Partner 4

Name: Transmission Lab – IICT - HEIG-VD, Yverdon, Switzerland
Role: Leader of WP 4
Contact persons: Patrick Favre

The organisation

The University of Applied Sciences of Western Switzerland (HEIG-VD) is part of the Swiss higher education system. The school is located in Yverdon and it has a total number of close to 1000 students in the fields of electricity, electronics, computer science, telecommunications, mechanical engineering, thermal engineering and civil engineering.
IICT is one of the largest institutes of the HEIG-VD. It has developed extensive teaching and applied research activities in a wide variety of domains, ranging from basic electronics to telecommunication systems and to computer science.

The lab

The Transmissions Laboratory, member of the IICT was created in 2003. Its mission is to promote activities in the wide field of Radio Frequency circuit design, electromagnetic compatibility and “under water” communication. Though academic research is still an important part of our activities, the Transmission Lab works in close collaboration with customers from the first specifications to the design of complex production test equipments. From 2005, the Transmission Lab experiences a continuous growth of its revenue, as high as 60%, more than 90% of which are coming from contracts established directly with big companies.
IICT is involved in several industrial and academic projects mainly in the areas of Wireless communications (ranging from kHz up to more than 15GHz), of advanced telecommunications systems, Internet access technologies, Computer Telephony Integration, wireless technologies, network and service management, Computer and Network Security, and Object-Oriented Design and Modelling.
IICT has substantial experience also in the “low power and low cost” concept as well as in the development of EMC test benches and ultrasonic transmissions for underwater applications.
A strong presence of the IICT in the Power Line Communications domain has pushed our institute to contribute to the European project “OPERA”.
Our expertise in the field of biomedical applications lead to the development of two products: a low-power, low-cost radar dedicated to heart pulse measurement, and a small wristwatch that includes special functions like a radio transmitter for social alarms and the measurement of physiological parameters.
IICT has close business relations with industrial partners. Amongst them are Rüag Aerospace, OFCOM, Swiss Telecommunications authorities, European Space Agency.
IICT had also the opportunity to realize the first prototypes of the “acoustical backscattering” concept which resulted in outstanding results.