Science Communication
The TEC group is engaged in various outreach activities. Members recently participated in the 2019 SNSF Scientific Image Competition.
The external pageSNSF Scientific Image Competition encourages researchers working in Switzerland to present their works to the public and the media. The TEC group submitted there one photo and one video related to our recent research activities.
The eMedusa
Smart objects are part of our lives. Everything gets connected and continuously exchanges information. More information about our tastes and habits let the objects around us provide better, tailored services. We dream of simpler and happier lives.
But this may also be a daunting prospect. Aren’t fictions like 1984, or The Matrix turning into reality? The speed of changes can be petrifying! The risk is to see things go out of control. This is why scientists need to understand better how to use new technology, such that it helps to make our like easier; not turning the dream into nightmare.
This picture shows an experiment to measure the precision of time synchronization between different radios. In wireless communication, precise timing is key to minimize energy consumption, which is a major challenge for the future of connected objects. A logic analyzer (the petrifying Medusa's head) is used to monitor the operations of 8 radios, which are synchronizing themselves wirelessly.
Matterhorn time-lapse
PermaSense is a consortium of researchers and research projects bringing together different engineering and environmental research disciplines from several Swiss research institutions and companies. We develop, deploy and operate wireless sensing systems customized for long-term autonomous operation in high-mountain environments. Around this central element we develop concepts, methods and tools to investigate and to quantify the connection between climate, cryosphere (permafrost, glaciers, snow) and geomorphodynamics. Both the better understanding and the reliable observation of phenomena such as slope instability are of practical relevance and motivate close collaboration with public authorities. The long-term collaboration in this consortium develops solid interdisciplinary know-how, experience and networks in the participating institutions as well as in their national and international partners.