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Imagine designing a robotic glider able to accelerate to 800km per hour using only the wind at its back. Combining passion with work, EPFL Professor Pascal Fua is leading research to develop the required capabilities, with important implications for sustainability. Head of EPFL's Computer Vision Laboratory (CV) in the School of Computer and Communication Sciences and a passionate gliding enthusiast, Pascal Fua always wanted to fly.

Robotic wheelchairs may soon be able to move through crowds smoothly and safely. As part of CrowdBot, an project, researchers are exploring the technical, ethical and safety issues related to this kind of technology. The aim of the project is to eventually help the disabled get around more easily. Shoppers at Lausanne's weekly outdoor market may have come across one of EPFL's inventions in the past few weeks - a newfangled device that's part wheelchair, part robot.

Quantum bits (qubits) are the smallest units of information in a quantum computer. Currently, one of the biggest challenges in developing this kind of powerful computer is scalability. A research group at the University of Basel, working with the IBM Research Laboratory in Rüschlikon, has made a breakthrough in this area.

Researchers from the FMI Facility for Advanced Imaging and Microscopy (FAIM) are drivers of a large-scale international initiative dedicated to improving quality assessment and quality control in light microscopy. Recently, the workgroup chaired by the Head of FAIM delivered the first protocol for this initiative.

Deep learning models are becoming increasingly common in bioimage analysis. Yet a lack of standardization and the use of these algorithms by non-experts are potential sources of bias. Scientists from EPFL and the European Bioinformatics Institute (EMBL-EBI) offer practical tips and guidance in a paper recently published in the journal IEEE.

A team of experts in artificial intelligence and animal ecology have put forth a new, cross-disciplinary approach intended to enhance research on wildlife species and make more effective use of the vast amounts of data now being collected thanks to new technology. Their study appears today. The field of animal ecology has entered the era of big data and the Internet of Things.

Researchers at PSI have compared the electron distribution below the oxide layer of two semiconductors. The investigation is part of an effort to develop particularly stable quantum bits -and thus, in turn, particularly efficient quantum computers. They have now published their latest research, which is supported in part by Microsoft, in the scientific journal Advanced Quantum Technologies .

Engineers at EPFL have developed a method for reading several qubits - the smallest unit of quantum data - at the same time. Their discovery paves the way to a new generation of even more powerful quantum computers. -IBM and Google currently have the world's most powerful quantum computers,- says Prof. Edoardo Charbon, head of the Advanced Quantum Architecture Laboratory (AQUA Lab) in EPFL's School of Engineering.

In a unique collaboration with ECAL/University of Art and Design Lausanne , researchers have developed an algorithm designed to generate some of the world's first Chinese typefaces, using machine learning. One-thousand years ago during the medieval Song dynasty, the artist and engineer Bi Sheng invented the first movable type printing technology, using porcelain and wood pieces arranged and organized for printed Chinese characters.

With the help of artificial intelligence and four collaborative robots, researchers at ETH Zurich are designing and fabricating a 22.5-metre-tall green architectural sculpture. Working with Müller Illien Landscape Architects, Timbatec and other partners from industry and research, researchers from the group led by ETH architecture professors Fabio Gramazio and Matthias Kohler are creating a green architectural sculpture for the Tech Cluster Zug.

Researchers at ETH Zurich have discovered major vulnerabilities in DRAM memory devices, which are widely used in computers, tablets and smartphones. The vulnerabilities have now been published together with the National Cyber Security Centre, which for the first time has assigned an identification number for it.

Uncovering the mechanisms of learning via synaptic plasticity is a critical step towards understanding how our brains function and building truly intelligent, adaptive machines. Researchers from the University of Bern propose a new approach in which algorithms mimic biological evolution and learn efficiently through creative evolution.

Researchers in EPFL's College of Humanities have used machine learning to reveal how humans bridge the often-significant gaps between signal and meaning in communication. Robert Lieck and Martin Rohrmeier of the Digital and Cognitive Musicology Laboratory (DCML) used machine learning and artificial intelligence to explore the alignments and misalignments between signals - such as words and gestures - and meaning in communication.

ETH Zurich and UNIGE establish an interdisciplinary unit dedicated to science in diplomacy in the heart of international Geneva. This joint lab will bring scientific insights and methods into diplomatic, international conflict resolution and help address the global challenges our societies are facing.

Researchers in the Friedrich group have contributed to create an atlas that links subcellular structures to gene expression in each cell of the sea worm Platynereis dumerilii , a key model organism for the study of development and evolution. The atlas will help researchers to shed light onto molecular and cellular mechanisms at play in our very ancient ancestors.

Under an initiative by EPFL's Center for Imaging, a team of engineers from EPFL and Universidad Carlos III de Madrid have developed a plugin that makes it easier to incorporate artificial intelligence into image analysis for life-science research. The plugin, called deepImageJ, is described in a paper appearing today.

If only it were less prone to error, quantum physics might already be giving us instant solutions to seemingly unsolvable problems. researchers are therefore working to develop systems that are more robust. In crude terms, our digitally driven information society is based on a simple binary opposition: 0 or 1.

For a long time, the development of quantum computers was concerned with theoretical and hardware aspects. But as the focus shifts towards programming, software and security issues, the classical computer sciences are coming back into play. Physicists had long nurtured the ambition to build a quantum computer.

Researchers from the University of Basel have developed an augmented reality app for smartphones in order to help people reduce their fear of spiders. The app has already shown itself to be effective in a clinical trial, with subjects experiencing less fear of real spiders after completing just a few training units with the app at home.

Using artificial intelligence, a team from the UNIGE has developed a device for the early detection of autism spectrum disorder in children. Individuals affected by autism spectrum disorder often present communication issues and difficulties in social interactions. Although very frequent, this disorder is challenging to diagnose before the age of five.