Catalogue of Infrastructures and Facilities

Experimental Stables

Instituut voor Landbouw-, Visserij- en Voedingsonderzoek (ILVO)

Country

Belgium

Experimental stables with opportunities for co-creative research in dairy cattle, poultry, rabbit, and pig farming. These facilities are equipped with an extensive array of sensors and cutting-edge technologies to support advanced agricultural testing, experimenting, and validation. The currently available sensors allow us to collect data related to emissions, stable climate, animal behaviour, and food or water intake. # Pig Farming - HF RFID antennas - Low-ammonia emission systems with sloping pit walls and air scrubbers - Multiple water and feed circuits - Scales and measuring equipment for individual and group weighing of pigs # Dairy Cattle - 74 RIC Feeders for registration of individual feed uptake - 6 rooms to measure gas exchange and 2 Greenfeed devices to study (greenhouse) gas emissions - Mobile Greenfeeds for emissions research at pasture - Devices for measuring ammonia emissions under natural ventilation # Poultry and Rabbits - 120 units for digestion studies - On-site feed mill to manufacture trial feeds (including pelleting)

Crop Testing Field

Instituut voor Landbouw-, Visserij- en Voedingsonderzoek (ILVO)

Country

Belgium

The ILVO testing field is a small field with dry sandy loam soil. The testing field is conveniently located next to our workshop facility, allowing us to test and adapt a prototype in quick succession in a real-world setting. Depending on the intended tests, different crops are installed each growing season.

Fertiliser Spreader Calibration

Instituut voor Landbouw-, Visserij- en Voedingsonderzoek (ILVO)

Country

Belgium

ILVO’s fertiliser spreader calibration lab offers services to farmers, fertiliser spreader manufacturers, and fertiliser-producing companies. Two different approaches are used for assessing the performance of centrifugal and pendulum fertiliser spreaders for specific types of fertilisers: collection trays equipped with anti-reflection grids are used for determining spread patterns in field conditions. Secondly, the SpreadWise setup, developed by ILVO and UGent using a multi-exposure, high-speed stereo camera system and ballistic model, can be used for a much faster determination of spread patterns and provide input for simulation of different effects, e.g., spreader height, wind, etc., based on only one measurement.

Hyperspectral Sensing Lab

Instituut voor Landbouw-, Visserij- en Voedingsonderzoek (ILVO)

Country

Belgium

The ILVO Hyperspectral Technology Facility enables advanced applications in agri-food processing, such as quality control, defect detection, grading, and sorting of (raw) products. By comparing spectral and spatial data to reference measurements, we build chemometric models capable of estimating product parameters in real time. The facility hosts a range of hyperspectral and multispectral devices, including spectrometers with customisable probes, hyperspectral cameras, and FTNIRS systems suited for both solid and liquid samples. Using these technologies across various wavelengths, we evaluate the feasibility of hyperspectral analysis for specific applications. Furthermore, data can be resampled to test and validate the performance of other multispectral devices in more challenging environments outside our lab. The facility supports a complete workflow from data collection to model output and offers support for integrating hyperspectral technology into new or existing machinery.

Lane Trees

Instituut voor Landbouw-, Visserij- en Voedingsonderzoek (ILVO)

Country

Belgium

The ILVO Lane Trees facility, featuring a diverse array of 50 trees from four different cultivars and varying stem diameters, provides a unique environment for testing and experimenting with advanced technologies tailored for tree nurseries. This setup allows researchers to evaluate the effectiveness of innovative tools and methods in real-world conditions, ensuring that new developments are both practical and beneficial for the industry. By leveraging this resource, ILVO aims to drive advancements in tree nursery practices, promoting sustainability and efficiency in the sector.

Spray Tech Lab

Instituut voor Landbouw-, Visserij- en Voedingsonderzoek (ILVO)

Country

Belgium

ILVO's Spray Tech Lab is one of the few accredited spray technology laboratories in the world specialising in the characterisation of sprayers and nozzles. In addition to accredited testing, the laboratory has the experimental facilities to develop spray application systems and evaluate them under field or laboratory conditions. Current research priorities include greenhouse and open field spray applications, spray drift, nozzle characterisation, orchard spray applications, and biological crop protection applications.

Mobile Robot Station

Instituut voor Landbouw-, Visserij- en Voedingsonderzoek (ILVO)

Country

Belgium

ILVO's TEF Mobile Containers are fully operational, secure, and moveable charging hubs for agricultural robots. These containers, which are standard 20 ft sea containers, facilitate easy transportation of robots. The TEF Containers provide a flexible and convenient solution for charging and storing agricultural robots near fields or other off-site locations. Energy is supplied off-grid through 6 Denim Solar Panels, but the DC-coupled inverter charger also allows for connection to the grid or a generator. Once the robot has completed its tasks, it can be securely stored inside the container with a lock.

Mechanisation and automation workshop

Instituut voor Landbouw-, Visserij- en Voedingsonderzoek (ILVO)

Country

Belgium

In the mechanisation and automation workshop of the living lab Agrifood Technology of ILVO, technological prototypes for the agrifood sector are ideated, designed, developed, and tested in controlled conditions. An iterative development process is used; this is an agile approach with subsequent multiple cycles of (re)design and testing. Machines are designed in CAD software (Solidworks). For reverse engineering, a 3D scanner and post-processing software are used. For metalworking, lathes, milling machines, bending machines, and welding machines are available. Different types of sheet metal can be cut using a CNC waterjet cutter. Many prototypes are equipped with different sensors, actuators, and controllers, which are programmed for the specific task at hand. In combination with the skills of the engineers and technicians, new agrifood mechatronic prototypes can be developed or optimised in a flexible and efficient way.

Food Pilot

Instituut voor Landbouw-, Visserij- en Voedingsonderzoek (ILVO)

Country

Belgium

The Food Pilot helps companies, labs, and governments with their agri-food challenges: product development, process optimisation, or troubleshooting technical production problems. Within a co-creative process we bring solutions in the form of advice, lab analyses, and/or pilot trials performed on semi-industrial processing equipment. We work strictly confidentially. The Food Pilot is a collaboration between ILVO and Flanders' FOOD. More information is available on www.foodpilot.be/en/.