The future of five INESC TEC technologies with transformative potential – and recognised internationally

The year of 2024 translated into a series of technological advances around the globe.
The creation of a more sustainable world in different sectors of society featured INESC TEC. Throughout 2024, INESC TEC’s comprehensive and multidisciplinary research and innovation continued to lay the foundations for a transformative impact on critical domains like economic progress, social welfare, public policies, healthcare, environmental responsibility, cultural advancement and quality of life in general.

Looking back at last year, INESC TEC would like to highlight the five technologies whose transformative potential was widely acknowledged – nationally and internationally – in the following strategic sectors: healthcare (human and animal), power & energy, food retail, agriculture and biotechnology.

1. Intelligent Lab on Fiber

ILoF uses photonics technology and Artificial Intelligence (AI) to support the discovery of personalised treatments, reducing costs and development times. The versatile solutions extend to agriculture, providing advanced quality assessment solutions for the cereal and grain sector – enabling food analysis in less than a minute, thus maximising availability.

Sectors: Healthcare and Agriculture

Awards:

• European Innovation Prize, awarded by EARTO, in the category “Expected Impact” (International)
• Nature Magazine’s World Top 11 (International)
• Altice International Innovation Award (International)

2. BB-SPECTRAL

AI spectroscopy system, with self-learning for metabolic quantification in “Point-of-Care” or “Point-of-Measurement” systems, for real-time quantification – without reagents, non-invasive and non-destructive – with just one drop. This system can support human and animal healthcare (blood, serum and urine analysis), precision livestock (animal blood and milk) and agriculture (precision fertilisation and metabolomic management of the plants) – integrated into the One Health concept.

Sectors: Healthcare, Animal Healthcare, Agriculture and Biotechnology

Awards:

– eleventh edition of the Crédito Agrícola Entrepreneurship and Innovation Awards (National)

– Prof. Doctor João Cannas da Silva 2024 Award, by the Associação Portuguesa de Buiatria (National)

– second place in the Poster competition at the international congress “Sensors in Medicine 2024” (International)

3. Modular-E

Cost-optimised autonomous modular robot capable of carrying multiple tools and performing different tasks – individually or simultaneously – with high accuracy levels. This modular system of intelligent robots allows optimising agricultural processes, promoting greater sustainability and efficiency in food production.

Sector: Agriculture

Awards:

– Second place at FIRA – World Robotics Forum -, in the category “Best World Fira Robot” (International)

– Agriculture Innovation Award 2024, by Timac Agro, Jornal Expresso and SIC Notícias (National)

4. DeepEpil2

This technology applies AI to the prediction and detection of epileptic seizures, towards improving the quality of life for millions of patients worldwide. It is a crucial advance in personalised medicine, as epilepsy is a chronic neurological disease that affects about 1% of the world’s population and is drug-resistant in 30% of cases.

Sector: Healthcare

Awards:

– IEEE AI Research Hub at GITEX Global 2024 (International)

5. EVFlex

A solution based on computational intelligence and operational research to create dynamic tariffs to encourage the charging of electric vehicles in certain periods, aiming to maximise the local use of renewable-based electricity production and reduce charging costs. It contributes to the energy transition based on greener electric mobility, and to a more efficient use of the charging infrastructure.

Sector: Power & Energy and Food Retail

Awards:

– ninth edition of the Portugal Digital Awards (National)

Today’s commitment to thinking about the challenges of the future

These are just five examples of innovation milestones that INESC TEC achieved in 2024; above all, they’re a clear sign of the technological potential of the Institute in 2025. From more effective medical treatments to sustainable solutions for agriculture and energy, these technological innovations show INESC TEC’s commitment to solving complex challenges with global impact.

These, and other solutions, address the needs of the present while anticipating the challenges of the future.