Aveiro. Students develop autonomous drones for humanitarian missions

A group of students from the University of Aveiro (AU) is developing an autonomous drone capable of transporting water for firefighting or delivering medicines in difficult-to-reach areas, the university announced today.

17/08/2026
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Lusa

Sa note published in AU website, the project entitled ‘Auto Mec UAV’ is being developed by about 30 students from different university courses, especially engineering.

Mónica Brás, the project’s ‘team leader’ explains that the goal is to develop an aircraft capable of carrying out missions without human intervention, and may in future transport medicines to areas of difficult access or support firefighting through the water drop in specific locations.

The team manager says the project remains open to any student who wants to contribute.

Tekever provides the Portuguese Air Force with drones for surveillance

Portuguese technology Tekever signed a contract with the Portuguese Air Force, which now has the autonomous capacity of the AR5 system (drones) for maritime surveillance, security and defence missions, and monitoring of the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ).

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“ We accept people from various courses, even from Languages. It is a multidisciplinary project and we would like to have more people for areas such as management or the financial part,” says the student of Electronic Engineering and Telecommunications, quoted in the AU statement.

The project has the support of Portuguese technology Tekever, which was reported in recent days due to a “Portuguese reconnaissance drone radius” that the company provides to Ukraine and that was shot down by Russia.

In addition to sponsoring the project, the company specialized in the development of unmanned air systems made available its facilities, in Caldas da Rainha, for students to assemble the aircraft.

Russia intercepts “defiant” drone. What do you know about Tekever and AR3?

Tekever is the Portuguese company responsible for AR3, the unmanned air vehicle [UAV] destroyed by Russia in the border region of Briansk. The company was recently selected by the United Kingdom Ministry of Defence for the Corvus surveillance system.

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At AU, the project also has the support of several departments. The team divides the work between different spaces of the institution: performs much of the construction in the Department of Mechanical Engineering, uses the Department of Engineering of Materials and Ceramics for specific processes and uses the workshops of the Department of Electronics, Telecommunications and Informatics (DETI).

Created in 2019, the ‘Auto Mec UAV’ has participated in several national and international competitions, including three UK appearances. In 2022, he received the “Most Promising” project award, which distinguished his potential for evolution. More recently he won first place in a EuroCup edition and this year won third place in the same competition.