Catalogue of Services

Agri Drone Flight Operations

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

Location

At user's premises

Belgium

Arable farming

Greenhouse

Horticulture

Viticulture

Our Agri Drone Flight Operation service offers precision drone flights designed to collect essential data for agricultural analysis, whether for crop monitoring, land surveying, or environmental assessments. These flights utilise RGB, multispectral, hyperspectral, and thermal sensors to capture data. The data is collected with aims to help agribusinesses optimise resource management, detect crop health issues, pest management, and make informed decisions. Whether you need to test drone-integrated sensors, gather aerial imagery, or explore new analytics, this service provides a flexible and tailored approach to meet the specific needs of your operation. Customers will receive detailed data, advice, and insights that can be applied to enhance productivity, reduce costs, and support sustainable farming practices.

Assessment of agricultural potential for emerging technologies in AI & robotics

Josephinum Research (JR)

Raumberg Gumpenstein Research & Development (RGRD)

RISE - Research Institutes of Sweden

Location

Austria

Remote

Sweden

Arable farming

Food processing

Greenhouse

Horticulture

Livestock farming

Tree Crops

Viticulture

Our service is designed to assist clients in identifying and evaluating potential agricultural applications for AI or robotics technologies originally developed for other sectors. Clients can provide detailed information about their technology, including its current applications and technical specifications. Our expert team will conduct extensive research to identify possible use cases related to the agricultural and food production sector, analysing factors such as feasibility, potential benefits, and relevance to current agricultural challenges. The tools used for this work will depend on the use case and may include, for example, online research as well as expert interviews. The customer will receive the results as a comprehensive report outlining the identified potential applications, adoptions needed and an assessment of their relevance and impact within the agricultural sector. This service enables clients to explore new markets and adapt their technologies to meet the evolving needs of modern agriculture.

Assessment of AI and robotic solutions for testing

National Institute for Research in Digital Science and Technology  (INRIA)

Josephinum Research (JR)

RISE - Research Institutes of Sweden

Location

Austria

France

Remote

Sweden

Arable farming

Food processing

Greenhouse

Horticulture

Livestock farming

Tree Crops

This service includes all essential actions to gather knowledge, design, and document the client’s needs regarding Testing and Experimentation Facility (TEF) services. Through close collaboration with the client, we ensure that all technical, operational, and methodological aspects are clearly outlined, forming a solid foundation for future testing phases. By conducting these preparatory activities, we deliver a comprehensive setup analysis that serves as the entry point for subsequent testing and validation services and provision of datasets. This ensures that testing can be carried out efficiently, aligning with the client’s specific requirements while leveraging TEF’s expertise and infrastructure. Ultimately, this service streamlines the testing process, reduces uncertainties, and enhances the overall efficiency of AI and robotic solution validation.

Crop Dataset Generation

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

Location

At user's premises

Belgium

Remote

Arable farming

Greenhouse

Horticulture

Tree Crops

Viticulture

In the Crop Dataset Generation service, we collect large-scale datasets on a frequent basis using drones or autonomous robots. AI and data-driven solutions require extensive data, shifting the focus from limited feature engineering to acquiring large, balanced datasets of images and labels for training convolutional deep-learning networks. We offer flexible data collection options tailored to customer needs. We can use our systems and fields to gather data on crops under various conditions, such as different lighting, angles, growth stages, and soil types. Alternatively, we can use customer-provided devices to collect data for testing and validation, such as evaluating sensor performance in detecting heat in crops or testing robot navigation in crop fields.

Evaluation of Crop Protection Equipment

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

Location

Belgium

Arable farming

Greenhouse

Horticulture

Tree Crops

Viticulture

This service assesses the performance of advanced precision crop protection equipment, including map- and sensor-based precision spraying, non-chemical weed and disease control, and robotic applications. Evaluation is conducted both in controlled laboratory settings and real-world field conditions to assess and quantify efficacy, accuracy, and efficiency. The ILVO Spray Tech Lab, one of the world's few ISO 17025-accredited spray technology laboratories, specialises in characterising sprayers and spray nozzles. Additionally, we provide field testing for sensor-based precision spraying technologies and non-chemical solutions (e.g., mechanical, laser, and UV-based weed and disease control). For robotic applications, our robotic framework can be used, ensuring practical deployment feasibility in autonomous precision agriculture applications. The results help manufacturers and farmers optimise their equipment for more automated and effective crop protection tools.

Field Spectrometer Measurements

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

Location

At user's premises

Belgium

France

Germany

Netherlands

Arable farming

Food processing

Greenhouse

Horticulture

Livestock farming

Tree Crops

Viticulture

This service utilises field spectrometers to measure the spectral properties of physical environments, such as barns, greenhouses, or outdoor fields. By capturing detailed spectral data, we help you develop, improve, or validate your agri-food solutions, whether for monitoring plant health, optimising lighting conditions, or enhancing environmental control systems. The measurements provide insights into how different wavelengths of light interact with the environment, enabling fine-tuned adjustments for better crop growth, energy efficiency, or precision farming applications. Additionally, this service can serve as a follow-up to lab-scale measurements where hyperspectral technology is used to conduct pilot tests to determine which wavelengths provide valuable information. In this service, we then perform field tests on these specific wavelengths.

