Home » epfl

Articles tagged with: ‘epfl‘

Robotics»

AirBurr flying robot navigates in cluttered indoor environments

By Damir Beciri
One Comment19 June 2012

airburrMost flying robots aren’t built to recover from shocks after a collision, but a group of researchers from EPFL decided to construct a robot which is suitable for navigation in cluttered indoor environment. Named AirBurr, the flying robot acts like some flying insects and takes advantage of collisions in order to find its way around… »

Tech»

QEE-TECH – mass produced composite materials components

By Damir Beciri
14 June 2012

epfl-eelcee-qee-tech-1One of goals in transport is to create vehicles with less weight in order to lower their energy consumption. An EPFL spin-off company named EELCEE has developed a process that allows fast fabrication of lightweight composite components in large quantities. Polymer composites offer a good lightweight alternative to metals while offering the strength of steel…. »

Tech»

Beamspace MIMO – two mobile communication antennas in one

By Damir Beciri
2 Comments16 May 2012

epfl-beamspace-mimo-1Unlike researchers from Rice University who repurposed MIMO (multiple-input, multiple outputs) antenna technology, researchers at EPFL decided to develop Beamspace MIMO – a system where a single antenna can be used to transmitting the same data as the two-antenna MIMO system. This achievement will be more than useful for future communication systems, since it is… »

Robotics»

Learning about visual communication from robots

By Damir Beciri
10 January 2012

epfl-robot-communicationA joint research project conducted at University of Lausanne (UNIL) and EPFL performed a research that could lead to better understanding of communication within the animal kingdom. They followed the evolution of communication in 100 groups of 20 robots over the course of 1000 generations. The results show that communication systems can evolve differently within… »

Robotics»

Thymio II – a small and affordable educational robot

By Damir Beciri
5 Comments5 December 2011

thymio-ii-robotA group of researchers from Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne (EPFL) had a goal to create an original pedagogical tool that could be used for practical introduction of technology and robotics to children. In collaboration with the University of Art and Design Lausanne (ECAL), they developed Thymio II – a small programmable robot… »

Robotics»

Delta Direct Drive robot capable to perform over 200 operations per minute

By Damir Beciri
14 November 2011

delta-robot-epflIn the early 1980s, the industry was in need for a new type of robot capable to manipulate light and small objects at a very high speed. Since necessity is the mother of invention, Reymond Clavel from the École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) committed to find a solution and came up with the Delta… »

Tech»

Nissan and EPFL team up to develop vehicle interfaces of the future

By Damir Beciri
2 Comments29 September 2011

nissan-epfl-bmi-car-interfaceModern automobiles have electronics to help us steer and drive safer while being capable to achieve higher speed. Nissan is collaborating with researchers from the École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne in Switzerland (EPFL) in order to develop a system which could assist drivers in future by combining Brain Machine Interface (BMI) readings with data gathered… »

Tech»

Zinc oxide moulding enables production of thinner and cheaper solar cells

By Damir Beciri
One Comment11 September 2011

epfl-thin-pv-cellEven though silicon is one of the most abundant elements, the energy required to make silicon from sand is immense. A group of researchers from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne (EPFL) developed a new nanopatterning technique which boosts the output of the cells, thus enabling manufacture of solar cells that are one… »