Soft Materials

A 3D printable scaffold to support fast bone growth

Published:11.03.26 — A bone-like composite developed at EPFL, in collaboration with researchers from ETH Zurich, Empa and the University of Fribourg, uses naturally occurring enzymes to accelerate mineralization through an energy-efficient, room-temperature process. The strong, lightweight material shows promise for bone repair applications.

An electronic fiber for stretchable sensing

Published:31.10.25 — EPFL researchers have engineered a fiber-based electronic sensor that remains functional even when stretched to over 10 times its original length. The device holds promise for smart textiles, physical rehabilitation devices, and soft robotics.

Elephant robot demonstrates bioinspired 3D printing technology

Published:17.07.25 — EPFL researchers have pioneered a 3D-printable, programmable lattice structure for robotics that mimics the vast diversity of biological tissues – from a flexible trunk to rigid bone – using a single foam material.

Jamie Paik promoted to full professor

Published:11.07.25 — The School of Engineering congratulates Jamie Paik, who has been promoted to Full Professor of Mechanical Engineering by the Board of the Swiss Federal Institutes of Technology!

EPFL hosts RoboSoft 2025

Published:01.05.25 — From April 23rd-26th, EPFL hosted the largest annual soft robotics conference, IEEE-RAS RoboSoft. This year's international event, whose theme was 'Interdisciplinarity and Widening Horizons', featured a soft robotics competition and an art expo.