wire - news in brief

A team at Balgrist University Hospital successfully completed the first holographically navigated spine surgery.

The Engineering Humanitarian Aid initiative, officially launched on 10 December 2020, will harness the expertise of Switzerland's two federal institutes of technology to benefit humanitarian aid programs.

The Engineering Humanitarian Aid initiative, officially launched on 10 December 2020, will harness the expertise of Switzerland's two federal institutes of technology to benefit humanitarian aid programs.

The Graphische Sammlung opened a new exhibition on 9 December. What makes this latest exhibition special is its integration with an augmented reality app for mobile phones and tablets, which allows visitors to interact with the artwork on display.

The requirements of real biological neural networks are modest compared to the complex deep neural networks used in machine learning, which come with substantial memory and energy demands. The Zenke group have developed a new method in machine learning called Neural Tangent Transfer to make a sparse neural network which performs almost as well as densely connected deep neural network on various learning tasks, but at a heavily reduced computing cost.

Algorithms developed at EPFL can help architects to design building structures that incorporate both new and reused components, thereby lowering their environmental impact.

A new software developed at EPFL can help architects to design building structures that incorporate both new and reused components, thereby lowering their environmental impact.

Researchers are at the forefront of developing some of the cutting-edge technology for the European Space Agency's first mission to remove space debris from orbit.

Thanks to a new system developed at EPFL, building owners can detect the number of occupants and track their movement using sensors installed on floor slabs.

Digital technology is running up against its physical limits. One solution is to build more data centers - but that needs to go hand in hand with a reduction in their carbon footprint.

The automation of work is increasing at a tremendous pace. But how well do technology and humans really work together in a digitised world?

One application in which Brandao and the IT Services team have opted for AI is a key piece of research infrastructure known as the Leonhard cluster, which is specially designed for big data analytics and machine learning. "It offers features unmatched by any other cluster in the world and is very popular in biomedical research and other areas," says Brandao.

Protecting citizens in the face of disaster often requires far-reaching decisions to be made. Any assistance is welcome - including from AI.

Artificial intelligence is having a growing impact on our daily lives and is also revolutionising research.

A bioethicist and a neuroinformatics scientist discuss how machines are becoming more intelligent and why the advances in technology are leading to new ethical challenges.

Even if we succeed in combatting the COVID crisis, the challenges for the health system will not simply disappear. Digital technologies can be developed to help meet ongoing challenges; Nicole Wenderoth explains what should be borne in mind here. Across the globe, the COVID-19 pandemic has pushed healthcare systems to their limits, at least for the moment.

As impressive as they may be, the latest AI systems are still no match for humans. Benjamin Grewe pushes for tomorrow's intelligent machines to learn the way young children do.

An interactive video game created by researchers and students in the College of Humanities (CDH) and UNIL Gamelab, in collaboration with the Initiative for Media Innovation (IMI) and Le Temps, allows

The software platform, NeuroKey, interfaces with multiple brain signal acquisition sources and devices, extending the reach of brain-computer interface applications GENEVA, SWITZERLAND & SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH, USA - The Wyss Center for Bio and Neuroengineering has granted a worldwide license to Blackrock Microsystems to commercialize its neural signal processing and decoding software platform for research and clinical applications.

Olga Fink develops artificial intelligence algorithms for industrial assets, rolling stock and power plants.

Researchers at the University of Basel have a vision: an individually configurable robot will revolutionize surgical procedures and provide numerous benefits for patients.

In a project under Horizon 2020, researchers from seven European organizations will examine how the vision of visually impaired people can be restored using electrical stimulation of the brain.

The technology pioneered by the ETH spin-off incon.ai allows blocks to be positioned with pinpoint accuracy, creating structures with aesthetic designs and augmented acoustics. Shadow plays, wavelike patterns or acoustic effects: bricks can be placed at special angles to create aesthetic architectural designs.

The Lauzhack hackathon gave students a chance to redirect their semester projects towards issues related to the coronavirus.

Jan Dirk Wegner uses artificial intelligence to research different aspects of the Earth's surface. In doing so, he hopes to help raise people's quality of life and protect the environment.

Today sees the start of the pilot phase for the long-awaited tracing app jointly developed by teams at ETH Zurich and EPF Lausanne on behalf of the federal government.

For his thesis, an EPFL PhD student has enhanced the accuracy and reliability of drone mapping - a technique that is gaining traction across many sectors of society.

Using exhaust gas measurements taken from the roadside, a team from the University of York and Empa was able to prove the Dieselgate scandal has led to positive results. The forced retrofitting of thousands of VW diesel engines saves the environment throughout Europe considerable amounts of Nitrogen oxide (NO x ).

EPFL's new Center for Intelligent Systems (CIS) will act as a research promotion platform for bringing together experts in machine learning, data science, computer vision, cyberphysical systems, and robotics.

Over the past two weeks, EPFL computer scientists have been testing and refining the smartphone-based system developed by the international Decentralized Privacy-Preserving Proximity Tracing project (DP3T), with the help of the Swiss Army. Their goal: to optimize the app's ability to alert users after they've been in contact with someone contagious with COVID-19, while building trust around the open system.

Trading in digital currencies such as Bitcoin or Ether has become an established practice but using them as a payment means is still a slow process.

Markus Gross is convinced that there are better technologies available than today's video conference systems.

He can play a computer game using thought alone. Samuel Kunz, who has tetraplegia, is currently training with researchers from Zurich and Singapore for the next Cybathlon.

Secure contact tracing could be a powerful tool to fight the spread of COVID-19. A unique, decentralized system developed as part of an international consortium, including EPFL and ETH Zurich, will soon be launched with the support of the Swiss Federal Office of Public Health.

The Square Kilometre Array, or SKA, will be the biggest radio telescope ever built. Thanks to this ambitious tool, some of the universe's greatest mysteries will be resolved.

The Square Kilometre Array , or SKA, will be the biggest radio telescope ever built. Thanks to this ambitious tool, some of the universe's greatest mysteries will be resolved.

Artificial intelligence (AI) is becoming more powerful and is used for increasingly complex tasks. This raises ethical questions, for instance, when AI is used to make decisions for or judge people.