Catalogue of Services

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.

Data analysis to optimise AI model training

Josephinum Research (JR)

Location

Remote

Arable farming

Horticulture

Livestock farming

Tree Crops

Viticulture

Our service enhances your dataset's quality using descriptive statistics to gain insights and ensure robustness. We use measures like mean, median, standard deviation, etc., to identify central tendencies and variability. We perform plausibility filtering to check for logical consistency and outlier filtering to remove data points that could skew predictions. This careful data preparation refines your dataset, boosting the accuracy and reliability of your model training. Tailored to your needs, these methods optimise your dataset for better model performance.

Data augmentation to optimise AI model training and prevent the model from overfitting

Josephinum Research (JR)

Location

Austria

Remote

Arable farming

Horticulture

Livestock farming

Tree Crops

Viticulture

In preparing image or sensor data, pre-processing is crucial. We apply techniques like normalisation for data uniformity and correlation analysis to uncover patterns, enhancing interpretability. Dimension reduction optimises computational efficiency, while adding randomised noise and artificial expansion improves model generalisation. We implement anonymisation to protect data privacy and ensure precise data labelling for supervised learning. These methods, tailored to your needs, enhance your data's quality and usability.

Experimentation with validation tools for crop production and protection

Fondazione Edmund Mach (FEM)

Location

Italy

Tree Crops

Viticulture

FEM will support companies developing machine vision tools (both hardware and software), e.g., for counting and estimating the size of fruits, either by collecting ground-truth data or by comparing the results of the FEM algorithms with the customer solution. These activities are supported by both physical and digital facilities.

Feasibility analysis of a selected AI or robotics use case in agriculture

Josephinum Research (JR)

Raumberg Gumpenstein Research & Development (RGRD)

Location

Austria

Remote

Arable farming

Livestock farming

This follow-up service supports clients who, based on a prior assessment or internal selection, want to explore a specific AI or robotics use case in greater depth. It focuses on understanding the conditions under which the selected use case could be applied in agriculture. Our team performs a structured feasibility analysis considering technical, organisational, and sector-specific factors. This includes evaluating compatibility with agricultural processes, identifying potential barriers to adoption, and estimating the expected added value. The goal is to provide the client with a clearer picture of what successful implementation would require and which factors might influence success or failure. The deliverable is a detailed report with insights, risks, and recommendations, supporting further internal evaluation and strategic planning.

Performance evaluation of an AI model

Josephinum Research (JR)

Location

Austria

Remote

Arable farming

Horticulture

Livestock farming

Tree Crops

Viticulture

Our service provides a thorough evaluation of AI models by utilising a wide range of benchmark datasets—from images and sensor data to remote sensing and multimodal data. This comprehensive testing assesses the model's performance across standard metrics, specifically chosen based on the model’s intended tasks. The results offer insights into the model’s effectiveness and accuracy, guiding developers in refining their AI solutions to achieve optimal performance in real-world applications.

Providing demonstration testing on the test field of robotic or AI-driven solutions

Lukasiewicz Poznanski Instytut Technologiczny (L-PIT)

Poznan Supercomputing and Networking Center (PSNC)

Wielkopolska Agricultural Advisory Center in Poznań (WODR)

Location

Poland

Arable farming

Food processing

Greenhouse

Horticulture

Livestock farming

Tree Crops

Viticulture

As part of the service, a testbed will be provided for product demonstration of robotic machines along with AI systems. The polygon will be configured and prepared to meet the customer's individual needs in terms of field operations, technological processes, and communication. The service provider will provide polygons with a variety of surfaces according to the customer's specifications, e.g., meadow, ploughed field. The service will include soil moisture control, continuous monitoring of the field, and all activities carried out on it. The service providers will provide the necessary assistance and infrastructure needed to support the fieldwork carried out by the surveyed sites. The service may also involve demonstration of AI systems used in apiaries.

