#epfl

[materialsscienceandengineering]

Electronic fiber with liquid metal droplets enables stretchable sensing

EPFL researchers have engineered a fiber-based electronic sensor that remains functional even when stretched to over 10 times its original length. The device holds promise for smart textiles, physical rehabilitation devices, and soft robotics. The phrase "liquid metal" may bring to mind something hazardous, like mercury or molten steel. But in the Laboratory of Photonic Materials and Fiber Devices (FIMAP) in EPFL's School of Engineering, it simply means a mixture of indium and gallium that is nontoxic, remains liquid at room temperature, and shows great promise for developing electronic fibers for wearables and robotic sensors. Unfortunately, as FIMAP head Fabien Sorin explains, liquid metals are extremely difficult to process, and it's especially hard to produce electronic fibers that combine high and stable conductivity with stretchability. Now, the lab has overcome this challenge using a technique called thermal drawing, which is traditionally used to engineer fiber optics.

Read more.

[hazel-unfiltered-edition]

Y’all I got accepted to my dream school AND I HAVE NO ONE TO TALK TO ABOUT IT SOMEBODY SHARE MY EXCITEMENT PLEASE thank you

[rihkal]

s-bot by EPFL (2004)

[rauko]

Blue Brain Project | Mouse Neocortex Tractography

"View from below the neocortex rendered at 3% density. Showing long distance connections (white matter) between regions of the neocortex. Neurons are colored by morphological types and algorithmically synthesized." [EPFL | Switzerland | 2005—2020]

[wildcat2030]

Edible batteries, sensors and actuators unlock robots designed to be eaten

Scientists have already made edible robotic components. The next challenge is integrating them together to create an entire robot snack that could be used in a wide range of applications, from delivering healthcare to monitoring the environment.

Imagine ordering drone delivery for your takeout, and then, after eating your food, you eat the delivery drone for dessert. The first part has been happening for a while; the second – the edible robot – could be coming soon, according to scientists from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (EPFL). “Bringing robots and food together is a fascinating challenge,” said Dario Floreano, director of the EPFL’s Laboratory of Intelligent Systems (LIS) and the lead author of a recently published perspective article that considered how far we are from the reality of edible robots. “We are still figuring out which edible materials work similarly to non-edible ones.” At first glance, food and robots appear to be at opposite ends of the scientific spectrum. But, according to the article’s authors, edible robots are not just a novelty you’d pay a ridiculous amount of money to see on a plate at a high-end restaurant. They have a wide range of potential applications in areas like human health and nutrition, wildlife preservation and animal welfare, and the environment.

[ohdeargodwhy]

RAVEN (Robotic Avian-inspired Vehicle for multiple ENvironments)

EPFL researchers have built a drone that can walk, hop, and jump into flight with the aid of birdlike legs

(Its hops and its little toes are too cute 😭)

[sspacegodd]

Light is both a wave and a particle.

Right. Sounds like cognitive dissonance, or non-dualistic Hinduism ("Atman is Brahman"), or maybe Shimmer ("it's a floor wax AND a dessert topping.")

Albert Einstein suggested that light is not only a wave but is also a stream of particles.

But the damn duo would never pose for photos. Until now.

Now, using electrons to image light, scientists at EPFL have succeeded in capturing the first-ever photo of this dual behavior of light behaving both as a wave and as a particle.

[jeroenapers]

HOUSE 1 is een installatie dat gebaseerd op een experimenteel concept voor collaboratief ontwerpen en bouwen door ALICE (Atelier de la Conception de l’Espace), een internationale groep van jonge architecten en doctoraatskandidaten van het Zwitserse EPFL, onder leiding van directeur Dieter Dietz.

HOUSE 1 is een kubus van 11 meter met een balloon-frame houtconstructie die de 'genetische code' voor toekomstige ontwikkelingen bevat. Bij het project waren meer dan 200 studenten betrokken, die in groepen werkten onder de nauwe begeleiding van 12 studieleiders en de houtingenieur Rémy Meylan.