The 10th edition of AED Days 2023 took place in Oeiras, between May 30 and June 2; INESC TEC was once again present at the event, which focuses on Aeronautics, Space and Portuguese Defence.
Promoted by AED Cluster Portugal, this was the largest edition ever, welcoming 623 participants from 289 entities – 18% of which from 21 different countries. The event featured several institutional entities, including the Minister of Infrastructure, João Galamba, the Secretary of State for the Economy, Pedro Cilínio, the Secretary of State for National Defence, Marco Capitão Ferreira, and the Chief of the Naval Staff and National Maritime Authority, Almirante Gouveia e Melo.
António Gaspar, responsible for the development of INESC TEC’s activities in these sectors, believes that the Institute’s presence in these events is vital since it “contributes to the recognition of INESC TEC as a relevant partner in these areas”.
The event featured four different types of initiatives: “AED Talks”, which included a conference, workshops, and talks; “AED Connect”, with B2B meetings and a thematic exhibition; “AED Careers”, a HR forum; and a set of industrial visits in the Lisbon area. Several members of INESC TEC participated in different parts of the event to present the Institute’s work within the AED cluster ecosystem.
On May 30, Paulo Miguel Rodrigues and Denys Sytnyk, researchers at the Centre for Robotics and Autonomous Systems (CRAS) presented UX1-Neo, an exploration robot for flooded underground mines. This autonomous vehicle can reach 1000 meters deep and operate for more than eight hours; it can be controlled via a fibre optic cable, which allows real-time data collection, or without any cable, to carry out autonomous missions and explore different environments – also to collect key data. Over the past two years, the robot dived 80 times, and carried out missions in five countries: Portugal, England, Ukraine, Hungary, and the Czech Republic. According to the researchers, “the participation in these events is vital to present INESC TEC work and achievements to a live audience”.
On June 1, António Gaspar, also a member of the TECPartnerships initiative, was responsible for moderating the workshop “Disrupting the Portuguese industrial landscape: looking at ongoing national programs”. On that day, Nuno Cruz, CRAS coordinator, had the opportunity to participate in the workshop “Supporting the Navy of the future: challenges for Portugal”.
“The workshop was an excellent opportunity to discuss the modernisation of the Navy, especially the role of robotics in military operations, whose continuous progress has enabled its increasing adoption in military actions”, said Nuno Cruz. Moreover, he highlighted the need “to ensure a solid growth, and continuous efforts in research and innovation”.
Finally, the last day was dedicated to parallel sessions and roundtables, aimed at career development – with the participation of Hélder Fontes, from the Centre for Telecommunications and Multimedia (CTM). The researcher claimed that “this event allowed to reinforce the dissemination of INESC TEC, showcasing the research activities and the different opportunities for collaboration”, following an approach dedicated to attracting potential INESC TEC members. The roundtables featured senior students from different courses, like Aeronautical Engineering; Aerospace Engineering, Air Transport Operations; and Electrical and Computer Engineering – who were joined by air pilots.
The AED Cluster Portugal (AEDCP) was created in 2016 because of the merger of DANOTEC, PEMAS and PROESPAÇO associations. As a private non-profit association, it welcomes more than 100 members among companies and national institutions, and it is recognised as a Competitiveness Cluster by IAPMEI.
The researchers mentioned in this news piece are associated with INESC TEC and UP-FEUP.
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