On November 14, the TÉC4Defence event took place, organized by the Electrical and Computer Engineering Student Group (NEEC), the Aerospace Engineering Student Group (AeroTéc), Lisbon’s New Satellite (LISAT), Fórum Mecânica, and the Physics Student Group (NFIST). The event was held at the Técnico Innovation Center, coinciding with Industry Day organized by the Department of Mechanical Engineering (DEM). It featured roundtable discussions, presentations, prototype exhibitions—including the latest vehicles developed by FST Lisboa, TFC, and TLMoto—and the sharing of projects from several research centers.

Pedro Martins, a Bachelor’s student in Telecommunications and Informatics Engineering, José Antunes, a PhD student in Electrical and Computer Engineering, and Nuno Neves, professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, presented some of the research carried out at the Institute for Systems and Computer Engineering, Research and Development in Lisbon (INESC-ID): a secure quantum network “already tested by professionals,” capable of ensuring “point-to-point communication at any distance,” with industrialization as the next step. This “tunnel network” results from the work developed in the DISCRETION project, now concluded, and the ongoing PTQCI project.

Gonçalo Teixeira, a researcher at the Quantum Information & Quantum Optics hub (QIQO) — a collaboration between the Institute for Plasmas and Nuclear Fusion (IPFN) and the Institute of Telecommunications (IT) — is working on an alternative solution: quantum communication based on a single photon, “resistant even to a quantum computer.” The system detects any intrusion attempt, and the only way a message could be deciphered by someone other than the intended recipient would be by violating the “unbreakable laws of Physics.” The prototype has already been successfully tested at Técnico.

In the context of defense, “drones are a means to deliver intelligence (information),” stated Pedro Petiz, an aerospace engineering alumnus and current strategic development director at TEKEVER, a member of Técnico’s Partner Network, during the roundtable “Defense and Industry: challenges and opportunities from an industry perspective.”

This field is also the focus of Alexandre Athayde’s research. A PhD graduate in the same area and currently a member of IdMEC, he presented three models: a low-cost drone; an aircraft that consumes very little energy during operation; and another capable of taking off and landing in reduced spaces thanks to its vertical flight capability. It is precisely in this last model that one of the main scientific challenges lies — “ensuring it remains stable during transition.”

The event demonstrated that the defense sector is undergoing a period of strong technological momentum, driven both by academic research and by collaboration with industry, highlighting the important role of research carried out at Técnico.

News and photo: Técnico