okay, and looking ahead maybe five or ten years, what strategic decisions made today will separate organizations who thrive with robotics um from those that struggle, do you think?

SPEAKER_01 21:58

Um I think there is an inevit inevit inevitable change. So basically companies who who miss the opportunity to improve their effectiveness and performance with robots, those companies will be out of business at one point because their costs will be so high comparing to their competitors that they cannot really maintain business. Of course it's totally different in different industries, but this is where where we are going. So I think the earlier they start, the more understanding they have and for them it's a less stressful transition. They don't need to do it fast. Because when a robot can do a task in a reliable way this is a moment where basically a lot of companies are already lost in the competition competition. Because if that's the point when they start to to buy the technology, understand the compliance part of the whole thing, and then maybe restructure their buildings or their working processes that so they can they can use robots in an effective way, there will be others who are already a few years ahead. So I think this is why it's important even if just they buy small robots like not really connected to their industry maybe but just to have an understanding like okay what it means if there is a small thing going around me and talking with me and and helping me out and then they have an understanding of the technology much better than before.

SPEAKER_00 23:45

Yeah yeah that's great thank you and um what is there is there any common mistakes that you see companies making when they adopt robotics for the first time I think sometimes they their expectations are simply too high.

SPEAKER_01 24:07

I think it's very similar to to the AI boom where all the companies were used to to have IT projects where you have like clear requirements and then the software needs to like you know you have these checkboxes like past best it can do what I I expect it. And then there is an AI-based solution which is like non-deterministic and give you a different answer every time and it's really hard to like you know test it and and understand if it meets your requirements or not. And I think it's really similar to to robots as well most of the robots will be controlled by AI so at this point there is some change in the behavior every time and if you expect something that is work very accurately like a pre-programmed software then you don't really get it I think. In the business cases you get the really reliability but there is a great chance that the robot will choose a different path every way every day when it goes around and it's normal and it's okay. So they need to understand that this technology is really in the RD phase and this is the approach they need to to I think take when they want to start robotics like have their RD budget budget on that and then spend it wisely and and expect some some good working MVP but nothing more at the first step. Yeah so be realistic about what's achievable because it's gonna be it's never going to be a straight line progress right or that way which we'd all love to see but it's never like that right yes I think uh we we need to understand that robotics is really moving on with AI so the so um the phase is really uh connected uh both are in terms one way early stage on the other way there is a lot of uh results that that we can use and and and we can learn from yeah and um what advice would you give to um a CEO who knows robotics matters but doesn't know where to start um I think it's really good to start small just have one robot have somebody who have them to use the robot even if it's not like a production level solution just something that their colleagues can play with and and and learn how to to use the robot and what are the capabilities. I think it's also really important to to visit places where you can meet with these robots and have an understanding like okay what is a production robot is capable of and and what have others learned from that. But it's a learning path either way you go and so this is something that I think if they can allocate their time to to do these steps um it will be really really beneficial for them. It's not something that you can learn from YouTube or or any kind of digital material. You need to really be in the same space as the robot and then you start to learn how to work with that.

SPEAKER_00 27:32

And for people who have kids preparing your kids for the future what advice would you have for people with young kids so that the kids are um interested in robotics and technology because it's going to be an even bigger part of their world than it is of our world so what advice would you give to to parents of young children to to give them a good step in the right direction for their potential career so I think as usually there is always a kid's version of everything.

SPEAKER_01 28:13

And so it's just the same with robots as well. I think there are a lot of cheap robots that you can you can use as toys and and they are not dangerous in any way. Which helps the kids to understand like there are some things that are moving around them and can do certain things for them. Of course kids are learning extremely fast so it won't be a big challenge for them but I think that you can also teach to the kids with with this approach is that how reliable are these things. And I think it's really important that if a robot says like you look great or your hair is awful it's just a robot and they need to to be able to manage anything that the robot does that it it's a robot and it's some way pre-programmed maybe there is some AI in that because I I don't know if you have any chance to meet with a humanoid robot but no I'd love to but I haven't I I often see um faces that people are scared of it because it's like real it's moving it's big it's really when they uh really close to a robot and then it says something and they immediately start to talk with it. And so I think there is we need to understand like it's still a robot it's still a machine with some software but it's very hard to to categorize it because of course the AI is the intelligence within the robot and we all know what uh Jedi can do in terms of intelligence. So I think this is why it's important to to meet with these robots and start to feel a lot of people are afraid of these robots for example I often see that they're just scared because it's big it's moving it's from metal it has uh weight and you don't want to be really close to it because you don't know what it will do. And so I think this is something that that kids can learn from from basically toys and and and manage it and and understand like yeah there is a robot moving around me that's fine. I know what it's capable of I have to test it I have to understand it.

SPEAKER_00 30:35

Excellent and finally um Zoltan if you were advising a CEO um preparing for the next wave of automation what should they they prioritize first technology people or leadership capability and why um I think if the leadership is capable to manage a transition then people will be able to do their part so they can use technology.

SPEAKER_01 31:07

So I think the three things are basically coming one after one and that's because everyone needs so it's a really practical learning phase that people will do with the technology I think it's really important to to have the leadership capabilities for that. On the other hand as an RD CEOs need to invest in the technology. I think if they just wait and don't invest they are losing time because this is something that is coming just as AI. So they need to do their their first investment and have an understanding with their colleagues like what they want to test what they want to learn from that investment and then have like proper focus on that it's of course is differs for Mowlocate their time.

SPEAKER_00 32:02

Yeah. Brilliant well thank you so much Zoltan for joining me today and talking about all things robotics and automation it's an incredibly interesting space that you're working working in and I I feel you know like you're doing amazing things already you've kind of jumped two feet in um a year ago and things are moving very quickly for you and your company so I I'm really grateful to have you on here. Thank you so much for your time and your your insights and I wish you every success with your business. I'll be watching closely to see where it goes and uh maybe one day I'll be having my little robotic dog keeping my house secure um who knows but in the meantime I wish you all the best with the next uh next stage of your business Sultan and thank you so much for your for your your insights today.

SPEAKER_01 32:54

Thank you for the opportunity it was great to talk with you.

SPEAKER_00 32:58

You too thank you.

SPEAKER_01 33:00

Thank you