In Ukraine, Kateryna Portmann was born in 1986, just 100 kilometers from Pripyat, the site of the Chernobyl disaster. Growing up in the shadow of this major global disaster has profoundly influenced her perspective on safety and security in the robotics sector. As a senior product manager at ANYbotics and co-lead of the Swiss chapter of Women in Robotics, Portmann emphasizes the importance of prevention over the mere existence of robots. She believes that the robotics industry is entering a critical phase, with 2026 serving as a pivotal year that will test the durability of many organizations within the sector. Portmann has extensive experience working across Asia, where she observed rapid scaling in robotics deployment. This hyper-speed scaling often leads to quick decision-making, which can pose risks if safety measures are not prioritized. She expresses her satisfaction in building robotics in Switzerland, where engineering rigor, certification, and risk management are integral from the outset. Portmann highlights the importance of teaching systems thinking, ethics, and human-machine collaboration early in education, rather than as an afterthought, to ensure a safer future in robotics. Her experiences in various industrial environments, such as aluminum plants and cement facilities, have shown her the dangers of these settings for human workers. Robots developed by ANYbotics are designed to inspect and identify thermal deviations, gas concentrations, and unusual acoustic signatures, which can prevent costly shutdowns in industrial operations. For instance, early anomaly detection in one facility averted a shutdown that could have resulted in millions of dollars in losses. Additionally, the introduction of robotics has led to the creation of new internal roles focused on managing robotics fleets and interpreting inspection data. Portmann predicts that many organizations in the robotics industry will consolidate or even disappear by 2027, reshaping the landscape of the sector. She believes that the lessons learned from her upbringing during the Chernobyl disaster have instilled in her a strong commitment to ensuring that robotics is not about replacing human workers but rather enhancing safety and efficiency in hazardous environments. As the industry evolves, she remains optimistic that a focus on safety and prevention will lead to a more secure future for both workers and technology.