ETH News

During the COVID-19 pandemic, hospitals often became hubs of infection. Researchers from ETH Zurich, EPFL and the ISI Foundation are developing a wearable tracking system for healthcare facilities that can identify the risks of infections. Initial tests in Switzerland and Africa show its potential.

Experts from ETH Zurich, the University of Zurich, and the University Hospital Zurich have used machine learning to jointly create an innovative method. This new approach can predict how individual cells react to specific treatments, offering hope for more accurate diagnoses and therapeutics.

The Collegium Helveticum opens an exhibition this weekend that is all about data, patterns and artificial intelligence.

For Florian Dörfler, control engineering is the cornerstone of all automation. When away from work, however, he prefers to experience nature without feedback loops.

The Morphs are here! The smart, eager-to-learn creatures are now waiting in the ETH main building for players to train them. "Morph Tales - Exploring Artificial Intelligence" is a new game from ETH Zurich that is fun to play and shows how humans and AI master tasks together.

Quazel*, a spin-off from ETH Zurich, has launched a language learning app that uses artificial intelligence (AI) to engage users in conversations. The AI tutor adapts to the users' language skills and corrects their mistakes.

Psychologist Verena Zimmermann joins computer scientists Joachim Buhmann and Elgar Fleisch to discuss whether our feelings can be measured, what role they play in human-machine interactions, and the use of smart technologies.

What is it like to study computer science at ETH? 33 female high school students attended a one-week taster course in February to find out.

Autonomous virtual humans that move and behave naturally are Siyu Tang’s vision. One area from which the computer scientist draws inspiration are our behavioural patterns. Collaboration with architects and surgeons provides further input – and it also reveals the enormous potential of virtual people.

Researchers from ETH Zurich, the University of Zurich and Empa have developed a new material for an electronic component that can be used in a wider range of applications than its predecessors. Such components will help create electronic circuits that emulate the human brain and that are more efficient at performing machine-learning tasks.

This year’s ETH award for particularly innovative teaching projects goes to a course that brings physics experiments for students right into their home. The project was up against 24 others competing for the KITE Award 2022.

Using an artificial neural network, researchers at ETH Zurich have created the first high-resolution global vegetation height map for 2020 from satellite images. This map could provide key information for fighting climate change and species extinction, as well as for sustainable regional development planning.  

Digitalisation offers a wealth of new opportunities – and criminals and hostile states are only too happy to exploit them. Protecting against such attacks requires a broad range of measures.

A research team from ETH Zurich and LMU Munich is using artificial intelligence to analyse 3.2 million development aid projects worldwide. Their research reveals trends and funding gaps.  

Data contains much more than just the information on the surface. With statistics, deeper cause-and-effect relationships can be brought to light. This is what Alexander Marx is researching as a Fellow at the ETH AI Center using artificial intelligence. One of his goals is to be able to make predictions regarding diabetes in children.  

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has suddenly shifted the debate on security policy. An interview for Globe magazine with ETH researchers Myriam Dunn Cavelty, Vally Koubi und Giovanni Sansavini on the subject of security and risk conducted in January has been overtaken by events and will therefore not go to print. We want to nevertheless make it available to you online. A lot of the questions and answers would be different today. Read it for yourself.  

Four researchers from ETH Zurich have been awarded a Consolidator Grant from the European Research Council (ERC). Since Switzerland is no longer fully associated, they will receive the approximately eight million francs in research funding from the State Secretariat for Education, Research and Innovation (SERI).

Cookie consent banners only appear to give users control over their data. So researchers at ETH Zurich have developed a browser extension that uses machine learning to recognise and block unnecessary cookies.

Mennatallah El-Assady develops explainable AI programs that explain their own workings – and let users provide input. This can help analysts take a deep dive into political debate.  

Erika Meins explains the science behind why returning to the office is good for our performance as well as our well-being.   

No sooner had David Shapira and Kordian Caplazi finished their studies than they set about creating a start-up. Rimon develops virtual user manuals for industrial companies, enabling users to quickly and intuitively learn how to operate complex machines with the aid of AR glasses.

Researchers at ETH Zurich and the Frankfurt School have developed an artificial neural network that can solve challenging control problems. The self-learning system can be used for the optimization of supply chains and production processes as well as for smart grids or traffic control systems.

Whether for squats or sit-ups, the software created by the start-up VAY alerts exercisers about incorrect movements via a smartphone screen. Now the ETH spin-off has been acquired by connected fitness equipment manufacturer Nautilus.

ETH researchers are using artificial intelligence to improve quality management in digital production processes. The team has succeeded in halving the proportion of defective products in an experiment with the semiconductor manufacturer Hitachi Energy.

Researchers at ETH Zurich have succeeded, for the first time, in quickly and continuously correcting errors in digital quantum systems. This means they have overcome an important hurdle on the road to practical quantum computing.

Online hate speech can be curbed by inducing empathy for those affected. In contrast, the use of humour or warnings of possible consequences have little effects. A team of social scientists and 13 ETH Zurich students has demonstrated this in a new scientific publication.

