Voices

Marina Helm Romaneschi is co-founder of «DieCuisine» and responsible for strategy and marketing at Swiss Food Research. We asked them what FoodTech actually is and what opportunities as well as challenges are associated with it.

Rino Borini is the founder of the «House of Satoshi» and of «Finance 2.0». In the video, he explains what digital assets are, what opportunities they present, and what challenges they pose.

Artificial intelligence is now penetrating all areas of work and life. But what role does AI play in infrastructure maintenance? The Innovation Sandbox is addressing this question in a research project together with IBM Research and pixmap gmbh.

What is the Innovation Sandbox?
The Sandbox is a test environment for the implementation of AI projects. The Sandbox aims to promote responsible innovation by enabling the administration and participating organisations to work closely on regulatory issues and to use novel data sources.

Adrian Melliger is CEO and Co-Owner of Designwerk Technologies AG. We wanted to know what innovation means to him.

Corinna Müller is ad interim managing director at Innovationspark Zurich. We wanted to know from her what innovation means to her.

Cyril Kubr is responsible for the development and implementation of the ETH Zurich strategy at the Innovation Park. We wanted to know what innovation means to him.

Amanda Boekholt is Legal Advisor and Project Stakeholder Manager for the Federal Office of Civil Aviation Switzerland. We wanted to know what innovation means to her.

Erik Wilhelm is Head of Research at KYBURZ Switzerland. We asked Erik what innovation means to him.

Corinna Müller is Managing Director of the “Switzerland Innovation Park Zurich” Foundation and Cyril Kubr is Lead Innovation Park at ETH Zurich. The Switzerland Innovation Park Zurich creates a new platform for research, development and innovation on the site of the Dübendorf airfield. Topics at Innovation Park Zurich range from autonomous vehicles and navigation, walking and flying robots, to digital manufacturing technologies on the construction site.

Amanda Boekholt is Legal Advisor & Project Stakeholder Manager for the Federal Office of Civil Aviation Switzerland (Bundesamt für Zivilluftfahrt, BAZL).

The term U-space, refers to a collection of digitalised and automated functions and processes aimed at providing safe, efficient and fair access to airspace for the growing number of civilian drone operations. U-space provides a framework to facilitate the implementation of all types of operation in all classes of airspace and all types of environment, while ensuring an orderly coexistence with manned aviation and air traffic control. Switzerland does not yet have an operational U-space airspace. The Federal Office of Civil Aviation Switzerland is currently working to establish such airspaces, especially in areas where a large number of simultaneously operated drones are expected or where drones are operated alongside manned aircraft (aircraft, helicopters).

Due to rapid technological progress, the framework conditions of AI technologies are often unclear for companies, research and administration. For this reason, the Canton of Zurich's Division of Business and Economic Development, together with partners from the administration, research and business sectors, launched the "Innovation Sandbox".

This is a test environment for the implementation of AI projects. By working closely with the administration and participating organizations on regulatory issues and enabling the use of novel data sources, responsible innovation will be encouraged. The video with Ronovatec and Lonomy, which are developing autonomous farming systems, shows exactly what this can look like.

Brigitte Rohner is innovation manager and project leader of "LINA" (= "Shared Large-scale Infrastructure for the Development and Safe Testing of Autonomous Systems") and tells us about the project in the video.

LINA provides the operational basis of a real and virtual infrastructure for research, development and safe testing of autonomous systems in the canton of Zurich in an internationally unique test setup. he LINA Hub is the place where international experts from science and industry gather to shape the future in an interdisciplinary way and to educate society about the civilian applications of autonomous systems.

The Centre for Research and Development of Autonomous Systems comprises three test arenas:

1. an outdoor digital cage ensuring that UAS can be tracked and safely operated under Light Unmanned Aircraft Operator Certificate (LUC) conditions in the low airspace of Dübendorf and within the confines of the digital cage,
2. an outdoor physical cage with a safety net,
3. an indoor tracking arena with a large-scale, high-precision position tracking system and a wind tunnel facility for autonomous systems research and prototype development.

All stakeholders around the airspace and airfield of Zurich-Dübendorf – in particular the Swiss Air Force, REGA and blue light organisations – as well as the Federal Office of Civil Aviation FOCA and other regulatory authorities are closely involved in the development of the booking and flight planning system.

The LINA project team, would like to learn more about the current and future need for such infrastructure for research, development and safe testing of your drones and other autonomous aerial and ground vehicles and systems. To determine the need, an online survey was created - join in! Click here to go to the survey.

Brigitte Rohner is project manager for the "LINA" project (= "Shared Large-scale Infrastructure for the Development and Safe Testing of Autonomous Systems") and we wanted to know from Brigitte what innovation means to her. Watch the video to listen to Brigitte's answer.

Erik Wilhelm is Head of Research at KYBURZ Switzerland and part of the company network Autonomous Systems with Ground Contact. This company network aims to bring innovative companies from the Canton of Zurich and surrounding cantons closer together and provide opportunities for cross-company learning.

Alex Pachikov is Co-Founder and CEO at Sunflower Labs. Sunflower Labs makes with the Beehive System a flexible drone-in-a-box solution that integrates with existing security cameras and sensors. It is remote autonomous outdoor security system for large commercial, industrial, and residential properties that senses and deters unwanted visitors. In the video, Alex tells how the idea came about and what challenges the young founders had to contend with.

Alex Pachikov, founder and CEO of Sunflower Labs, tells us in the video what innovation means to him and how innovation can come about.

Christina Kehl, co-founder and board member of SWISS FINTECH, tells us in the video what innovation means to her and how innovation can come about.

