The PLEN Living Labs at Taastrup and Frederiksberg campuses are part of the PLEN (Department of PLant and ENvironmental Sciences) research infrastructure. The Living Labs are part of the vision for The Green Solutions Centre at the University of Copenhagen.
A living laboratory is a user-centred open innovation ecosystem. At PLEN, research infrastructures become living labs when they connect researchers, students, and companies, who apply their knowledge in real-life environments. These living labs provide the university with direct solutions to solve current global challenges.
A strategic part of PLEN Living Labs is the development of an infrastructure to support research and demonstration of future cropping systems. Many research projects use robot and drone technology and have done so for several years. The vision is to co-design these technologies with new, more diverse cropping systems on the farms, focusing on workshop areas for a more sustainable production of food crops.
The Taastrup Living Lab located outside Copenhagen consists of research farms, several semi field facilities for root studies (e.g. RadiMax) and climate gas studies (AnaEE), an orchard (the Pometum) with future production systems and finally advanced greenhouse facilities for studies in controlled environments including a conveyer system for dynamic imaging of plants (PhenoLab).
The Frederiksberg Living Lab in central Copenhagen consist of the campus garden, advanced greenhouse, and climate chamber facilities as well as a mechanical end electronics workshop. The combination of the many facilities and the inclusion of advanced data analytics enables the full study from lab to field.
Private companies which currently are implementing activities at PLEN Living Labs are: Agrointelli, Carlsberg, Chr. Hansen, Danespo, Dansk affaldssortering, DLF, Fauna Photonics, Hortiadvice, NordGen, Nordic Seed, Novozymes, Ottera, SEGES, Sejet Planteforædling, Videometer, Brdr Kirk.
Contact:
Jesper Svensgaard, cand agro, Ph.d.
jesv@plen.ku.dk
+45 40901264