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Past articles by Nccr:
12 years of NCCR Robotics
After 12 years of activity, NCCR Robotics officially ended on 30 November 2022. We can proudly say that NCCR Robotics has had a truly transformational effect on the national robotics research landscape, creating novel synergies, strengthening key areas, and adding a unique signature that made Switzerland prominent and attractive at the international level. In its 12 years of activity, NCCR… → Read More
Robots come out of the research lab
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, this annual 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.… → Read More
Swiss Robotics Day showcases innovations and collaborations between academia and industry
As the next edition of the Swiss Robotics Day is in preparation in Lausanne, let’s revisit the November 2021 edition, where the vitality and richness of Switzerland’s robotics scene was on full display at StageOne Event and Convention Hall in Zurich. It was the first edition of NCCR Robotics’s flagship event after the pandemic, and it surpassed the scale of previous editions, drawing in almost… → Read More
New implant offers promise for the paralyzed
Michel Roccati stands up and walks in Lausanne. © EPFL / Alain Herzog 2021 The images made headlines around the world in late 2018. David Mzee, who had been left paralyzed by a partial spinal cord injury suffered in a sports accident, got up from his wheelchair and began to walk with the help of a walker. This was the first proof that Courtine and Bloch’s system – which uses electrical… → Read More
Flying high-speed drones into the unknown with AI
When it comes to exploring complex and unknown environments such as forests, buildings or caves, drones are hard to beat. They are fast, agile and small, and they can carry sensors and payloads virtually everywhere. However, autonomous drones can hardly find their way through an unknown environment without a map. For the moment, expert human pilots are needed to release the full potential of… → Read More
Swimming robot gives fresh insight into locomotion and neuroscience
Swimming robot gives fresh insight into locomotion and neuroscience → Read More
New algorithm flies drones faster than human racing pilots
New algorithm flies drones faster than human racing pilots → Read More
How to keep drones flying when a motor fails
Robotics researchers at the University of Zurich show how onboard cameras can be used to keep damaged quadcopters in the air and flying stably – even without GPS. As anxious passengers are often reassured, commercial aircrafts can easily continue to fly even if one of the engines stops working. But for drones with four propellers – also known as quadcopters – the failure of one motor is a bigger… → Read More
A raptor-inspired drone with morphing wing and tail
A raptor-inspired drone with morphing wing and tail → Read More
Drones learn acrobatics by themselves
Researchers from NCCR Robotics at the University of Zurich and Intel developed an algorithm that pushes autonomous drones to their physical limit. Since the dawn of flight, acrobatics has been a way for pilots to prove their bravery and worth. It is also a way to push the envelope of what can be done with an aircraft, learning lessons that are useful to all pilots and engineers. The same is true… → Read More
This drone can play dodgeball – and win
Drones can do many things, but avoiding obstacles is not their strongest suit yet – especially when they move quickly. Although many flying robots are equipped with cameras that can detect obstacles, it typically takes from 20 to 40 milliseconds for the drone to process the image and react. It may seem quick, but it is not enough to avoid a bird or another drone, or even a static obstacle when… → Read More
The future of rescue robotics
Current research is aligned with the need of rescue workers but robustness and ease of use remain significant barriers to adoption, NCCR Robotics researchers find after reviewing the field and consulting with field operators. Robots for search and rescue are developing at an impressive pace, but they must become more robust and easier to use in order to be widely adopted, and researchers in the… → Read More
Robot-ants that communicate and work together
A team of EPFL researchers has developed tiny 10-gram robots that are inspired by ants: they can communicate with each other, assign roles among themselves and complete complex tasks together. These reconfigurable robots are simple in structure, yet they can jump and crawl to explore uneven surfaces. The researchers have just published their work in Nature. Individually, ants have only so much… → Read More
A prosthetic that restores the sense of where your hand is
A prosthetic that restores the sense of where your hand is → Read More
A robot recreates the walk of a fossilized animal
OroBOT – Credit: Maxime Marendaz Using the fossil and fossilized footprints of a 300-million-year-old animal, scientists from EPFL and Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin have identified the most likely gaits of extinct animals and designed a robot that can recreate an extinct animal’s walk. This study can help researchers better understand how vertebrate locomotion evolved over time. How did… → Read More
A new drone can change its shape to fly through a narrow gap
A new drone can change its shape to fly through a narrow gap → Read More
Small flying robots able to pull objects up to 40 times their weight
Small flying robots able to pull objects up to 40 times their weight → Read More
A foldable cargo drone
The field of drone delivery is currently a big topic in robotics. However, the reason that your internet shopping doesn’t yet arrive via drone is that current flying robots can prove a safety risk to people and are difficult to transport and store. A team from the Floreano Lab, NCCR Robotics and EPFL present a new type of cargo drone that is inspired by origami, is lightweight and easily… → Read More
New soft robots really suck: Vacuum-powered systems empower diverse capabilities
New soft robots really suck: Vacuum-powered systems empower diverse capabilities → Read More
Long-term control of brain-computer interfaces by users with locked-in syndrome
Long-term control of brain-computer interfaces by users with locked-in syndrome → Read More