Christian Zeyer,Managing Director of swisscleantech, explains what innovation means to him and how innovation can come about.

Christina Kehl, co-founder and board member of SWISS FINTECH, explains what FinTech actually is, what role FinTech plays in the financial world and what makes the FinTech ecosystem in Zurich so unique.

Christian Zeyer is managing director of swisscleantech and explains in the video what cleantech actually is and which megatrends await us in the coming years.

Alfred Angerer is Professor of Healthcare Management at the Zurich University of Applied Sciences and heads the Health Care Management Unit at the School of Management and Law. He explains in the video which skills will be important in the future and why Zurich is the ideal location for them.

Thomas Gemperle is Co-Founder and Chief Branding Officer at Scewo. Scewo develops smart technologies with futuristic design and foolproof operation. What this adds up to? The Scewo Bro, an electric wheelchair that can climb stairs - up or down. In the video, Thomas tells how the idea came about and what challenges the young founders had to contend with.

Dr Niowi Näf is Head of Corporate Development & Innovation at Hirslanden and an expert in strategic business processes. In the video, Niowi explains how important collaborations with start-ups and research groups are for Hirslanden, what is behind the new Compassana healthcare ecosystem and how Zurich is performing in the field of digital health.

What does it take for Zurich's manufacturing companies to take advantage of the opportunities offered by digitisation and remain internationally competitive? What role do collaborations play? And what opportunities are offered by future technologies such as smart systems, artificial intelligence or robotics?

As part of the ETH study "Technological Change and Digitalisation in the Canton of Zurich", the implementation of digital technologies was examined at manufacturing companies and precisely these questions were addressed. The video offers an insight into the topic. The full study will follow shortly.

Georg von Krogh is a Professor at ETH Zurich and holds the Chair of Strategic Management and Innovation. He specializes in competitive strategy, digital innovation, and organisational knowledge and has conducted research in several industries including financial services, media, computer software and hardware, life -​sciences, and consumer goods.

Alexander Nelles is Chief Information Officer at Kantonsspital Winterthur. The Kantonsspital Winterthur (KSW) is one of the ten largest hospitals in Switzerland and treats more than 250,000 patients each year - 28,000 of them as inpatients.

Digitisation at KSW is aimed at ensuring high capacity utilization, productivity and quality in the core business as well as further increasing agility in the organisation. The focus is on patient satisfaction and internal efficiency. This involves analyzing, simplifying or redesigning the patient pathway and the processes linked to it, and automating them with the help of modern technology, with the aim of also improving the exchange of information with you.

Gieri Cathomas is cluster manager at Health Tech Cluster Switzerland. The purpose of Health Tech Cluster Switzerland is to create beneficial networks between manufacturers, suppliers, research and educational institutions, service providers, start-ups and investors in the field of health technology.

Innovations are increasingly created in collaboration between different players. Many issues, e.g. in health, cannot be solved by one player alone due to their complexity. Strong innovation networks are needed for collaborations, in which companies find the right partner from business and science, build trust and jointly drive innovations forward. These networks form around innovation hubs in which large companies, SMEs and start-ups can exchange ideas and business and science can cross-fertilise.

Alfred Angerer is Professor of Healthcare Management at the ZHAW School of Management and Law. At the ZHAW, Alfred Angerer founded the "ZHAW Digital Health Lab" together with colleagues from various institutes to promote an interdisciplinary approach to digital health.

We asked Thomas Gemperle from Scewo, Mike Niekerk from Benchling and Angela Beckenbauer from ZHAW how they can benefit from Innovation Zurich.

Alfred Angerer is Professor of Healthcare Management at the ZHAW School of Management and Law. His research focuses on two areas: First, process optimization in healthcare organizations (Lean Healthcare) and second, the impact of Digital Health on healthcare management.

At the ZHAW, Alfred Angerer founded the "ZHAW Digital Health Lab" together with colleagues from various institutes to promote an interdisciplinary approach to digital health.
The ZHAW Digital Health Lab, together with other Swiss universities and industry partners, is now researching how hospitals can implement the digital transformation with the Innosuisse flagship project "SHIFT".

Stefan Lienhard, CEO of the digital health centre Bülach, explains what Digital Health actually is, what applications and technologies are associated with the term and how the Zurich digital health ecosystem is doing.

Thomas Gemperle, Co-Founder and Creative Director of Scewo AG, explains what innovation means to him and how innovation can come about.

Mario Jenni, Co-Founder and CEO of Bio-Technopark Schlieren, explains what innovation means to him and how innovation can come about.

Alexander Nelles, Chief Information Officer at Kantonsspital Winterthur, explains what innovation means to him and how innovation can come about.

Alfred Angerer, professor at the ZHAW School of Management and Law and board member of the ZHAW Digital Health Lab, explains what innovation means to him and how innovation can arise.

Doris Benz, CEO of Spital Bülach, explains what innovation means to her and how innovation can come about.

Olaf Schäfer, Head of Products & Offers Individual Clients at Helsana Versicherungen AG, explains what innovation means to him and how innovation can come about.

Niowi Näf, Head of Corporate Development & Innovation at Hirslanden, explains what innovation means to him and how innovation can arise.

Gieri Cathomas, Cluster Manager at Health Tech Cluster Switzerland, explains what innovation means to him and how innovation can come about.

Oliver Schärli, Head of Market Area Corporate Clients, explains what innovation means to him and how innovation can arise.

Stefan Lienhard, CEO of the newly founded digital health center Bülach, shares with us what innovation means to him and how innovation can arise.