According to an index by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), Switzerland is top in the world when it comes to innovation, but it’s also faced with some of the highest labour costs in the world. Robots could be the solution.
Martin Frauenfelder, president of the board of directors of Paro AG, which manufactures assembly line production machines in canton Solothurn, points out that if Switzerland is to stay competitive it needs to invest in automation.
This has been the case of the precision mechanics company Aegerter Swiss Technology AG, in canton Bern, which is well on the way to having its whole production line run by robots.
Automation presents Swiss companies also with a niche of opportunities, related with the uninterrupted running of automated production lines. This is the case of the family owned lubricant and coolant manufacturer Blaser AG, with production facilities in Hasle-Rüegsau in canton Bern as well as, in the USA, China and India.
Should raw milk sales be banned or should consumers decide?
Swiss food regulations do not allow raw milk to be sold for direct consumption. However, a loophole allows 400 raw milk vending machines to do just that.
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In 2032, a space station’s power generator on Mars is damaged by a meteorite. The 16 robots on site assess the damage and restart the main generator. Delays in communication due to the distance make direct remote control of the robots impossible, so a team of engineers back on earth has to programme the robots…
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The former management consultant had taken over the ailing robotics division of Swiss engineering group ABB. Its robots were too expensive and pitched largely at the auto industry, which was in a severe downturn. Operating losses in robotics hit almost $300m in 2009. “It was bleeding like hell,” Mr Spiesshofer recalls. “A lot of people…
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Geneva Airport now boasts what it says is the first ever robot that both checks in and carries luggage: the prototype “Leo”. (SRF/swissinfo.ch)
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Luca Mondada was looking for an idea that would combine his different areas of interest: an exceptional grasp of maths, his programming skills and a penchant for biology, and in particular neuroscience. Mondada won a special prize at this year’s Swiss competition for young scientistsExternal link for his experiment in swarm robotics (coordination of multirobot…
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A farmer in canton Aargau extolls the virtues of his new milking robot, which also feeds his cows and cleans up after them. (RTS/swissinfo.ch)
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I would prefer a car driven by a computer to a car driven by a human who is distracted by a phone. One auto executive recounted in Geneva how a friend of his had been seriously injured when a woman who was texting at the wheel of a car drove straight through a junction and…
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It is a warm May evening in Basel. Daniel Häni leaves a panelled conference room and heads to a nearby café in the old city. He has just presented the idea of an unconditional basic income to the local conservative right Swiss People’s Party. The result was foreseeable. None of the 60 or so participants…
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Starting in September, the Swiss Post will send small, autonomous robots out onto city sidewalks and pedestrian zones to deliver packages in a series of tests.
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