Impact

Impactful projects which benefited from EPFL expertise and the region’s ecosystem
Exoskeleton race

© Alain Herzog – Twiice

The Lausanne region is well-known in sporting circles around the world because it is home to the International Olympic Committee and many sports federations. 

But that masks another important fact, that a number of local academic institutions (organized in the academic network for sports called Smart Move), startups and established companies operate in sports related fields and conduct pioneering R&D. This makes the region a first choice location for project developments.

Over the years, this vibrant sports ecosystem demonstrated its excellence in many events, international sport adventure, and competitions demonstrating that our approach is working.

News

© 2024 Kistler and Swiss Solar Boat team

How student lead projects can help companies develop new products

EPFL

EPFL’s Swiss Solar Boat team to test exciting new sensing technology with Swiss system and sensor leader Kistler via KNOVA, EPFL’s Open Innovation Platform.

Tom Bertrand and Mathieu Falbriard, cofounder of Bearmind, with their smart helmet © 2023 Alain Herzog

Smart helmets to prevent head trauma

Innovation

Players may not be aware of the severity of head impacts suffered during a game. Bearmind, an EPFL spin-off, has developed smart helmets that provide a series of metrics enabling coaches to monitor the neurological effects of head impacts suffered by their players. The firm hopes to quickly conquer the US market.

© 2023 EPFL

Prototyping Sports Tech: Enhancing Performance and Sustainability

Education

In the latest edition of the graduate course “Innovation and Entrepreneurship in Engineering,” students across many disciplines at EPFL tackled prototyping challenges at the intersection of sports and technology. Led by Prof. Véronique Michaud and Prof. Thomas Weber, and supported by a diverse group of additional faculty, eight student teams solved various industrial ‘Sports Tech’ challenges, in collaboration with the industry sponsors Archinisis, Montblanc, Pomoca, and Vacheron Constantin. In addition to finding an innovative technological solution with a viable business model, the challenge included a quest for reducing environmental impact. This year’s winning team provided a redesign of a Pomoca ski touring skin with a novel shape and fixation type.

All news

JOJ2020

© 2019 EPFL Alain Herzog

In January 2020, almost 2,000 athletes aged 18 and under descended on Lausanne and the surrounding area for the Youth Olympic Games. EPFL, in partnership with the University of Lausanne (UNIL) and Lausanne University Hospital (CHUV), used this unique opportunity to test a series of technologies developed in the lab before bringing them to the general public.

17.01.20 Technologies du sport au service des athlètes et du public
10.01.20 Un avatar numérique pour mesurer ses capacités sportives en marge des JOJ
10.01.20 2020 Youth Olympic Games: a testing ground for new technologies
09.01.20 2020 Youth Olympic Games: a testing ground for new technologies
08.01.20 Le sport, terrain d’expérimentation des technologies
04.01.20 Un laboratoire pour les athlètes mais aussi pour le grand public
05.09.19 Le sport comme terrain d’expérimentation

Discovery projects

EPFL has long been involved in bold technological initiatives, leveraging its expertise at the international level. In the field of sports, our School has provided scientific support to several major projects including Alinghi, Hydros and Rivages, applying our expertise to real-world challenges. These research projects have shown the full extent of what our School has to offer to the sports community.
Access EPFL archives

Alinghi (2000-2010)

31.03.19 L’EPFL, 50 ans en 50 points forts
22.09.11 America’s Cup technology more important than silverware
04.06.11 Quand le Léman se fait laboratoire des bateaux du futur
29.12.09 Coupe de l’America: la science derrière Alinghi
25.08.09 Polytechnique Lausanne joue l’atout recherche
10.03.08 Alinghi: les PME bénéficieront d’une technologie de pointe
26.08.03 Sailing with Science in San Francisco
07.11.02 Un partenariat victorieux
04.11.02 Le défi suisse Alinghi a fait appel à l’EPFL comme unique conseiller scientifique
09.10.01 L’EPFL désignée comme Conseiller scientifique du Team Alinghi
09.10.01 EPFL Scientific Advisor to Alinghi Swiss Challenge
12.06.01 Alinghi, une mine d’or pour l’EPFL
  EPFL Alinghi Collaboration 
  Sail Modeling: Image-Based 3D Modeling of Sails

Solar impulse (2003-2016)

