Engineering

Originally developed for electric cars, nowadays they supply mobile phone antennas with electricity, and tomorrow perhaps entire districts: The salt battery is a safe and long-lasting battery technology with huge potential. Empa researchers are collaborating with an industrial partner to further develop these special batteries.

Steering and navigating manual wheelchairs on pavements costs wheelchair users a lot of energy and places a strain on their joints. Two ETH employees have discovered a brilliant and simple solution that they are now developing further to bring to market.

An EPFL study has revealed the impact of five common personal care products when they’re used in enclosed spaces. Surprisingly, when they come into contact with ozone, the products spark chemical reactions generating new air pollutants.

Thanks to recent advances in artificial intelligence (AI), civil engineers can inspect large-scale infrastructure more efficiently and cost-effectively, while also monitoring the progression of damage severity over time. A team of EPFL researchers has demonstrated the feasibility of an AI-driven method for crack detection, growth and monitoring, and will soon test it on the railway section between Zermatt and Brig in Valais Canton.

Research areas at ETH Zurich span barriers in a wide variety of fields, including cell biology, drug delivery and spatial planning. Below, we look at examples from six different disciplines.