Robots that unload containers and drones that take inventory: Portuguese robotics springs into action in Porto for more than 500 people

08th October 2026

Shortly after the opening, which will feature a number of Portuguese and European figures, visitors will be able to watch robotics demonstrations in action.

Inside a shipping container, temperatures can reach 50 °C in summer. It is there that the boxes supplying Portuguese retail are still often unloaded by hand, frequently at night. On 13 October, a robot developed in Portugal will do the job on its own, in front of any visitors and journalists who wish to attend. The following day, the spotlight turns to a drone capable of taking inventory of a warehouse without human intervention.

Both demonstrations will take place in the event’s exhibition area, specifically at the INESC TEC stand. They show how research carried out in Portugal, largely funded by the Recovery and Resilience Plan (PRR), is already reaching real-world use cases in Portuguese companies.

13 October | CARGO: the robot that unloads containers

CARGO is an autonomous robotic solution for unloading goods from containers. It combines an omnidirectional mobile base, a robotic arm, a suction gripper and RGB-D vision. The software, developed entirely by INESC TEC, is modular and hardware-agnostic, and it detects the boxes to be handled even when they are arranged irregularly.

The demonstration on the 13th will present the CARGO solution and show how robots and humans can work together in the same space, with a human operator working alongside a humanoid to collect the boxes removed from the container.

And the results? A success rate above 90%, a pace of approximately 12 seconds per box and, of course, the automation of one of the most physically demanding tasks in logistics, with a direct impact on working conditions.

In 2023, 56.8% of the goods arriving in Portugal came in by sea, which makes container unloading one of the tasks that major distributors are most keen to automate. The solution grew out of a use case identified by Sonae MC under the PRODUTECH R3 agenda of the PRR. At the previous presentation, Sonae MC described it as proof that what it had seen in simulation works in a real environment.

“Container unloading remains one of the most demanding tasks in the logistics chain, marked by intense physical effort, repetitive movements and a high ergonomic risk. CARGO allows this burden to be transferred to the robotic system, leaving people with supervision, coordination and decision-making roles. The result is safer and more attractive work in warehouses,” says Maria Lopes, the INESC TEC researcher who will be at the stand leading this demonstration, starting at 10:00.

After the Archive room, a visit to the quays and the research vessel “Mar Profundo”

The research vessel “Mar Profundo”, the first and only ship in Portugal dedicated entirely to technological research, regularly leaves the “laboratory” to support scientific and technological missions. It offers a fast route to the deep sea, reducing the traditional costs of such missions.

It is 20 metres long, has a range of four days and can carry 12 people, including scientists and crew. It can operate up to 60 miles from the coast. During the event, it will be moored next to the Alfândega and open to visitors, offering a glimpse of INESC TEC’s laboratory capabilities in the ocean field.

14 October | DRIVOLUTION: the drone that takes warehouse inventories

Developed under the PRR mobilising agenda DRIVOLUTION, which brought together 38 partners and more than €50 million in investment to create the automotive sector’s “Factory of the Future”, this autonomous aerial vehicle operates on its own inside warehouses. It has already been tested at Volkswagen’s facilities. Now the solution will be demonstrated at the Alfândega do Porto for the roughly 500 ADRF26 participants.

The drone can reconcile and verify stock autonomously by reading labels and barcodes and comparing the information collected with the data in the warehouse management system. Using Artificial Intelligence techniques, the system detects and identifies labels and supports the drone’s control and navigation manoeuvres.

“In addition, it identifies free spaces on shelves and locates materials, helping to reduce search times, increase traceability and make warehouse management more efficient,” explains André Dias, the researcher responsible for this demonstration, which will take place on 14 October, starting at 18:00, at the INESC TEC stand.

A European forum in Portugal

In Porto, ADRF26 will bring together officials from the European Commission, industry and research to discuss how to turn European R&D investment into industrial returns. There will be more than 40 workshops and 6 plenary sessions with more than 20 speakers, including Nicolas Schneider (Airbus), Monsignor Vincenzo Paglia (Pontifical Academy for Life) and Manuela Veloso (JP Morgan AI Research), among others. João Barros, president of AI2, the new Portuguese agency for research and innovation, opens the second day of the event, followed by Ricardo Bento, vice-president of the CCDR-N (Northern Regional Coordination and Development Commission). The event will be closed by Arlindo Oliveira, one of Portugal’s leading AI experts, from INESC holding and Instituto Superior Técnico, together with Emanuela Girardi, president of ADRA.

There are 20 sponsors of the event, from industry, R&D and even European projects, each with its own stand, which shows the importance that Portuguese and international players are giving to the topic. AMD and Qualcom are “platinum” sponsors; AI on Demand and CITEVE are “diamond”; AGT Robotics, Idener, Eindhoven University of Technology, BDVA (Big Data Value Association), TNO and PAL Robotics are “gold”; and INLECOM Systems, NSB Project, IDEAL-IST, ROBOTEKIN, F6S, Zabala Innovation and the University of Coruña are “silver”. This year, for the first time, there is also a project hub category, represented by PIAP – Łukasiewicz, the European project AEROSUB, EDP, CORESENSE (Irish Manufacturing Institute), NORCE (Norwegian Research Centre), DFKI AI and LOBA. Besides these names and INESC TEC, ADRA will also have a stand in the exhibition area, as will InvestPorto, since the Municipality of Porto is supporting ADRF26.

Porto, 8 October 2026