Engineering
Predicting complex dynamics from data
Research
ETH Zurich
Researchers at ETH Zurich have developed a new algorithm that allows them to model the dynamics of physical systems from observations. In the future it could be applied to the onset of turbulence and tipping points in climate.
Using images and artificial intelligence to inspect bridges
TechTransfer
EPFL
EPFL startup SwissInspect has developed a novel bridge-inspection system that combines structural engineering with drone technology, artificial intelligence and computer vision. SwissInspect is the result of research at Earthquake Engineering and Structural Dynamics Laboratory (EESD) in collaboration with Swiss Data Science Center (SDSC) on the image-based inspection and monitoring of structural elements.The company plans to test its system, which offers major advantages over visual inspection methods, on around 50 bridges in Switzerland.
Building lean pays off
Research
Empa
Super-insulating materials such as aerogels are expensive. At the same time, they offer a powerful advantage: the thinner the insulation of a building, the larger its usable area. An Empa research team shows when and where, even today, the use of aerogel is already economically viable and ventures an optimistic forecast.
Making installed train windows permeable to mobile-phone signals
TechTransfer
EPFL
EPFL spin-off nu glass has successfully tested a portable system that makes the window panes on railcars permeable to mobile communications. This can bring significant environmental and cost benefits to railway companies and mobile-phone operators, since they’ll no longer have to install signal boosters to provide wireless connectivity for passengers.
Carbon nanomaterials for future quantum technologies
Research
Empa
Twelve years of intense work are now bearing fruit – researchers at Empa have developed unique carbon materials with quite astonishing, hitherto unattained electronic and magnetic properties, which one day could be used to build quantum computers with novel architectures. A million-dollar grant from the Werner Siemens Foundation for the next ten years now gives this visionary project an unusually long research horizon, greatly increasing the prospects for success.
Can hydropower and fish co-exist?
Research
ETH Zurich
Hydropower delivers renewable electricity, but comes with massive fish mortality – a global dilemma that can only be addressed by true compromises, says Luiz Silva, and outlines how to find them.
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