EPFL drones draw crowds in Las Vegas

This week, four EPFL-designed drones are being shown in the Swiss Pavilion at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. The spin-offs developing the drones are trying to follow in the footsteps of Flyability and Pix4D by establishing themselves in the international market. Americans may be more familiar with Swiss chocolate than with Switzerland's "Drone Valley," but US specialists are keeping a close eye on the technologies being developed here. This week, every two hours, a humming noise can be heard at CES in Las Vegas - that's when the drones come out at the Swiss Pavilion. Some onlookers are intrigued by the noise, while others have come specifically to see the 15-minute demonstrations, which are introduced by Nicolas Bideau, head of Presence Switzerland. The 200m² area around the stand is not large enough to accommodate all the spectators, some of whom stand on their tiptoes in the aisles to catch a glimpse of the action. In each demonstration and subsequent Q&A session, it's clear that these aircraft - most of which were developed at EPFL - are attracting interest from professionals looking for potential collaborations or investment opportunities.