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Technology Transfer Platform PDF Print E-mail

The AISTS and the EPFL work together on research projects in the field of technology in sport. The AISTS is a platform for a network of institutions that are leading experts from a cross-section of disciplines. Its role is to add resources and help coordinate projects by bringing the right actors together. The principle researchers in this platform are the labs at the EPFL. They bring world-class expertise and have worked on sport related projects such as developing tools and bringing expertise contributing to the successful design of the boat by the Alinghi design team that won the Americas Cup in 2003 and in 2007.

The AISTS is in the unique position of having access to a network of world-class sporting companies, educational institution and sports associations located in Switzerland. This partnership brings together expertise in the areas of  education, technology, business and sports which leads to a few major benefits:

  • Athletes bring sports expertise and gain the knowledge and training to implement their ideas. They can find the means to turn their idea into reality.
  • Sporting goods companies can take advantage of the research and expertise available at universities and at the same time.
  • Universities can use sport to see their research put into practice and develop new sporting applications for existing technology.
  • International sports associations can  implement the innovations into their organisations to improve their business practices.  

“Sport is a unique opportunity to develop and implement cutting edge technology with a short turn around time. New technology in sport is tested at a very early stage in development, and the rapid implementation reduces validation time. This benchmarking makes it possible to demonstrate new advances, and dramatically speeds up transfer of new technologies to interested companies.”


About the EPFL

The EPFL, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (Swiss Federal Institute of Technology), is one of the two Ecoles Polytechniques Fédérales in Switzerland. It has been presented in a CNN program as the MIT of Europe. 

The EPFL, in its idyllic location on the shores of Lake Geneva, brings together a campus of more than 10,000 people. The school has a unique infrastructure that stimulates collaboration between students, professors, researchers and entrepreneurs. These daily interactions give rise to new and groundbreaking work in science, technology and architecture. With more than 250 laboratories and research groups on campus, the EPFL is one of Europe's most innovative and productive technology institutes. The School's unique structure facilitates transdisciplinary research and encourages partnerships with other institutions, including being a founding member of the AISTS. The EPFL emphasises both fundamental research and engineering applications.

 

Research at the EPFL

The research at the EPFL is clustered around the theme 'feel and control' by coordinating major efforts of several different faculties and institutes. For example, novel material structures including signal and sensing systems will be proposed for next generations of sport equipment and prosthesis. They would allow us to better adapt the stiffness/damping response of equipment and to offer a spectra of properties closer to natural materials and living tissues. Cognitive assessment, psychophysics, tissue engineering, smart materials/structures, bio-sensors, multi-task control, simulation and imaging are some of the key competences required to develop this platform. Projects should ensure a research continuum along the chain: brain – body – interfacing – sensors - environment. To this end, the EPFL benefits from working with the international sport federations located in the surrounding area.

 

Some Examples of Current Projects Driven by High Performance at the EPFL

The EPFL acts as scientific advisor in several major scientific and sporting adventures:

  • Design of the Alinghi Boat – The winner of the 2003 Americas Cup sailing race


  • Solar Impulse – Scheduled to be the first around-the-world flight using only solar energy


  • Hydroptère - Development of a new generation performance boat sailing on foils with the purpose of achieving new speed records on water



Our Motivation 

We share the goal of encouraging sporting companies and associations to access the world-class expertise available in Switzerland and developing new sporting applications for technology. The partnership between a sporting goods company and a University has as a few major benefits:

  • Sporting goods companies can take advantage of the research and expertise available at universities and at the same time, the university can find new ways to see their research put into practice.
  • It is cost effective for both parties. There are research grants that can supplement the work done for companies, and often some of the man hours can be done by students who are in need of research projects for a masters or doctoral thesis.
  • University labs benefit from the infrastructure and production facilities of sporting goods manufacturers to see their products implemented in the real world.
  • Sport is a unique opportunity to develop and implement cutting edge technology with a short turn around time. New technology in sport is tested at a very early stage in development, and the rapid implementation reduces validation time. This benchmarking makes it possible to demonstrate new advances, and dramatically speeds up transfer of new technologies to interested companies.

 
 
2007 AISTS, EPFL-PSE C, CH-1015 Lausanne - Switzerland.  |  Phone + 41 (0)21 693 8593  |  This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it
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