The Swiss Robotics Ecosystem in a Few Landmarks

Switzerland holds a distinctive place in global robotics, even if this is not always obvious to the general public. The country combines two leading polytechnic schools, ETH Zurich and EPFL, with a fabric of SMEs and spin-offs that turn this research into real products.

Dense academic research

ETH Zurich hosts several reference laboratories in robotics, notably around legged robot locomotion and embedded computer vision. EPFL follows a similar path, with teams active in soft robotics, drones and neuro-engineering applied to prosthetics. Both schools train engineers every year who then spread into local companies or found their own.

Spin-offs that become companies

ANYbotics, a spin-off from ETH Zurich, is a good illustration of this move from lab to market with its quadruped robot ANYmal, used for industrial inspection. Other Swiss companies have positioned themselves in drones, industrial vision or autonomous navigation. These are rarely giants in the American or Chinese sense of the word, but specialised players, often profitable in high-value niche markets.

A still artisanal resale market

What is missing today is a central place for everything that does not go through these industrial channels: educational robots changing owners, second-hand robotic arms from closed workshops, compatible spare parts sitting in a drawer after a university project. These exchanges exist, but they happen case by case, on specialised forums or by word of mouth.

Why this matters to us

Robotmarkt starts from this simple observation. There is real activity around buying, selling and repairing robots in Switzerland, but it lacks a common place. Before building this marketplace, we prefer to document the sector, understand the needs of sellers and buyers, and publish what we learn here.

Upcoming articles will cover more practical topics: how to assess a used robot, which spare parts are most sought after, and how demand is structured across the country’s regions.