EPFL researchers invent low-cost alternative to Bitcoin

Published:30.09.19 — The cryptocurrency Bitcoin is limited by its astronomical electricity consumption and outsized carbon footprint. A nearly zero-energy alternative sounds too good to be true, but as School of Computer and Communication Sciences (IC) Professor Rachid Guerraoui explains, it all comes down to our understanding of what makes transactions secure.

Artificial skin could help rehabilitation and enhance virtual reality

Published:27.09.19 — EPFL scientists have developed a soft artificial skin that provides haptic feedback and – thanks to a sophisticated self-sensing mechanism – has the potential to instantaneously adapt to a wearer’s movements. Applications for the new technology range from medical rehabilitation to virtual reality.

Promoting peace and helping victims in cyberspace

Published:26.09.19 — Created to address the growing impact of major cyberattacks, the CyberPeace Institute is an independent NGO based in Geneva. EPFL President Martin Vetterli will be sitting on the Executive Board, and the EPFL Center for Digital Trust is named as a scientific partner of the CyberPeace Institute.

Nominations of EPFL professors

Published:26.09.19 — The Board of the Swiss Federal Institutes of Technology has announced the appointment of 20 professors at EPFL. Among them, seven women and five men, newly appointed, join the EPFL.

Student fieldwork targets thawing permafrost and an abandoned gulag

Published:26.09.19 — For the first time this summer, EPFL students travelled to the Yamal Peninsula of northwest Siberia for field research. A Stalin-era gulag and railway against the backdrop of the delicate Arctic ecosystem offered unique opportunities for interdisciplinary research in climate change, civil engineering, and history.

SwissCube still going strong 10 years on

Published:25.09.19 — The tiny Swiss satellite, launched in September 2009, is still working. The fact that it has lasted so long is a testament to the skills of the students who built it.

A chip to measure vacuums

Published:24.09.19 — Vacuums are a vital part of the processes – such as freeze-drying – used to make and preserve countless everyday items and must be measured with precision. An EPFL spin-off, Hexisense, is bringing to market a gallium nitride-based chip that can measure the quantity of certain gas molecules cheaply and with unrivalled precision.