Sevensense co-founder praises Switzerland as a location for robotics
Switzerland offers a good breeding ground for robotics start-ups, says Roland Siegwart. The ETH professor and co-founder of the start-up Sevensense praises, among other things, the existing expertise in precision mechanics and sensor technologies.
Roland Siegwart is Professor of Autonomous Systems at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich ( ETH ). He is also co-director of the Wyss Zurich funding program. In 2018 Siegwart co-founded the ETH spin-off Sevensense Robotics. The company, based in Zurich, develops technologies for robots that help them, for example, with independent orientation. Sevensense also works with Deutsche Bahn to develop technologies for the future of train travel.
In an interview published on the Sevensense blog page, Siegwart praised Switzerland as a location for robotics. All important specialist knowledge for robotics is available in the country. On the one hand, precision mechanics, which have a "long tradition in Switzerland", are particularly important. On the other hand, sensor technology plays an important role in the industry. This is less known worldwide, but Switzerland is already very advanced in this regard.
Siegwart also praises the ETH Zurich and the ETH Lausanne (EPFL). The two universities would provide the necessary control and intelligence to be able to make good use of the existing specialist knowledge, he emphasizes. They would also spawn a multitude of successful spin-offs – especially in the robotics area. Switzerland has also been able to attract a large pool of foreign talent who further strengthen the robotics scene.
Switzerland still has some catching up to do when it comes to major investments. Investors in Europe are generally more risk averse compared to those in the USA. However, this also helps European start-ups develop a sustainable, customer-oriented approach. Accordingly, the survival rate of start-ups – for example in Switzerland – is much higher than that of those in the USA. The long-term survival rate of the ETH spin-offs is 80 to 90 percent.