Connect Robotics recently participated in the “World’s Largest Robotics Exercise,” delivering emergency medical kits over the ocean using unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). The exercise, called Robotic Experimentation and Prototyping Augmented by Maritime Unmanned Systems (REPMUS), was organized by the Portuguese Navy and NATO. Connect Robotics’ drones successfully took off from the shore, landed on a Portuguese naval ship using their precision landing system, delivered the kits, and returned to the coast.

Connect Robotics is a company established in 2015 specializing in providing drone transportation services. Their main focus is transporting medical supplies and laboratory samples within the healthcare sector, but they also have the flexibility to transport vital items in various industries.

The REPMUS exercise aims to showcase potential applications of emerging aquatic and aerial technologies in security, defense, and emergency response. It brings together participants from the military, private sector, universities, and technology companies. Connect Robotics has previously participated in similar exercises, including beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS) flights during the Army Technological Experimentation (ARTEx) organized by the Portuguese Army.

Currently, Connect Robotics is transporting medications at the Lajeosa Pharmacy in Viseu, Portugal, often operating in BVLOS areas. The company collaborates with the Faculty of Engineering of the University of Porto, the NATO Centre for Maritime Research and Experimentation, and NATO’s Unmanned Maritime Systems Initiative.

Having successfully integrated their UAVs into the REPMUS exercise, Connect Robotics is eager to participate in the next exercise. This achievement further demonstrates the company’s ability to implement large-scale drone technology in multinational operations.

Sources:
– Walker Robinson, Graduate of the University of California Santa Barbara
– Miriam McNabb, Editor-in-Chief of DRONELIFE