News

This week, four EPFL-designed drones are being shown in the Swiss Pavilion at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. The spin-offs developing the drones are trying to follow in the footsteps of Flyability and Pix4D by establishing themselves in the international market. Americans may be more familiar with Swiss chocolate than with Switzerland’s “Drone Valley,” but US specialists are keeping a close eye on the technologies being developed here.

After developing a method to control exciton flows at room temperature, EPFL scientists have discovered new properties of these quasiparticles that can lead to more energy-efficient electronic devices.

2018 was a prosperous year for EPFL startups, which raised a total of CHF 217 million in fresh capital. Nexthink alone announced a successful CHF 85 million fundraising round last week and Abionic, a spin-off from the School of Engineering, raised CHF 20 millions. This remarkable showing reflects EPFL’s vibrant entrepreneurial culture as well as the many different forms of assistance that the school has introduced over the years.

Nicola Marzari, head of the Laboratory of theory and simulation of materials (THEOS) and director of the NCCR MARVEL has been granted an IBM Faculty Award—the first given to an EPFL professor—for the project “Curated Datasets on Demand”.

Philip Moll, a new Tenure Track Assistant Professor of Materials Science, and Vivek Subramanian, a new Full Professor of Microtechnology, joined the EPFL School of Engineering.

A research team from the University of Zurich and EPFL have developed a new drone that can retract its propeller arms in flight and make itself small to fit through narrow gaps and holes. This is particularly useful when searching for victims of natural disasters.

EPFL researchers have developed a method to observe the electrical activity of neurons by analyzing the behavior of surrounding water molecules. This simple and non-invasive method, which could eliminate the need for electrodes and fluorophores, can be used to monitor the activity within a single neuron or potentially on an entire region of the brain.

Maartje Bastings, an assistant professor with the Programmable Biomaterials Laboratory and Romain Fleury, an assistant professor with the Laboratory of Wave Engineering, have been awarded an Eccellenza Grant from the Swiss National Science Foundation.

Prof. Drazen Dujic, head of the Power Electronics Laboratory, has received an ERC Consolidator Grant, for his project entitled EMPOWER- Medium Voltage Direct Current Electronic Transformer.

Uniknow, an app developed by EPFL students, offers theory, videos and graded exercises. The first module, on mechanics, was a big hit with users. With EPFL’s support, the project is now set to expand and cover other subjects.

Christophe Ballif, Tobias Kippenberg, Andras Kis, Nicola Marzari and Ali H. Sayed, from the EPFL School of Engineering, are recognized as "Highly Cited Researchers" for 2018.

EPFL researchers have developed a hydrogel – made up of nearly 90% water – that naturally adheres to soft tissue like cartilage and the meniscus. If the hydrogel carries repair cells, it could help damaged tissue to heal.

Thanks to sensors attached to their shoes, long-distance runners can harness the power of algorithms to analyze their stride. The algorithms, developed by EPFL spin-off Gait Up and tested in the Laboratory of Movement Analysis and Measurement (LMAM), are unmatched in terms of precision and the range of parameters measured, such as objective fatigue, cadence, strike angle and foot impact.

Thirteen PhD students from the US, Asia and Europe presented their research at the first Engineering PhD Summit held by EPFL’s School of Engineering. The topic for this year’s event was data-driven engineering in the life sciences. Shachi Mittal from the University of Illinois took home the jury award with her presentation on “Combining Data Science and Chemical Imaging for Automated Cancer Diagnosis.” 

A small lab-grown diamond measuring a few millimeters per side could one day enable civilian drones to be recharged in mid-flight through a laser. Thanks to the diamond, the laser beam can remain strong enough over a long distance to recharge photovoltaic cells on the drones’ surface. This system, which poses no threat to human health, is being developed by EPFL spin-off LakeDiamond. It could also be used to transmit both power and data to satellites and has just been included in the ten projects supported for two years by of the Swiss Space Office.

The new version of the TWIICE walking-assistance system is not only lighter, more comfortable and more powerful, but patients can also put it on and use it themselves – giving them greater independence. It has been tested by handcycling champion Silke Pan.