08.12.16 Mechanical Engineering graduate who flew around the world on sun power
08.12.16 Prof. David Atienza – EPFL Embedded Systems Laboratory for Solar Impulse (Video)
16.06.15 Over 800 pupils guided through the Solar Impulse Exhibition
09.06.15 Solar Impulse: suivre les émotions du public en direct
Derrière Solar Impulse, l’incroyable succès d’une grande école suisse
17.02.14 Solar Impulse: le vol simulé
20.12.13 Monitoring Pilot Alertness for Solar Impulse
08.07.13 A Decade of Collaboration for EPFL and Solar Impulse
24.09.10 One flew over the students’ nest!
22.09.10 L’avion expérimental Solar Impulse a réalisé le survol complet de la Suisse
07.14.10 L’avion Solar Impulse tente le vol nocturne
13.06.05 Solar Impulse: un laboratoire volant pour l’EPFL
– Explorers of the new territories of knowledge’ is a phrase that summarizes the EPFL

l’Hydroptère – Hydros (2006-2017)

23.09.13 Composites give wings to Swiss teams’ nautical dreams
18.10.10 L’Hydroptère.ch amerrit à Saint-Sulpice
24.08.10 L’Hydroptère.ch, comme un avion sur le Léman
28.09.09 L’Hydroptère, le voilier le plus rapide de la planète
06.09.09 Nouveau record de vitesse pour l’Hydroptère
28.04.09 l’Hydroptère jette l’ancre dans le Léman
28.04.09 l’Hydroptère à l’EPFL (video)
20.04.09 EPFL: un prototype de l’hydroptère sera testé sur le lac Léman
16.04.09 EPFL develops “flying boat”
15.04.09 Hydroptère.ch, lab boat

Rivage (2010-2012)

23.10.12 La science s’invite au Vendée Globe
27.09.12 Vendée Globe : C’est aussi une aventure pour la science
25.09.12 Quand le Vendée Globe se fait sujet d’étude
10.09.12 Does science have its sea legs?
09.04.12 Rivages, un volet scientifique qui suit son cours (video)
14.04.11 EPFL takes on the Vendée Globe in Bernard Stamm’s wake
25.06.10 Stamm repart pour un tour au “Vendée 2012”

Browse the full archives

05.03.23 Le Mag: l’intelligence artificielle dans le sport, Sport dimanche (FR)
22.02.23 Vers un hub en Suisse Romande 
19.02.23 Les casques de ski ne protègent plus assez (FR)
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
15.12.22 Artificial intelligence deployed to enhance sports performance
08.11.22 Motivation is affected by oxidative stress, nutrition can help
14.10.22 Too much motivation affects our decision-making
11.07.22 Sprinting, swerving and weaving is matter of agility
11.05.22 Exoskeleton device helps stroke victims regain hand function
04.04.22 Gliding to Greater Sustainability
22.03.21 Innovative arthritis treatment combines heat with exercise
10.03.22 Connecting stress, weight, and social anxiety in early adolescence
04.02.22 Le leader de la peau de phoque se fixe à Chavornay (FR)
   
   
   
   
   
