Business
As co-founder and president of RoadBotics, Benjamin Schmidt, PhD leads a dynamic team in the rapidly growing “GovTech” space. RoadBotics offers artificial intelligence-based road infrastructure assessments for governments around the world. By leveraging standard smartphone camera and app technology, which is paired with cloud access, they are able to deliver their product in an accessible and easy-to-use format. Most governments struggle to maintain their road networks because the process is too cumbersome, time consuming, and subjective. The robust imagery, reporting tools, and data generated by RoadBotics allows for objective decision-making and planning by those responsible for infrastructure maintenance and management.Dr. Ben began his career in bioengineering at the University of Pittsburgh. Realizing he had a drive and passion for startups, he worked as a data scientist and chief technology officer for a venture-backed company that focused on energy market forecasting and analytics. He then joined the founding team that launched RoadBotics, which was started at, and later spun out of, Carnegie Mellon University’s Robotics Institute. In our conversation, Dr. Ben discusses the evolution of the company, the challenges of selling to and servicing the government market, and the importance of quickly testing a concept with a minimally viable product.If you have any questions or if you’d like to chat, you can reach me at my contact info below. The purpose of this podcast is to share ideas, inspire action, and build a stronger small business community here in Pittsburgh. So please say hello, tell me what you think, and let me know how I’m doing. It means a ton!YOU CAN REACH ME AT:Podcast: https://www.proprietorsofpittsburgh.comWebsite: https://www.thestartupshoppe.net/podcastsInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/proprietorsofpittsburghpodcastFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/proprietorsofpittsburghpodcastLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/darinvilanoPhone: 412-336-8247YOU CAN REACH DR. BENJAMIN SCHMIDT AT:Website: https://www.roadbotics.comLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/schmidtbtInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/roadboticsFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/roadboticsTwitter: https://twitter.com/IamBenSchmidt