Functional safety testing of machines

Lukasiewicz Poznanski Instytut Technologiczny (L-PIT)

Location

Austria

Poland

Food processing

Greenhouse

Horticulture

Livestock farming

Tree Crops

Viticulture

Within the framework of this service, we offer the possibility of carrying out functional safety tests of objects in the form of, for example, autonomous vehicles, robots, machines, agricultural equipment and components, etc. The service provides opportunities to test these devices with measurements of their mechanical, physical, acoustic, electrical parameters and electromagnetic compatibility to assess the overall safety of the user of the tested vehicles, machines, equipment and components for agriculture, horticulture, forestry and food. Verification of the tested parameters is based on the requirements of standards and directives declared by the manufacturer as compatible with its product and general normative safety regulations. Initial evaluation of an object is carried out based on its provided design documentation and/or measurements made on a prototype based on harmonized and non-harmonized standards with relevant EU and sector regulations. In the case of autonomous vehicles, we also offer tests of the correctness of response and operation of safety devices built into their structures in standardized cases of hazardous situations. The results obtained can be used in the further process of product labelling, declaration of conformity to place the CE mark on the device.

Hyperspectral and Spectrometer Testing for Agri-Food Product Quantification

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

Location

Belgium

Arable farming

Food processing

Greenhouse

Horticulture

Tree Crops

Viticulture

This service offers pilot testing of hyperspectral and spectrometer technologies to evaluate their potential for non-destructive, at- or inline analysis in agri-food processing. 

Using VIS and NIR hyperspectral cameras and spectrometers, we conduct lab-scale measurements to assess the feasibility of these technologies for your specific products or applications, such as quality control or process monitoring. Based on the collected data and reference samples, we build statistical and machine learning-based chemometric models to quantify key properties. 

Additionally, we offer resampling services to explore the integration of multispectral devices, whether existing or custom-built, into your production processes for optimized performance. 

Policy lab for innovative drone technologies in regulatory sandboxes

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

Location

Belgium

Arable farming

Greenhouse

Horticulture

Livestock farming

Tree Crops

Viticulture

This service is designed to support agri-food companies that want to test and evaluate the use of innovative drone technologies in a controlled environment—a so-called regulatory sandbox. Setting up such a drone sandbox requires navigating complex airspace regulations, flight safety rules, environmental constraints (e.g., drift, pesticide use), and data protection standards. Our experts help you design and prepare a sandbox operation from A to Z: from selecting a test location and identifying legal permissions needed to preparing risk assessments, notifying authorities, and ensuring safe operational procedures. We also offer advice on sensor integration, traceability, and aligning with EU drone and agricultural regulations such as Regulation EU 2019/947 on the operation of unmanned aircraft. This is an ideal service for companies wishing to run trials with crop spraying or precision seeding drones before launching commercially. - Set up a regulatory sandbox to safely and legally test spraying or seeding drones. - Understand the full list of permissions, safety protocols, and risk assessments required. - Learn how to engage with authorities (e.g., airspace regulators, pesticide control bodies). - Get support in preparing the documentation to operate drones legally during the test phase.

Testing and evaluation of innovative drone technologies in regulatory sandboxes

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

Location

Belgium

Arable farming

Greenhouse

Horticulture

Livestock farming

Tree Crops

Viticulture

AgrifoodTEF provides access to realistic test environments where innovative drone technologies can be evaluated under controlled yet practical conditions. This includes technical validation of AI systems, embedded sensors, software, and robotic controls used during operations. The tests are adapted to the specific objectives and constraints of a regulatory sandbox, helping companies explore system performance, robustness, and safety in a near-to-real-world configuration. The feedback and technical documentation generated during testing can be used to refine the product and support regulatory approval, certification, and future market deployment.

Testing of Fertiliser Spreaders Based on Vision and AI Methods

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

Location

Belgium

Arable farming

Greenhouse

Horticulture

Viticulture

Centrifugal fertiliser spreaders are widely used in European agriculture but present challenges in achieving uniform fertiliser distribution due to varying machine settings, physical fertiliser properties, and environmental factors such as wind. Misapplication results in economic losses and environmental harm. Our Spreader Calibration Service utilises the computer vision-based SpreadWise system to optimise spreader performance for specific fertilisers and application settings. This service is available for farmers, spreader manufacturers, and fertiliser producers, offering tailored calibration and performance analysis under real-world conditions, including wind influence and sloped terrain. By employing advanced imaging and AI algorithms, we provide precise spread pattern measurements, helping optimise spreading efficiency, reduce fertiliser waste, and enhance crop yields.

Validation of Integrated Agri Software

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

Location

At user's premises

Belgium

Arable farming

Food processing

Greenhouse

Horticulture

Livestock farming

Tree Crops

Viticulture

This service ensures that the software powering your hardware solution works seamlessly across all components. By testing the integration between different systems—whether it's farm machinery, drones, sensors, or management platforms—we test performance in a practical setting. This helps agribusinesses streamline processes, uncover potential issues, optimise decision-making, and allow comparing different approaches. Whether you're automating irrigation, monitoring crops, or integrating autonomous decision-making software, this service ensures that your technology ecosystem functions cohesively, enabling you to improve efficiency and achieve better outcomes.