As a new era of robotics dawns, that of evolving machines combining mechanics, all kinds of sensors and artificial intelligence, Switzerland has already managed to carve out an extraordinary reputation and is positioning itself as the discreet giant of global robotics. No other region in the world concentrates so much know-how in the field, investors, entrepreneurs and scientists say with one voice. “If you take the top 20 labs in the world, practically a quarter are in Switzerland, even though we only have eight million inhabitants”, Aude Billard, who heads the Learning Algorithms and Systems Laboratory (LASA) at the École polytechnique fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), confirmed to the Swiss news site swissinfo.ch. According to the newspaper Le Temps, Chris Anderson, the head of the largest American drone manufacturer, 3D Robotics, describes Switzerland as the “Silicon Valley of robotics”.
