Fixed

The small ruminants research barn at Raumberg-Gumpenstein is a flexible facility designed for in-depth studies on sheep and goats. It offers customisable compartments for various research setups, including feeding trials, performance testing, and carcass evaluation. Equipped with 360-degree video monitoring and weighing systems, the barn supports continuous behavioural tracking and health assessments, providing valuable insights into animal welfare and productivity.

The poultry research barn at Raumberg-Gumpenstein is a versatile research facility designed to conduct a variety of studies with both fattening poultry and laying hens. This multi-purpose barn can be adapted for different poultry types, making it suitable for a wide range of research applications. The barn is equipped with continuous video monitoring to track animal behaviour and a gas measurement system to monitor emissions during experiments.

The cattle research barn at Raumberg-Gumpenstein is a state-of-the-art facility designed to meet international research standards for cattle experimentation. The barn supports real-time data acquisition through sensors and cameras, ensuring precise measurement and observation of animal welfare, behaviour, and productivity. With dedicated spaces for calving, separation pens, and a high standard of hygiene, the infrastructure enables both basic and applied research in animal science.

The barn contains three identical compartments that can be customised for experimental setups. The barn supports video monitoring, feeding trials, and comprehensive animal welfare and environmental impact analysis.

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/.

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.

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.

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.

The CEMOB Bench is dedicated to enhancing the efficiency of spreading processes by optimising both machines and products, such as granules and compost. The CEMOB research bench accurately measures and characterises spreader sheets using traditional transverse measurement methods. The 3D measurements enable detailed analysis of spreading performance, including mapping ground distribution and assessing homogeneity. CEMOB also allows the evaluation of a product’s suitability for wide-area spreading and the impact of optimised spreading devices.

The CEMIB rotating test bench, patented by INRAE, is a high-performance device for measuring the distribution of granular products (fertilisers). It enables quick, reliable, and cost-effective evaluation of spreading patterns. CEMIB scans the spread pattern, angular sector by angular sector, using around 90 sensors recorded at 10 Hz by a synchronous system. It provides precise, disturbance-free measurements of fertiliser distribution in grams/m² and reliable data on projection range and angles.