ScaleAgData is evolving. The RILabs are getting up to speed and while we highlight our innovation areas through this newsletter, we also receive more input about events and meetings where partners put forward and further develop our scaleagdata challenges & innovations. Achievements and improvements are bubbling up. Every quarter, we'll give this 'digital floor' to our RI Labs, technology partners and, of course, end-users, to share insights and ideas with you. Stay tuned via our website & social media channels & don't hesitate to forward this newsletter or invite colleagues to register!
In this 3rd ScaleAgData Newsletter:
1st iteration technology validation phase
3rd innovation area: Data sharing and data governance
End-user experiences: AgroInsurance Conference
Recent News items
Upcoming events
1st iteration technology validation phase
During the first 18 months of the ScaleAgData project, methodological frameworks have been defined for federate learning, data assimilation (digital twins) and data integration (few-shot learning and integration of sensor data into spatially explicit data products). Collaborations have been established with several Research and Innovation Labs (RILs) within the consortium. Methods are being co-developed for specific use cases, experiments have been set up, while test products and code have been made available to the RILs for testing. Currently, Federated AI technologies are being tested within the Soil Health RIL. The Yield RIL is exploring few-shot learning for potato yield estimation, and digital twins are being set up for wheat yield estimation. Collaborations have also been initiated to set up digital twins with the Water management and Crop management RILs. Timeseries of Evapotranspiration and Soil Moisture (SM) maps have been provided to the Water Management, Crop Management and Yield Monitoring RILs. The provided data serves as a benchmark against which improvements derived from integrating in-situ and EO data can be evaluated by the RILs and the partners.
Within the RILs, basic models are being developed to generate agri-environmental data products. While model development is still ongoing in the RILs and the potential use of the methodological frameworks is being explored, some RILs, such as the Yield RIL and the Dairy RIL, have already generated initial data products. After the 2024 growing season (December 2024) more consolidated sensor-integrated data products are expected. In the coming months, when a sufficient level of maturity is reached, the first version of the methodological frameworks and the methods developed in the RILs will be gradually made available on the Research and Innovation Environment (RIE), along with the data products.
Innovation area 3: Data sharing & data governance
The ScaleAgData project is focused on advancing the development of a sophisticated data sharing architecture and governance framework that integrates and manages data from diverse IoT devices. This initiative aims to create a unified system capable of generating comprehensive datasets at regional, national and EU levels. Central to this endeavor is the application of semantic technologies, which will enhance interoperability among various data sources, facilitating the management of both real-time streaming and static data, as well as mixed data scenarios. The project will develop advanced semantic algorithms for data harmonization, verification, and enrichment, specifically tailored to the needs of the agricultural sector. These technologies will be deployed within edge-cloud computing environments and enhanced with AI capabilities to optimize data management and utilization.
Partner Expertise and Contributions
ICCS (Institute of Communication and Computer Systems): ICCS provides critical expertise in semantic technologies and complex data systems. They lead the development of the overall architectural framework and semantic models necessary for integrating heterogeneous data sources. Their work will ensure that the ScaleAgData system supports seamless data interoperability and efficient management across diverse IoT components.
EGM: EGM contributes their knowledge in environmental and geospatial data management to support the integration of large-scale environmental datasets within the IoT framework. Their role involves ensuring that semantic models and governance strategies are effective across various environmental contexts.
EV ILVO: EV ILVO will enhance the project with its expertise in agricultural research and field trials. Their involvement provides practical insights into the implementation of data sharing technologies in real-world agricultural settings. Their contributions will ensure that the data products are relevant and actionable for agricultural practice.
Neuropublic: Neuropublic's expertise in agricultural data management and real-time processing will be key to applying semantic technologies to agricultural datasets. They will develop algorithms for effective data harmonization and enrichment, addressing the specific needs of both streaming and static data. Neuropublic's practical experience will ensure that the solutions are directly applicable to agricultural challenges.
Application to Research Infrastructure Labs (RILs)
The ScaleAgData innovations will be applied across 6 thematic Research and Innovation Labs (RILs), focusing on Water Productivity, Crop Management, Yield Monitoring, Soil Health, Grasslands, and Dairy. These RILs cover a broad spectrum of agri-environmental conditions, allowing ScaleAgData to address all four dimensions of the environment: Soil, Water, Air, and Living Organisms. By integrating sensor data from these diverse themes, the project will generate improved data products that offer comprehensive insights into each environmental component.
Technologies developed by ScaleAgData will be used to monitor both widely cultivated crops like wheat and potatoes, as well as less commonly tracked crops such as medicinal and aromatic plants and quinoa. This extensive thematic coverage will facilitate a thorough co-design and evaluation process, providing valuable data to evaluators and external users, and ensuring that the framework supports a wide range of agricultural and environmental applications.
End users experiences: AgroInsurance's Conference
"EO Industry Challenge - harmonization and fusion of abundant in-situ and EO data, deriving trusted advice for farmers, governments and insurers.
Insurer's Challenge - capacity to utilize readily available technologies to manage agricultural risks in a more efficient way."
Ian Shynkarenko
Agricultural Insurance Expert AgroInsurance International LLC
With presentations from consortium members AgroInsurance, VITO Remote Sensing and KUVA Space, ScaleAgData made a significant contribution to the 2024 AgroInsurance International Conference (3-5/6/2024, Belgrade). Project representatives led a panel discussion on the gaps between Earth Observation (EO) and insurance industries.
These gaps include the rapid advancement of EO data technology, contrasted with the slow adoption of operational EO solutions by the insurance sector. One of the main challenges for insurers is the lack of in-house capacity, technical skills and expertise needed to implement EO technologies. On the EO side, the challenge lies in providing fully operational analytical solutions that can handle complex data overlays, and offer easy-to-use comprehensive reporting that meets the needs of insurance professionals.
Exploring collaboration with 2 Horizon Europe projects
ScaleAgData explores collaboration with Horizon Europe projects AgriDataValue and CrackSense. The collective goal is to boost visibility of data-driven agriculture and evaluate benefits of data sharing.
Groundbreaking advancements RIL Soil Health
The RIL 'Soil Health' introduced groundbreaking advancements in soil health monitoring using hyperspectral spaceborne technology at the IEEE WCCI 2024.
Would you like to learn about upcoming events focused on the latest innovative data technologies for managing agricultural production and monitoring agricultural environments?
We updated the Documents page on our website with some PDF's of promotional material such as the general ppt, posters and the infographic. Please reach out if more specific material is needed.
VITO's role
VITO is the project coordinator of the ScaleAgData consortium and will also contribute significantly to the 'product and service development', the RI Lab on Yield monitoring as well as the entire communication segment of the project. As a technology provider, VITO will bring data products and innovative solutions to merge sensor data into the data products. As communication lead, VITO will be managing the ScaleAgData website, social media channels as well as these digital newsletters. Feel free to contact us via scaleagdata@vito.be.
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