ETH

Wearable Muscles

Researchers have developed a wearable textile exomuscle that serves as an extra layer of muscles. They aim to use it to increase the upper body strength and endurance of people with restricted mobility.

Successful Transplant of Human Liver Treated in Machine

A multidisciplinary Zurich research team Liver4Life has succeeded in doing something during a treatment attempt that had never been achieved in the history of medicine until now: it treated an originally damaged human liver in a machine for three days outside of a body and then implanted the recovered organ into a cancer patient. One year later, the patient is doing well.

Automated Analysis of Animal Behaviour

Researchers have developed a new method that uses artificial intelligence to analyse animal behaviour. This opens the door to longer-​term in-​depth studies in the field of behavioural science - while also helping to improve animal welfare. The method is already being tested at Zurich Zoo.

Wearable Device Plays Specific Sounds to Enhance Deep Sleep

Researchers have developed a wearable device that plays specific sounds to enhance deep sleep. The first clinical study has now shown that the device is effective, but not at the same level of effectiveness for everyone.

Nanoleq

Nanoleq is an early-stage company developing both components and integrated solutions for e-textiles. It is about to announce its first integrated product to monitor and guide breathing for meditation/sleep health. IDTechEx caught up with CEO Vincent Martinez

Applying The Butterfly Principle for 3D Printing, Colour Screens

Researchers have created artificial colours by 3D printing certain nanostructures inspired by those of a butterfly. This principle can be used in the future to produce colour screens.

Sensirion

Manufacturer of temperature, humidity and gas sensors for the automotive industry, medical technology, building technology, industrial processes and consumer goods.

ANYbotics

IDTechEx had an interview with Dr. Péter Fankhauser, co-founder and CEO of ANYbotics, and Cheila Marques, Marketing & Communications Manager at ANYbotics. As a spin-off from ETH Zurich with the goal to commercialize the technology behind the quadrupedal (four-legged) robot ANYmal, ANYbotics was founded in 2016, at which point their robot was already well into development based on the founders' work at ETH Zurich.

Health Patch With Core Body Temperature Measurement

Recon Health announced its partnership with greenTEG to integrate greenTEG's proprietary CALERA core body temperature sensor solution for continuous and non-invasive core body temperature measurement into Recon Health's Virtual Care Patch for remote patient monitoring and diagnostics.

Exaddon

Exaddon is a metal microscale additive manufacturing company based in Switzerland. IDTechEx spoke to Edward White, Marketing Manager at Exaddon.

Microbots Treat Neurological Disease by Intra-Nasal Administration

Researchers have developed a magnetically powered human nuclear transfer stem cells-based microrobot and a method of minimally invasive delivery of therapeutic agents into the brain via the intranasal pathway. And they also accomplished transplanting the developed stem cell-based microrobot into brain tissue through the intranasal pathway that bypasses the blood-brain barrier.

Synhelion

Synhelion SA is a Swiss cleantech developing synthetic fuels (gasoline, diesel, jet fuel) from concentrated solar heat, water, and carbon dioxide. In October 2021, IDTechEx technology analyst Dr. Hydra Rodrigues spoke to Carmen Murer, Head of Corporate Communication at Synhelion.

Producing Carbon-Neutral Transportation Fuels From Sunlight and Air

Researchers have developed the process technology that can produce carbon-​neutral transportation fuels from sunlight and air. Now they demonstrate the stable and reliable operation of the solar mini-​refinery under real on-​sun conditions. And they show a way to introduce solar fuels to the market without additional carbon taxes.

Energy Harvesting Wooden Floors

Researchers from Switzerland are tapping into an unexpected energy source right under our feet: wooden floorings. Their nanogenerator enables wood to generate energy from our footfalls. They also improved the wood used in the their nanogenerator with a combination of a silicone coating and embedded nanocrystals, resulting in a device that was 80 times more efficient—enough to power LED lightbulbs and small electronics.

First 3D Printed and Unreinforced Concrete Bridge

3D printing can be used to build load-​bearing concrete structures that require significantly less material and no steel reinforcement or mortar. Architects and engineers have showed how this works with a footbridge in Venice.

greenTEG GmbH

greenTEG is a start-up that is developing flexible thermoelectric generators, spun out of ETH in Zurich

A Material Keyboard Made of Graphene

Researchers have succeeded in turning specially prepared graphene flakes either into insulators or into superconductors by applying an electric voltage. This technique even works locally, meaning that in the same graphene flake regions with completely different physical properties can be realized side by side.

Energy Harvesting Smart Floors

Researchers have made wood compressible and turned it into a micro-generator. When it is loaded, an electrical voltage is generated. In this way, the wood can serve as a bio-sensor - or generate usable energy. The latest highlight: To ensure that the process does not require aggressive chemicals, naturally occurring wood-degrading fungi take over the task of modifying the wood.

A Magnetic Twist to Graphene

Structures made of rotated, ultra-thin materials provide a rich solid-state platform for designing novel devices. In particular, slightly twisted graphene layers have recently been shown to have exciting unconventional properties, that can ultimately lead to a new family of materials for quantum technologies.

3D Printed Bioresorbable Airway Stent

A research team is using 3D printing to produce a new type of bioresorbable airway stent. This could greatly simplify the future treatment of upper airway obstruction.