Outlook on Future-oriented Technologies

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Around 200 representatives from industry attended the Technology Day at the Buchs campus of OST – Ostschweizer Fachhochschule on 11 June 2024. The event about future technologies for Switzerland, at which Empa researcher Mirko Kovac gave a keynote speech on how drones can be used in numerous areas in to achieve sustainability goals, was organized in collaboration with the Swiss Academy of Engineering Sciences (SATW), RhySearch and Switzerland Innovation Park Ost.

Several drones – equipped with cameras, scanners and 3D printers – building a tower together or robots that can move like flying fish under water as well as in the air: The images and videos that Mirko Kovac presented to guests at the Technology Day at the OST Campus Buchs were reminiscent of science fiction movies, but are a future reality. Kovac heads the Aerial Robotics Laboratory at Imperial College London and the Laboratory of Sustainability Robotics at Empa and EPFL. With his teams, he is developing next-generation drones that interact with the environment outside of laboratory conditions in a constantly changing environment. For example, by placing sensors in treetops or collecting water samples from different depths in coral reefs. Important data for measuring the health of ecosystems and protecting them. "Sustainability Robotics" is the name of the specialty.

The autonomous systems are inspired by the natural world, for example by insects. Kovac's keynote impressively demonstrated how drones will not only open up new fields for environmental sciences in future, but also how they have the potential to revolutionize the construction industry and protect human lives. The latter in the case of fires, for example, by providing an overview of the situation before the fire department enters the building.

Current developments and trends

Claudia Schärer and Stefan Scheidegger from SATW presented the Technology Outlook. This presents forward-looking technologies that will be relevant for Switzerland in the coming years, based on interviews with over 180 experts from 89 institutions. These include photovoltaics, 5G mobile technology, research into alternative protein sources and sustainable food production. At an international level, technologies in the field of energy and the environment have gained attention, as shown by an SATW analysis of Twitter/X posts from over 800 universities in Switzerland and Europe.

Several breakout sessions offered insights into research projects of OST, the co-organizers and industry partners. The presentations and short discussions were dedicated to the topics of Advanced Manufacturing and materials, digital twins, robotics, sustainability, environment and energy, artificial intelligence and sensor technology.

OST Technology Day

Together with SATW, RhySearch and Switzerland Innovation Park Ost, OST invited industry, research partners and interested parties to Technology Day 2024. The topic of the event: future technologies for Switzerland, insights into technology trends and the technology world of tomorrow. The event was hosted by Stefan Bertsch, Head of the Systems Engineering department, and Knut Siercks, Head of the Technology department. "OST has an excellent technical infrastructure, superbly equipped clean rooms and dedicated teams of highly qualified specialists for applied research and development," said Siercks, referring to further exciting projects.