Jennifer Widom, dean of the Stanford School of Engineering, has won the Erna Hamburger Prize, which she will be awarded this evening by the EPFL-WISH Foundation.

Researchers from EPFL and Stanford have developed small drones that can land and then move objects that are 40 times their weight, with the help of powerful winches, gecko adhesives and microspines.

EPFL scientists have developed a machine-learning approach that can be combined with experiments to determine, in record time, the location of atoms in powdered solids. Their method can be applied to complex molecules containing thousands of atoms and could be of particular interest to the pharmaceutical industry.

EPFL scientists have developed a miniaturized electronic platform for the stimulation and recording of peripheral nerve fibers on a chip. By modulating and rapidly recording nerve activity with a high signal-to-noise ratio, the platform paves the way to using chips to improve neuroprosthetic designs. 

EPFL inaugurate this Wednesday, October 10 the LEARN Center for Learning Sciences. The Center will promote innovation in teaching and help formulate responses to the challenges being created by our society’s digital transformation.

Scientists from EPFL and ETH Zurich have developed an ultra-light glove – weighing less than 8 grams per finger– that enables users to feel and manipulate virtual objects. Their system provides extremely realistic haptic feedback and could run on a battery, allowing for unparalleled freedom of movement.

Researchers from Idiap Research Institute and EPFL have carried out a study using smartphone data from young Swiss people to better understand the circumstances in which they are most likely to drink. A computer model developed from the data can estimate, with over 75% accuracy, whether alcohol was consumed on a given weekend night.

234 students received their Master's degree in Electrical Engineering, Materials Science and Engineering, Mechanical Engineering and Microengineering on Saturday, October 6, during the traditionnal EPFL's graduation ceremony. 

Researchers at EPFL have found a way to implement an optical sensing system by using spatial multiplexing, a technique originally developed in optical-fiber communication. The method, which produces three independent streams of ultrashort optical pulses using a single continuous-wave laser and a single optical microresonator, is far simpler than existing technologies.

A team of eight EPFL students won the technical prize in the SensUs international competition, designing a portable biosensor that can measure the amount of vancomycin in a patient’s blood stream, enabling doctors to better control the dosage and reduce harmful side effects. Their technology – developed for the upcoming SensUs international competition – could eventually be used for other antibiotics as well.

EPFL spin-offs Bestmile and Lunaphore took home second and third place in this year’s ranking of Switzerland’s 100 most promising startups at an awards ceremony last night in Zurich. Flyability and Gamaya, two other EPFL spin-offs, also made the top ten. The winners were selected by a panel of 100 innovation experts.

Researchers stimulated the nerves of the amputated arm with signals very similar to the natural ones, succeeding in "imitating the colors" of the evoked sensations of the various types of receptors and related nerve fibers present in the fingertips of the hand. This has brought greater realism and greater functionality of the feelings experienced by patients.

EPFL researchers have developed floating, solar-powered robots to help protect Chile’s water reservoirs. These low-cost robots can be assembled together in a variety of ways on the water surface to prevent the water from evaporating – thereby preserving a precious resource in this arid country and one that’s crucial to its biggest industry: winemaking.

The team of EPFL students came in second place with their lightweight boat on Sunday in Saint-Tropez (France). Their heavyweight boat won the innovation prize.

EPFL researchers have developed an open-access platform where scientists can store and share their results together with their full provenance. This will enable their peers to build on published data and analysis methods for future work.

EPFL held its second annual Drone Days this past weekend. From Friday to Sunday, nearly 5,000 visitors were given the chance to pilot various types of drones. The weekend was capped off by a spectacular drone race that drew over 60 competitors from around the world and sent three Swiss pilots to the winners’ podium.

The elastic properties of materials are determined by a few material constants such as the Young’s modulus.

Pristem SA, a company spun off from EPFL’s EssentialTech program, has raised CHF 14 million of new capital in a first round. The funding will enable it to put its prototype of a robust digital all-terrain radiology system, appropriate for both industrialized and low income countries, into full-scale production.

