We welcome three new testbeds to the network

AquaVIP, a three-year project, is led by Klaipeda Science and Technology Park, accompanied by University of Rostock, University of Gdańsk and Klaipeda University. The AquaVIP experiments will be focused on innovative solutions with the potential to be implemented into aquaculture business in the South Baltic area.

– We believe that innovative aquaculture will bring benefits to businesses in our region and society in general, as it provides healthy, secure and regionally produced high quality food. The use of innovative environmentally friendly production technologies will also open new, international markets, providing new jobs and blue-green growth in the South Baltic area, says Andrius Sutnikas, AquaVIP.

SFI Digital Food Quality (DigiFoods) is a research centre that will develop smart sensors for food quality assessment directly in the processing lines. The obtained information will be used for optimisation of processes and value chains, thereby making the food industry more efficient and sustainable.

– The most pressing issue is to develop smart sensors that can measure and digitise the most relevant food quality features, and use this information to optimise processes to reduce food waste and increase profit, says Jens Petter Wold, DigiFoods.

The autonomous robotic platform Latvijas iDārzs (Latvian i-Garden) aims to contribute to a sustainable development of the plant nursery sector, by enabling plant monitoring and tending functions as well as automation and digitalisation of the production process.

In order to ensure the applicability of the system in gardens and farms with high crop diversity, a systematic data collection and processing solution will be integrated in the Latvian i-Garden platform, which will use databases, machine learning and other artificial intelligence solutions to interpret the situation and make horticulture management decisions.