The 2026 LARSyS Annual Meeting brought together the vibrant community of the Associate Laboratory of Robotics and Engineering Systems on 13–14 July at the Rectory of the University of Lisbon, marking a special milestone: the 25th anniversary of LARSyS.
Since its foundation in 1999, when it was among the first institutions to embrace the Associate Laboratory model introduced by FCT , LARSyS has grown from an initial team of 296 researchers into a thriving community of over 400 researchers, including more than 200 doctoral students, spanning four leading R&D centres: ISR-Lisboa, IN+, ITI, and MARETEC. What has not changed is its founding conviction: society’s greatest challenges demand interdisciplinary answers.
The programme reflected the breadth and ambition of LARSyS today. Attendees enjoyed concise research pitches from students and researchers, along with dedicated sessions exploring developments across the five Thematic Lines that structure the laboratory’s scientific agenda:
- OCEANS
- URBAN
- AIR
- LIFE
- INTERACTION
Distinguished guests from academia, industry, and public institutions joined the discussions, opening new avenues for collaboration and societal impact. Another highlight of this year’s edition was the co-creation exercise, led with the support of Sérgio Pequito, which invited participants to reflect on how LARSyS is perceived today and how it might evolve in the years ahead. The results — a sequence of posters reinterpreted and redesigned with the help of AI tools — offered a creative and forward-looking glimpse of the LARSyS 2030 vision.
In the words of LARSyS President José Santos-Victor, the meeting was a moment to “keep the momentum, work hard and promote the interaction amongst the different LARSyS teams to address challenging scientific and societal challenges.”
As LARSyS celebrates its first 25 years, the community leaves this edition energised to help shape the next 25: inspired, connected, and ready for what comes next.
Save the date: the LARSyS 2027 Annual Meeting will take place on 12–13 July 2027, at Torre do Tombo.