   
02.11.21 An immersive installation to promote meditation
25.07.21 EPFL scientist wins cycling gold medal in Tokyo Olympics
21.06.21 “On your marks. Get set. Go!” Mapping delayed responses in the brain
21.05.21 Overcoming long-term trauma can be facilitated
14.05.21 How healthy is your digital twin?
14.04.21 New hydrogel can repair tears in human tissue
13.04.21 Parkinson’s disease: wearable sensors to track symptoms
02.04.21 Self-healing composites extend a product’s lifespan
15.02.21 Signs of burnout can be detected in sweat
10.02.21 How the brain makes sense of touch
22.01.21 MRI helps unravel the mysteries of sleep
21.01.21 Un métamatériau à la fonctionnalité programmable après sa fabrication
20.01.21 Le NAD+ contre la détérioration musculaire liée à l’âge
10.12.20 DeepLabCut-Live! real-time marker-less motion capture for animals
23.11.20 Virtual reality helps measure vulnerability to stress
14.11.20 Silke Pan wins silver in the Cybathlon with the TWIICE exoskeleton
13.08.20 The (neuro)science of getting and staying motivated
23.07.20 Technology that makes it feel like you’re touching virtual objects
01.06.20 Smart textiles powered by soft transmission lines
24.04.20 WIITE, the exoskeleton for backcountry skiin
06.02.20 Breathing may change your mind about free will
09.01.20 2020 Youth Olympic Games: a testing ground for new technologies
20.12.19 A three-year journey to break the world speed sailing record
10.12.19 Increasing food intake by swapping mitochondrial genomes
10.10.19 Bike designed with artificial intelligence breaks world speed records
14.08.19 A miniature stretchable pump for the next generation of soft robots
17.04.19 A competition to design a sustainable Olympic Village for the future
11.04.19 The way people walk says a lot about how healthy they are
26.03.19 Combating fatigue with a smartwatch application
06.03.19 A self-healing composite
18.02.19 EPFL promotes personalized nutrition with Food & You
05.02.19 A Swiss network brings stress researchers together
16.11.18 Science is keeping pace with marathoners
06.11.18 TWIICE One exoskeleton is a step towards independence
05.11.18 VRTIGO lets you test your nerves in virtual reality
03.10.18 Local universities set to participate in the YOG in Buenos Aires
24.08.18 An avatar uses your gait to predict how many calories you will burn
12.07.18 Artificial intelligence helps design an ultra-aerodynamic bike
25.05.18 An elastic fiber set to revolutionize smart clothes
09.05.18 Smart Move, an academic network for sports
27.04.18 Kung Fu Sets ArtLab in motion
23.04.18 Frequent walking: from personal health to sustainable mobility
31.01.18 Two months in Pyeongchang to study Korean snowfalls
05.12.17 A smart, portable and miniaturized system that can analyze sweat
24.11.17 “Lab-developed technology a boon to today’s athletes”
24.09.17 A brain-system that builds confidence in what we see, hear and touch
27.02.17 Using magnetic gates to track slalom skiers’ performance
22.11.16 Food data at your fingertips
16.11.16 Smartwatches connect intensive care doctors and their patients
14.11.16 A technology developed at EPFL will be used to analyze NBA players
06.10.16 Technology gets disabled people back on their feet
07.07.16 3D animation with the stroke of a pen
10.06.16 Artificial intelligence predicts the winners of Euro 2016 games
04.05.16 Your brain suppresses perception of heartbeat, for your own good
12.04.16 How the brain produces consciousness in “time slices”
04.04.16 Ski design inspired by turtle scales
09.03.16 “We are seeking to instill a philosophy of health and well-being”
29.02.16 Stretchable electronics that quadruple in length
03.02.16 Backcountry skiing: reaching new heights with connected skis
04.12.15 Playing tennis on a smart court
29.09.15 EPFL Dedicated to Research on the Challenges of Nutrition
27.05.15 A chip placed under the skin for more precise medicine
15.05.15 A Nano-transistor Assesses Your Health Via Sweat
18.03.15 Playing a Video Game Using Thoughts
09.03.15 Solar Impulse takes off, with a piece of EPFL on board
19.02.15 How stress can lead to inequality
12.02.15 The sports and health centre opens up to children with cancer
31.10.14 A Skipper Sets Sail with Navigation Assistance from a Start-up
19.09.14 How stress tears us apart
13.06.14 A High Tech Kickoff for the World Cup
28.05.14 Statistics that Help Win a Match
19.03.14 Where you live can literally shape your body
07.02.14 Sochi: Our Tweeted Emotions Decrypted in Real Time
17.01.14 A Device to Prevent Falls in the Elderly
20.12.13 Monitoring Pilot Alertness for Solar Impulse
23.09.13 Composites give wings to Swiss teams’ nautical dreams
08.07.13 A Decade of Collaboration for EPFL and Solar Impulse
20.03.13 Under the skin, a tiny laboratory
27.02.12 Getting a handle on chronic pain
01.02.12 Swimming goes high tech with EPFL-developed inertial systems
11.11.11 Better muscles thanks to a genetic knock-out
08.11.11 New technology tracks multiple athletes at once
19.10.11 Tiny new tool to track heart rate in real time on a smartphone
14.04.11 EPFL takes on the Vendée Globe in Bernard Stamm’s wake
25.02.11 Ski Jumping: Altus, Fortus, Captus
02.12.10 A 360° camera that sees in 3D
08.10.10 L’Hydroptère.ch to land at Saint-Sulpice
24.09.10 One flew over the students’ nest!
05.09.10 A center to promote sport and health
15.04.09 Hydroptère.ch, bateau laboratoire