Computer vision + drones = Zurich

A special focus of ETH Zurich is computer vision, with no less than five world-class labs working on computer vision for robotic applications (ASL, AIT, CVG, CVL, RPG (UZH), VRL). Zurich has probably the highest academic density for computer vision expertise globally - and companies like Facebook / Oculus, Magic Leap, Apple, Google came to Zurich* because of the expertise in computer vision. And these offices are growing fast - Oculus is constantly hiring computer vision engineers and Google just increased its headcount from 2000 to 5000, making Zurich the largest office outside of the United States*. This is also including CV / AI suppliers like NVidia, which just moved its office close to Google's new offices in Europaallee.

The local ecosystem is supporting young talents in a unique way, offering various opportunities for courses and master projects - something I experienced firsthand. I was in the fortunate position to be able to do my PhD with three advisers, all had ample experience with real-time computer vision: Prof. Marc Pollefeys, Prof. Roland Siegwart and Prof. Davide Scaramuzza*.

There is another technology for which Zurich is well known: Drones. This results in a local hotspot for talent and knowledge in both areas. GoPro moved its main drone software development to Zurich in 2015 - and while GoPro has stopped developing new drones, the team has already found a new home. There is also a vibrant ecosystem of Zurich-founded drone startups. Verity studios drones for on-stage performances while Wingtra has invented mapping VTOL drone. Drone harmony develops an app that makes navigating drones for inspections more intuitive. In there are so many successful drone startups that it is impossible to be fair in mentioning all of them.

Auterion, the company I co-founded with Kevin Sartori and which powers the computer vision efforts in the PX4 development community, sits well within that ecosystem. It is helping to integrate visual inertial odometry and vision-based obstacle avoidance into the PX4 open source software stack. Auterion is the "Redhat of Drones" and provides a managed open source software distribution, but is not building drones itself. It is partnering with Dronecode member companies to bring computer vision to products. A good example is Yuneec, which opened an R&D office in Zurich end of 2016. Many more drone companies are closely linked to Zurich, like Airmap, or are opening an office there like Chinese drone operator Ewatt, which just moved its European headquarters to Zurich. Matternet is growing its office in Zurich and performed drone deliveries in the city*. Zurich is very international and has been welcoming companies for years as this website showcases. Auterion is collaborating internationally with Intel and has brought obstacle avoidance for the PX4 software stack to Intel Aero

Valley

When U.S. and Chinese companies both focus their computer vision and drone development in one city, it can just mean one thing: It is the right spot to be in for drone companies with computer vision ambitions. Companies interested in a strategic set-up or a research and development with a Swiss university or research institution, can get advice and support free of charge from the Greater Zurich Area Ltd (GZA). As the official investment promotion agency of the region, GZA guides companies through the business and technology ecosystem and connects them with the relevant peer companies, research institutes, authorities and service providers.

References

PX4 Autopilot: https://px4.io/. Zurich based research labs: ASL, AIT, CVG, CVL, RPG, VRL. Companies opening offices: Oculus coming to Zurich, Magic Leap coming to Zurich, Apple acquiring key talent in Zurich, Google office Zurich, Google expansion from 2000 to 5000, GoPro coming to Zurich. PhD advisors: Marc Pollefeys, Roland Siegwart and Davide Scaramuzza. Drone companies which opened an office: Yuneec Research, Ewatt, Matternet. Local partnerships: Airmap.