COVID-19 test detects antibodies in hundreds of tiny blood samples

Antibody testing can be a powerful tool for tracking the spread of SARS-CoV2 infections, the virus responsible for the COVID-19 pandemic. A group of scientists from EPFL, UNIGE and HUG have now developed a reliable and cheap antibody test that can analyze more than 1,000 samples at once and requires a small drop of blood, such as that from a finger prick.

Helping drone swarms avoid obstacles without hitting each other

Engineers at EPFL have developed a predictive control model that allows swarms of drones to fly in cluttered environments quickly and safely. It works by enabling individual drones to predict their own behavior and that of their neighbors in the swarm.

How healthy is your digital
twin ?

Digital twins – a savvy combination of artificial intelligence and personal data – have already begun to revolutionize the way healthcare is provided. But they raise a lot of ethical and legal questions, especially given the vast amounts of medical data that must be collected to train artificial intelligence algorithms. So should we be worried about the eventuality of a digital clone?

A laser will track lightning on the Säntis

Many sensitive sites, such as nuclear power plants, power stations and other critical infrastructure may have insufficient lightning protection and their electronic systems suffer damages due to direct or nearby lightning strikes. A European consortium now plans to investigate and develop a new type of lightning protection using a high-power laser that will create ionized channels in the atmosphere and redirect lightning away from sensitive areas.

Cold chips can control qubits

A cryogenic controller chip opens the door to solving the ‘wiring bottleneck’ and subsequently to realize a fully integrated, scalable quantum computer.

Light meets superconducting circuits

EPFL researchers have developed a light-based approach to read out superconducting circuits, overcoming the scaling-up limitations of quantum computing systems.