What’s the point of studying computer science if #AI can write code?
In a new Perspectives article from @ethz.ch, Professor Peter Müller argues this misses the bigger picture. Computer science is far more than coding and human expertise remains essential.
bit.ly/4rE0NHG
Last week, our co-director Gabriela Hug-Glanzmann spoke with SRF about how changing weather patterns are adjusting our energy needs
www.srf.ch/news/wirtsch...
When did optimal control begin? 🤔 From a bead sliding down a wire in 1696... to neural networks playing Go. The episode covers 300 years of optimal control, from Enlightenment puzzles to AI milestones 🚀
Link: www.incontrolpodcast.com
🧘Are you feeling balanced?
In this week's post, Jethusan Jeyaruban teaches you how to walk the electricity slackline. Find out more here: www.real-lab.ch/how-to-walk-...
📝 When everything works seamlessly: algorithms in your daily life?
With RADAR RP, we are launching a survey to better understand how people in Switzerland perceive automation and where they encounter it.
Responses are anonymous. Take part in the survey and share your perspective!
bit.ly/3Zh2xdg
🍺 It's Friday afternoon. How about a beer from the tap? 🍺
Samuel Renggli explains how the capacity of the electric power grid can be increased by reducing the foam in the pipes. Metaphorically speaking. Cheers! 🍻 www.real-lab.ch/power-on-tap
🚀 This week, we are flying to the moon. 🌕 With robots! 🤖 How cool is that?
www.real-lab.ch/one-giant-le...
MPC. Three small letters, one big meaning. But have you ever wondered about what that meaning is? Let Claire Blackman, Dimitris Kouzoupis and Juxhino Kavaja tell you about how MPC actually works, by using the example of how nuorail helps trains to run smoothly.
nccr-automation.ch/news/2026/wh...
🌊 🌊 🌊 Are you drowning in a stormy river?
Marcell Bartos knows which combination of control tools and strategies keep you afloat in unpredictable environments.
www.real-lab.ch/staying-afloat
🎙️ New episode! Jeff Shamma (University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign) on gain scheduling, robustness, game theory and multi-agent learning... and some advice from both control and jiu-jitsu: “Don’t get tired.” Unmissable!
Thanks: @nccr-automation.bsky.social
Links: www.incontrolpodcast.com
New episode out 🎙️ This one is a bit different: we look at female influencers in control — ideas, trajectories, some data, and why this conversation matters. Constructive feedback, criticism, and perspectives welcome 💬
Thanks: @nccr-automation.bsky.social
Links: www.incontrolpodcast.com
❓ What do the Gotthard tunnel on a holiday weekend and the electric power grid on a sunny day have in common? Fabian Böhm knows. Read and learn. 😉
www.real-lab.ch/no-need-to-w...
Our researcher blogs are back! This time let Muhammad Zakwan tell you about how he's making machine learning safer.
nccr-automation.ch/news/2025/so...
A panel discussion at the industry open house
audience watching a speaker
at an Apero
a speaker at the industry open house
Last week we welcomed back the companies and researchers from our previous industry-academia workshops for our industry open-house. Thank you to everyone who bought ideas, presented, asked questions and generally contributed to an enthusiastic and open space for sharing.
Silvia and Anamarija sitting with the robot football players
A young girl standing on a football pitch having just kicked a ball towards a goal and a robot goalkeeper
robots and children stand on a football pitch
Last week we were happy to host 20 school children as part of the Nationaler Zukunftstag. Thank you to the NomadZ, @ethz.ch, @acupofmilkyway.bsky.social and Anamarija Zivkovic for their brilliant organisation.
What is feedback, really? In this episode, we retrace its prehistory, revisit Black’s invention of the negative-feedback amplifier, and look at why feedback keeps reappearing in biology, strategy, behaviour shaping machines, organisms, and decisions.
Thanks: @nccr-automation.bsky.social
inControl logo with the text "inControl guide to feedback"
Beat your Monday blues with a new episode of inControl. This time host Alberto Padoan is looking at all things feedback - give it a listen: www.incontrolpodcast.com
Poster to advertise a talk on ethics in automation, on Nov 6th, 12pm (Quebec time) - remote access here https://www.ciusss-ouestmtl.gouv.qc.ca/installations/centres-de-recherche/centre-de-recherche-de-st-mary/evenements#c14431
Did you know that we also do research into the ethics of automation? If you want to learn more about it then you can join this lecture over teams using the link in the QR code (or in person if you're lucky enough to be in Montréal 😉 )
Do you need high-quality traffic data but your only source of information is a distorted drone video?
Learn more about how Robert Fonod solved this problem with Geo-trax, a toolbox that lets you extract the information you need! www.real-lab.ch/geo-trax
"Prediction is very difficult, especially if it's about the future." [Niels Bohr]
Zheyu Wu knows what to do in times of uncertainty! Learn more: www.real-lab.ch/distribution...
How do you come up with the perfect (control) recipe? Learn more about what Salma Elfeki has been cooking up during her master's project! www.real-lab.ch/the-recipe-f...
❓ Did you know that you cannot just turn off run-of-river power plants when there is an overproduction of electric power?
🌊 Yannick Schüpbach explains what you can do instead. www.real-lab.ch/when-water-m...
❓ Why do you prefer one brand over another? 💡 Learn more about opinion dynamics from Michelle Egger's explainer!
www.real-lab.ch/the-coke-vs-...
💡 How can you make sure the lights stay on and react early on to problems in your power grid?
Ioannis Papadopoulos explains how in our latest REAL text: www.real-lab.ch/know-thy-vol...
🤔 Can your heat pump stabilise the electricity grid?
Find out more from Boxuan Yao's text! www.real-lab.ch/flex-your-he...
🔭 Physical models explain the world in great detail but may be too complex to be useful.
💻 Data-driven models are simpler but do not consider the underlying physics.
🪢 Let's combine the best of both worlds! Muhammad Zakwan explains how.
www.real-lab.ch/simba
Is stabilising the electricity grid just a game? Jonas Matt's research investigates what a fair rule-book could look like. www.real-lab.ch/a-game-plan-...
New episode of the @incontrolpodcast.bsky.social! Cosimo Della Santina takes us inside soft robotics — a young, daring field where compliance replaces rigidity, intelligence emerges from shape, and underactuation is a feature, not a flaw.
www.incontrolpodcast.com/1632769/epis...
Last month, when Artur Ekert came to speak at the John von Neumann lecture, we jumped at the chance to sit down with him. Read about what he had to say about privacy in an increasingly online world, and why wandering around can be great for science.
bit.ly/4eznW8e
Congratulations to @dorfler.bsky.social who has been given this year's Rössler prize in recognition of his pioneering contributions to the fields of energy and control engineering.
@ethz.ch @ethfoundation.bsky.social
nccr-automation.ch/news/2025/fl...