Bill Curtin, head of the Laboratory for Multiscale Mechanics Modeling (LAMMM), has been elected a Fellow in Solid Mechanics by the European Mechanics Society for his " seminal contributions in modeling of mechanical behavior of materials from quantum to continuum scales, especially for predictive models of metal plasticity and composite failure, and concurrent multiscale methods."

A paper co-authored by Ali Saeidi, a doctoral student at the Nanoelectronic Devices Laboratory (NANOLAB), has won the 2017 Electron Devices Society George E. Smith Award. The paper is entitled "Negative Capacitance as Performance Booster for Tunnel FETs and MOSFETs: An Experimental Study”.

In a breakthrough approach that combines virtual reality and artificial tactile sensations, two amputees feel as though their prosthetic hand belongs to their own body. Moreover, the scientists show that the phantom limb actually grows into the prosthetic hand.

Summer series - Students' projects (6/9). On 11 August, the three Swiss universities that will compete in the upcoming Hydrocontest – EPFL, HES-SO Fribourg and HEIG Yverdon – will unveil their boats in Yverdon-les-Bains. EPFL’s team is now putting the finishing touches to its new boat.

New avatar-based software developed at EPFL looks at how people walk in order to predict their energy expenditure. The software, originally intended for roboticists and for researchers who develop prosthetics and exoskeletons, could have many uses in both medicine and sports. It can be tested online through a downloadable app.

Friday, 17 August has marked the 100th anniversary of the Laboratory of Construction Materials LMC. This is one of EPFL's oldest labs and specializes in concrete – a 4.2-billion-ton-per-year industry worldwide. Here is a look back at how this material has changed over the years.

By applying a computer program that mimics the way the human brain learns to identify objects, EPFL scientists are now able to reconstruct images that have been degraded by passing through an optical fiber.

EPFL researchers have developed an optical fiber capable of detecting what sort of material or liquid they have come into contact with. Their research has been published in Nature Communications.

The summit will be held on November 7-9 2018 and will focus on "Data Driven Engineering in the Life Sciences". Final year PhD students from universities worldwide are invited to submit their application until September 14.

The annual PhD Summit initiative, a workshop for final year PhD students interested in a career in academia, is organised by the School of Engineering at EPFL. We invite to campus, on a competitive basis, a group of exceptional graduating PhD students from institutions worldwide.

Prof. Li Tang, head of the Laboratory of Biomaterials for Immunoengineering at the School of Engineering of EPFL has obtained a European Research Council (ERC) Starting Grant, for his project entitled "Mechanical Immunoengineering for Enhanced T-Cell Immunotherapy".

An origami-like drone developed at EPFL is flexible enough to absorb shocks without breaking before returning to its initial shape. This new type of drone, which was inspired by insect wings, draws on the advantages of both stiff and flexible structures.

EPFL researchers have developed a transistor based on excitons – a type of particle most people have not heard of – that is able to function at room temperature. This breakthrough could lead to a new breed of faster, more energy efficient and smaller electronics. The study was published today in Nature.

EPFL’s entry in Hyperloop Pod Competition in California raced to a third-place finish. This was an extraordinary result for EPFLoop, which squared off against 18 teams from around the world in its first-ever Hyperloop competition.

Your torso is more intuitive – and more precise – than joysticks for piloting drones, both simulated and real, according to a recent study by EPFL scientists. Work is already underway to implement this new body-machine-interface technology for search and rescue with drones.

MIT and EPFL researchers have developed a highly targeted and non-toxic method for battling cancer through immunotherapy. Their nanoparticle gel acts only on immune cells surrounding the tumor, without affecting the rest of the body.

EPFL researchers have found a way to make materials that are normally opaque to sound waves completely transparent. Their system involves placing acoustic relays at strategic locations so that sound waves can propagate at a constant amplitude – regardless of what may lie in their path. This method could eventually be used to make it possible to hide objects like submarines.