TechTransfer

How can the use of scientific knowledge be promoted in policy and practice to make plant protection more sustainable? An interdisciplinary study, in which five Swiss research institutions participated, identifies important hurdles and proposes a package of measures to overcome them.

With sensors that measure health parameters and can be worn on the body, we do let technology get very close to us. A collaboration between Empa and designer Laura Deschl, sponsored by the Textile and Design Alliance (TaDA) of Eastern Switzerland, shows that medical monitoring of respiratory activity, for example, can also be very stylish – as a shirt.

Every year, TIME publishes a list of the most important inventions of the year. This year, Gustav Nyström and his team from Empa's Cellulose & Wood Materials Laboratory made it onto the list with their biodegradable disposable battery, which points the way to the future of environmentally friendly electronics.

The institutions of the ETH Domain produce around 60 spin-offs each year. Among them, five are valued at over one billion dollars. Here is an introduction to these five “unicorns”.

ETH postdoc Olivier Gröninger is improving the drinking water supply for people in rural areas of South America with his Openversum project. This benefits not only the families but also the local economy and the climate

This year’s Swiss Robotics Day – an annual event run by the EPFL-led National Centre of Competence in Research (NCCR) Robotics – will be held at the Beaulieu convention center in Lausanne. For the first time, the event will take place over two days: the first day, on 4 November, will be reserved for industry professionals, while the second, on 5 November, will be open to the public.

Researchers at an EPFL lab have developed an ophthalmological device that can be used to diagnose some degenerative eye disorders long before the onset of the first symptoms. In early clinical trials, the prototype was shown to produce images with a sufficient degree of precision in just five seconds.

The substitution of petrochemical materials with those obtained from renewable raw materials is an important step towards increasing sustainability. In just two years of intensive and open collaboration between Empa and the Datwyler Schweiz AG as part of an Innosuisse project, a process was successfully developed that brought together the worlds of cellulose and rubbers. 

Femtech is a term used to describe technologies and applications that focus on women’s health. While this new market offers immense growth potential, taboos around sexuality, periods and menopause continue to hamper progress. Here, we take a deep dive into the latest developments — at EPFL and beyond.

Nahtlos, an Empa spin-off, has received 1 million Swiss francs in a first round of financing from a network of business angels from Switzerland and Liechtenstein and from the Startfeld Foundation. With this funding, Nahtlos aims to drive the market entry of its newly developed textile-based electrode for medical applications.

Newly established Focal Biosciences will focus on bringing together leading experts and scientific discoveries to harness cellular reprogramming in the fight against common age-related diseases.

Using innovative technologies and scientific expertise to help people in need is the goal of the Engineering for Humanitarian Action initiative launched by the ICRC, ETH Zurich and EPFL in 2020. Six of the projects are already offering results for tangible improvements for the ICRC.

The composite containers developed by AELER, an EPFL startup, deliver better performance across the board: they’re stronger, have a bigger payload, are better insulated, allow for enhanced tracking and can help cut carbon emissions. More than 60 of the containers are currently crossing oceans around the world, and the firm hopes to grow this number substantially starting next year. 

The approach and landing of passenger jets is often a burden for people and the environment. The DYNCAT project, in which Empa researchers are working with partners in Switzerland, Germany and France, is aiming at approaches that cause less noise and CO₂ emissions – thanks to intelligent assistance systems for the pilots.

The manufacturing industry is going through a period of profound change, driven in part by the advent of 3D printing and other advanced technologies. In order to support Swiss industry at this critical juncture, EPFL and CSEM have joined forces to create the Micromanufacturing Science & Engineering Center (M2C), a new focal point for pure research, technology transfer and everything in between.