Nicola Rohrseitz

Technology Expert Vissee — We are, We see

  • Zürich Area, Switzerland ZH

Founder, CEO at ViSSee

Contact

Social

Biography

I founded the Swiss start-up ViSSee, a spin-off company of the ETH Zurich that won many awards and is recognized as on the way to success.

Before building companies and bringing products to the market I specialized in Robotics and Systems at the Swiss Institute of Technology EPFL, did my MSc thesis in Underwater Robotics at the University of Tokyo, and completed a PhD in Physics and Neuroscience at the ETH Zurich. From my PhD research in applying engineering techniques to discover how the insect brain controls flight came the IP for founding ViSSee.

I serve as technology expert for the European Union, and I am often asked to speak about entrepreneurship and technology at public and professional events. My work has been the subject of many publications, interviews, and a documentary.

Industry Expertise

Consumer Electronics
Computer Software
Research

Areas of Expertise

Robotics
Start-Ups
Biomimicry
Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning
Innovation & Design Thinking
Computer Vision

Accomplishments

De Vigier Entrepreneurship Prize

2011-06-20

The annual prize of the W.A. De Vigier Foundation recognises the top 5 entrepreneurs of Switzerland, the world's most innovative country (*WEF).

Robotics in Weightlessness

2004-07-12

I led a team to test the robot we designed onboard a parabolic flight, the same astronauts use for training.

National Basketball Champion

1998-04-21

In 1998 I won the 1st league national basketball championship with Viganello.

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Education

Swiss Institute of Technology EPFL, Switzerland

MSc

Microengineering, specialised in Robotics and Systems

2005

Ticino State scholarship.

Master thesis:
"Autonomous landmark selection for underwater vehicles using sidescan sonar data"

Semester projects:
"Evolutionary robotics for PalmOS",
"zeroGraptor - a multigravity robot"; tested in weightlessness during the European Space Agency's 7th Student Parabolic Flight Campaign.

ETH Zurich, Switzerland

PhD

Physics, Neuroscience

2008

Thesis: "Visual groundspeed control principles in Drosophila melanogaster"
at the Institute of Neuroinformatics

Lugano 1 High School (Ticino, Switzerland)

HS diploma

literature (latin & modern languages)

1999

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Affiliations

  • ETH Alumni
  • University of Tokyo Alumni
  • EPFL A3

Testimonials

Director

http://www.cti-invest.ch/

CTI Invest

"This is what disruptive technology looks like"

Advisor

http://www.ttivanguard.com/

TTI/Vanguard

"Nicola = Thanks for coming along and doing such a great job."

Event Appearances

Computation from Nature

TTI/Vanguard NextGens  Charlotte, NC

2010-12-06

Cyborg Contribution

The Robot Revolution  San Francisco

2011-10-10

Una start-up svizzera può farcela a livello mondiale?

Venture Apéro  Lugano, Switzerland

2011-10-17

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Sample Talks

Computation from Nature

Biomimicry is mostly associated with new materials and physical products like Velcro. In this talk, I speak about what we can learn from nature from a computing standpoint, and how to transform these insights into successful products. I will use several examples, such as fruit flies. How is it possible that an insect with such a tiny "onboard computer" can fly around our hand? It uses some remarkable albeit straightforward tricks, and I lead you through methods to discover them in your context.

Style

Availability

  • Keynote
  • Moderator
  • Panelist
  • Workshop Leader
  • Host/MC
  • Author Appearance
  • Corporate Training

Fees

$6000 to $28500*Will consider certain engagements for no fee