Logitech and EPFL Launch Innovation Incubator

Logitech and EPFL Launch Innovation Incubator

Logitech and EPFL (Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne) today announced the creation of the Logitech EPFL Incubator. This collaboration will offer a select number of students and researchers each year, financial, educational and functional support to develop their innovative ideas into the significant technologies and personal peripherals of tomorrow.

Directed by Pascal Eichenberger, the new incubator formalizes the close relationship between EPFL and Logitech, which has existed since the days of some of the earliest computer mice, twenty-five years ago. The combination of vision, innovation, academic expertise and commercial know-how that both parties bring is expected to deliver significant innovation to Logitech´s future products.

A dozen or so student or research projects will receive financial and technological support each year and the opportunity to impact the way millions of consumers experience technology in years to come. Daniel Borel, Logitech co-founder and chairman of the board, said: “Logitech was founded with vision, passion and a commitment to innovation, and we were fortunate to have the support and faith of key partners. The Logitech EPFL Incubator aims to support innovation in just the same way, providing today´s talented young innovators the opportunity to make their visionary ideas a reality. I am delighted we can collaborate with the world-class EPFL to create this incubator — a Petri-dish for innovation.”

Patrick Aebischer, EPFL president, said: “This incubator introduces a new model that creates an extremely efficient exchange between our laboratories and a very competitive company. It stimulates a combination of research, the transfer of technology and training, and demands results and unique creativity. Daniel Borel and Logitech provide a remarkable example for EPFL and all its students.” A former EPFL student´s echo-cancellation technology is one example of the kind of innovation the Logitech EPFL Incubator is expected to produce. The technology — which eliminates echoes when people are communicating with friends and families over the Internet — now exists in Logitech´s most advanced webcams, speakerphones and PC headsets sold around the world.

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