Provision of datasets

Josephinum Research (JR)

Location

Remote

Arable farming

Horticulture

Tree Crops

Viticulture

Our service offers a comprehensive dataset tailored for training or testing your solutions in the technology and agricultural sectors. Whether you're looking to enhance existing models or build new ones, our versatile data can be adapted to fit your specific needs. For those requiring an even more robust solution, our service seamlessly integrates with our data augmentation and labelling service (S00172), ensuring that you have access to well-organized and precisely labelled data. This flexibility allows us to support a variety of sensors and use cases, utilizing both existing data records and capturing new data in your application area. Optimize your agricultural technology solutions with our data services, designed to propel your projects forward efficiently and effectively.

Technology advancement and readiness assessment

Lukasiewicz Poznanski Instytut Technologiczny (L-PIT)

Poznan Supercomputing and Networking Center (PSNC)

Wielkopolska Agricultural Advisory Center in Poznań (WODR)

Location

At user's premises

Poland

Arable farming

Food processing

Greenhouse

Horticulture

Livestock farming

Tree Crops

Viticulture

This service helps you understand where your AI-powered product, system, or software stands in terms of technological maturity. We conduct a basic, yet structured evaluation of your solution—including physical testing of selected components and general system behaviour—to identify its current development stage and key areas that need improvement. We also assess the quality of documentation, system architecture, and software implementation. For example, when evaluating an apple-picking robot, we assess the readiness and integration of its core subsystems: the gripper mechanism, robotic arm kinematics and control, and the vision system responsible for detecting ripe fruit. We analyse areas where current solutions can be improved or require some redesign and whether the robot as a whole can effectively perform “scene ”cleaning”—removing ripe apples while preserving unripe ones and the plant structure. Based on our findings, we prepare a clear roadmap and a development plan with recommendations for the next steps, which may include further testing or refinement through other agrifoodTEF services. As part of the process, we also confirm the current Technology Readiness Level (TRL) of each major component. The outcome helps you focus your R&D work and understand what is still required to move your solution closer to full deployment and commercial readiness.

Testbed preparation

Lukasiewicz Poznanski Instytut Technologiczny (L-PIT)

Wielkopolska Agricultural Advisory Center in Poznań (WODR)

Location

Poland

Arable farming

Horticulture

Testbed preparation will enable costumers to execute physical tests of their technology/machines/algorithms in line with their expectations. 

Within this service, costumers might get a well prepared flat/slopped arable lands or permanent grasslands. 

We can also prepare a land with "controlled rain conditions" or a dump ground. There is also a possibility of providing and preparation of apiary or a sprinkler for software testing. We can help costumers run physical experiments by preparing a cultivated/non-cultivated fields or run tests on test plots, specially designed for testing. Within the latter, we will take care of such elements like: soil preparation, seed/plant procurement, seeding/planting, plant growth management,  preparation of technical infrastructure. All this to meet your needs to ensure optimal conditions for conducting and monitoring tests.

This service can be executed in fields with various area with system of weather stations, phenological stations and ICT infrastructure. We can also prepare costumers sets of data collected for these areas like archive cultivated plants, treatments, crops, etc.

Testing of AI-based sensor performance

Josephinum Research (JR)

Location

At user's premises

Austria

Arable farming

Horticulture

Tree Crops

Viticulture

Our service thoroughly evaluates AI-based sensors by measuring key metrics like accuracy, mean squared error, and other tailored parameters. Testing is conducted in real-world environments where the sensor will be used, with reference data recorded or labelled for analysis. For certain sensors, we also utilise benchmark datasets to validate performance. We assess consistency under identical conditions, adaptability to environmental changes (e.g., light, temperature, or weather), and improvements in accuracy over time. Additionally, we measure power consumption, processing efficiency, and memory usage to ensure optimal resource utilisation. Response time between detection and action is evaluated for real-time applications, while extreme condition testing (e.g., bright light, rainy conditions, compacted soil) ensures robustness in challenging environments. We also verify data security and resilience against adversarial attacks. This comprehensive testing is essential, ensuring sensors meet high standards of precision, reliability, and efficiency. Benchmark datasets, standardised data collections used for validation, provide a reliable baseline for performance comparison. By addressing these aspects, our service ensures your sensor technology is ready for real-world deployment, delivering the performance and adaptability your application demands.