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.

Buildings that own and run themselves: this idea, from the think-tank Dezentrum, was put into action for the first time at ETH Zurich in the form of a prototype. The result is a meditation cabin that shakes up the usual economic and social expectations.

An international research team whose members include an ETH Zurich professor has revealed a vulnerability in the security architecture of Intel processors. Until July, Microsoft and Google products were also affected.

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.

An international research team of cryptographers completed a detailed security analysis of the popular Telegram messaging platform identifying several weaknesses in its protocol that demonstrate the product falls short of some essential data security guarantees.

Rea Lehner has been running the “Future Health Technologies” research programme at the Singapore-ETH Centre since 2020. Together with her team, the ETH researcher is working on the principles of how healthcare can be changed through digital technologies.

The more connected the world becomes, the greater the demands that data traffic places on communications infrastructure. ETH Pioneer Fellow Marc Reig Escalé and his team develop innovative chips that process information faster than previously possible while requiring even less energy.

Next week, the first European Girls’ Olympiad in Informatics will take place in Zurich. The competition, which will have around 160 participants from 43 countries, is being organised by ETH students, who also came up with the original idea and are the driving force behind the event.

The 5G wireless standard is a less polarising issue among the Swiss population than thought. According to a survey conducted by ETH researchers, the majority of people are in favour of 5G. However, a substantial portion of the population in the French-speaking region had concerns about electromagnetic radiation.

The flagship supercomputer of the CSCS, "Piz Daint", needs to be replaced. Installation of the successor computer, "Alps", is taking place in three phases and will be completed in 2023. CSCS Director Thomas Schulthess explains in an interview why the new computer is so special.

When a person taps with their fingers, each finger generates a different vibration profile propagating to the wrist through bones. ETH Zurich researchers have now leveraged this discovery in the development of a dual-sensor wristband that brings intuitive free-hand interaction to virtual productivity spaces.

Scientists at ETH Zurich are working to develop information-processing switching systems in biological cells. Now, for the first time, they have developed an OR switch in human cells that reacts to different signals.

After finding a vulnerability in certain credit cards for the first time last year, ETH researchers have now found a way to outsmart the PIN codes for other payment cards.

The ETH researchers behind LatticeFlow are aiming to facilitate a new generation of trustworthy artificial intelligence (AI).

From Alexa and Siri to translation programs and computer-generated news, anything seems possible these days.The Media Technology Center is searching for applications that could lend a hand with day-to-day editorial work.

Artificial intelligence is having a growing impact on our daily lives and is also revolutionising research. ETH Zurich recognises its responsibility in this area and is striving to promote innovation and trust in this fast-evolving technology.

In the ETH-Podcast the two computer scientists Julia Vogt and Fanny Yang talk about what drew them to their field and why machines will never replace human beings in the medical field.

Many countries are turning to digital aids to help manage the COVID-19 pandemic. ETH researchers are now pointing out the ethical challenges, that need to be taken into account and the issues that need careful consideration when planning, developing and implementing such tools.

Computers normally store and process data in separate modules. But now researchers at ETH Zurich and the Paul Scherrer Institute have developed a method that allows logical operations to be performed directly within a memory element.

In the new podcast episode, Hoda Heidari and Elliott Ash discuss how big data is changing the world and our perceptions.

A new continuing education programme at ETH Zurich provides future managers with technological foundations: the MAS Applied Technology is a kind of "reverse MBA" for people with a background in social sciences or economics.

On 1 and 2 June, it will be that time of year again. In the region of Zurich the computer science festival – the Informatiktage – is being held for the third time.

Researchers from ETH Zurich and Disney Research have developed a software that makes it easier to animate characters in the entertainment industry. In the future, the software could also allow inexperienced users to design compelling motion cycles.

ETH Meets New York to explore Blockchain technologies, machine learning, and artificial intelligence with academia and industry. In two public symposia, we discovered how these disruptive technologies change the way we engage an increasingly digitalised world.

Sometimes it’s the questions, rather than the answers, that show how the world is changing. For example, questions about the moral consequences of machines and computers becoming more intelligent. A group of ETH students have tackled this issue.

ETH Zurich researchers and Disney Research have produced a new algorithm that allows non-invasive reconstruction of the teeth and gums from digital photos.

The industrialisation of agriculture began some 100 years ago; today we are witnessing its digitalisation. But the wave of Big Data may sweep farmers off their land unless they prepare their fields and mark out a course in good time. Only then can digital agriculture address the right questions.

Machines will become not just more intelligent in the future, but also more capable of learning. To promote research in this field, ETH Zurich and the Max Planck Society officially open the Max Planck ETH Center for Learning Systems today. The scientists want to understand the theoretical principles of learning and how these can be applied to real machines.

Whether shopping online or offline, everyone knows how difficult it can be to find the right outfit. Fashwell, an ETH spin-off, now has a remedy for that. Its app unites social media and online shopping to help users track down the clothes they like.