Business Talk Artificial Intelligence : Jaipur Robotics' Ermes Zamboni: AI should enhance operators, not replace them

As a startup founded in 2024, Jaipur Robotics is implementing AI in a rapidly evolving industry. How are you approaching workforce integration differently from established companies?

Being a young company has allowed us to design our technology with people in mind from day one. Unlike legacy players who might retrofit AI into rigid workflows, we co-design our tools directly with operators and facility managers. This gives us a more agile, bottom-up approach where human expertise isn't just considered. It's embedded in how the system works. Our goal isn't disruption for its own sake, but meaningful integration that makes everyone's job easier and safer.

Your automated alert systems assist crane operators rather than replace them. How did you decide on this human-augmentation approach?

We started by spending extensive time in the field, closely observing how crane operators work and asking them what they truly need. It quickly became clear that the best results come from collaboration. Waste is complex and constantly changing, with judgment calls that only a trained human can make — especially when handling edge cases or unexpected materials. For this reason, our system is designed to enhance human judgment, not override it.

That said, we see this as the first step. Keeping the operator at the centre is crucial today, but it doesn’t exclude moving toward full automation in the future for plants or scenarios where it brings clear benefits — particularly in handling repetitive, exhausting, or hazardous tasks. In those cases, automation can free people from low-value work so they can focus on higher-level, more rewarding responsibilities.

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What lessons are you learning about change management as you deploy your first systems? What would you do differently?

Implementing AI successfully is about creating an environment where people feel confident and supported. At Jaipur Robotics, we have learned that clear communication and active engagement are key. From the very beginning, we make sure that teams understand not just how the system works, but why it matters and how it impacts their daily work.

Every deployment reinforces the importance of trust and transparency. We take the time to listen to concerns, observe workflows, and adapt our approach to fit the real needs of operators. This continuous dialogue allows us to refine the rollout process and ensures that change is not perceived as something imposed, but as a positive evolution of their work.

For us, AI implementation is a journey rather than a one-off project. It’s about aligning technology with human expertise, fostering understanding, and building confidence so that teams can embrace innovation naturally and effectively.

Q: How do you help waste-to-energy facilities prepare their existing workforce for AI-enhanced operations?

Preparing the workforce for AI-enhanced operations starts with practical, hands-on support. At Jaipur Robotics, we design interfaces and tools that integrate seamlessly into the operators’ daily routines, so the technology feels intuitive and immediately useful.

We conduct tailored training sessions that focus on real tasks and challenges, showing how AI can help prevent errors, enhance situational awareness, and support faster, more informed decisions. By emphasising the benefits in concrete terms, we help operators see AI as a partner rather than a replacement.

In addition, we involve teams from day one, encouraging questions and feedback. This approach builds confidence, reduces uncertainty, and ensures that operators feel in control. The result is not only a smoother adoption of the system but also a safer and more efficient facility, where human expertise and AI work together effectively.

What role do frontline operators play in refining your AI algorithms? How do you capture their practical insights?

Crane operators play a vital role in making our system even more effective in real-world operations. While our AI delivers highly accurate results out of the box, we’ve built a feedback loop that allows operators to validate or adjust alerts in real time. This keeps them in control and enables the system to be fine-tuned based on human requirements, plant-specific objectives, and operational nuances.

It’s not about “teaching” the AI in a traditional sense, but about creating a continuous dialogue between human expertise and advanced automation. At Jaipur Robotics, we believe the best technology works with people — enhancing their decisions, adapting to their environment and never replacing their judgment.

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As a new company, how do you build trust with facility workers who might be sceptical of yet another "revolutionary" technology?

We make it a priority to be physically present on site, spending time with operators and teams to understand their day-to-day challenges. We ask questions, we listen carefully, and we build genuine relationships with the people who will ultimately use our technology. One of our core principles is avoiding the “black box” effect — the feeling that AI makes decisions without explanation. That’s why we design our system to clearly show why a waste item has been flagged, giving operators the context they need to trust and act on the information.

Our commitment to transparency also extends to our commercial approach. We structure our contractual terms so that clients have the opportunity to test and trial the technology, allowing them to directly verify its performance and understand its value before making long-term decisions. Over time, we’ve seen that this combination of openness, consistency, and responsiveness is what truly transforms skepticism into active engagement and collaboration.

Q: What skills gaps are you seeing in the waste-to-energy sector as facilities consider AI adoption?

The real gap is not technical, but interpretive. Operators do not need to code — they need tools that are intuitive, speak their language, and support their decision-making. That’s why we design our systems to be not only accurate, but also easy to use and understand. When people feel confident in interpreting and applying AI insights, technology becomes an ally. For us, a strong user experience combined with practical, hands-on training is essential to empower every worker and make them an active part of the transformation.

Another significant gap lies in data utilisation. Waste-to-energy facilities generate enormous amounts of operational data, but much of it remains unanalyzed or unused. A core role of an AI company like ours is to make sense of this data — extracting actionable insights and delivering them to decision-makers in a way that supports smarter, faster, and more impactful choices.

How do you balance automation efficiency with maintaining meaningful human oversight in critical waste-to-energy processes?

Our approach is rooted in the belief that technology should amplify human expertise — taking over repetitive, physically demanding, or low-value tasks — while empowering operators to make better decisions and improve overall performance and profitability. We intentionally keep the human in the loop for all final decisions, ensuring that operators remain in control.

Automation is powerful when it comes to managing complexity and processing large volumes of data, but it is human judgment that brings context, nuance and accountability. For us, the real value of AI lies in this collaboration. We build smart systems to empower smart people, enabling faster, safer, and more informed decision-making.