Electrical and electronic engineering
New inspection drone uses wind to lengthen flight times
TechTransfer
EPFL
Elythor, an EPFL spin-off, has developed a new drone whose wing shape can adapt to wind conditions and flight position in real time, reducing the drone’s energy consumption. What’s more, the position of the wings can change, allowing the drone to fly vertically or horizontally. These features make it a perfect candidate for inspecting power plants.
Progress in alternative battery technology
Research
ETH Zurich
It is not easy to make batteries cheap, efficient, durable, safe and environmentally friendly at the same time. Researchers at ETH Zurich have now succeeded in uniting all of these characteristics in zinc metal batteries.
Student-made sensor facilitates climate-conscious design of public squares
Research
ETH Zurich
ETH students have developed sensors that can indicate how people use urban spaces. They anonymously measure how people use objects such as chairs in a public square. The sensors have proven useful in the test run and could be used in future to plan public spaces based on needs.
Where should wind turbines be constructed in Switzerland?
Research
ETH Zurich
A study by researchers at ETH Zurich shows for the first time how a relaxation of Swiss spatial planning policy would affect the locations of wind turbines. If the aim is to have as few wind turbines as possible in the Alps and in Switzerland in general, it would be worth considering using windy agricultural areas on the western Swiss Plateau.
Detecting hidden brain states
Research
ETH Zurich
Mental health disorders can only be diagnosed on the basis of symptoms – and individual outcomes cannot be accurately predicted. An ETH scientist hopes to change that with the help of mathematical models.
Electronic metadevices break barriers to ultra-fast communications
Research
EPFL
EPFL researchers have come up with a new approach to electronics that involves engineering metastructures at the sub-wavelength scale. It could launch the next generation of ultra-fast devices for exchanging massive amounts of data, with applications in 6G communications and beyond.
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