Smart Solutions 4 Agri-food

Focus and topicsThe agri-food industry has specific requirements for smart food sensors and the related IT challenges (cloud- and big data management). By creating this envisaged European IoT-based agri-food platform, the involved stakeholders will get a better understanding of each other’s possibilities, needs and requirements regarding these technologies. Four challenges are identified and will be first tackled within our platform:

1^st Challenge: Matching the needs of agri-food companies with what technology suppliers can offer and build a trust zone between both sectors, e.g. via demonstrations and living labs (‘Seeing is believing’).

2^nd Challenge: Exploring and demonstrating the integration of sensors, techniques etc. in the production line that is often a harsh production environment

3^rd Challenge: Stepwise approach towards digitalisation by creating an IoT and big data environment in agri-food companies, starting with investments in IT solutions (e.g. data acquisition platforms and data analysis software) as well as in data analysts that are capable of handling food-related issues.

4^th Challenge: Adaptation or set-up of education and training programs to reorientate the organisations and their employees. Dedicated programs will be initiated that cover food science as well as data science to better reflect the industrial demand.

We will tackle these four challenges by following the “Funnel towards sector or community oriented validation model”. This methodology is based on a proven concept developed in the Sensors For Food project and will lead the European agri-food industry towards becoming the IoT based agri-food industry 4.0 in collaboration with the electronic/IT-industry. The aim of the 5-step model is to increase the awareness, explore the application and implement existing, new and upcoming smart electronic systems for the agri-food industry:

1. Awareness: Continuous process – Activities: identification of intermediate players, cluster organizations and RTO; convince them to join forces; identification of top players in agri-food and IT-technology; frequent meetings and activities
2. Platform creation: Setting up a forum that offers a trust zone between the involved sectors and which is managed by a cross-sectorial team with a centralized contact point – Activities: setting up living labs as knowledge transfer and demonstration vehicles; screening of needs and opportunities for the agri-food industry; technology watch on emerging sensor innovations; advisory service; partner matching; thematic seminars, workshops, training courses and demonstrations
3. Evaluation and validation: Collaborative process between all stakeholders providing insight in the specifications needed for industrial applications – Activities: validation in e.g. living labs; development of technology by knowledge centers to a level that technology suppliers and integrators can take further to implementation towards end users; convince end users (agri-food companies) to move towards the implementation phase
4. Implementation: Important role for system integrators as they make the link from prototype to industrial process, knowledge partners will give advice and further support – Activities: Licensing by knowledge partners; integration by system integrators; investments by agri-food companies; attracting new partners for newly defined validation tracks
5. Leverage: Integration, investments and realizations in the food industry create visibility for all stakeholders and will help to attract new partners for newly defined validation and implementation tracks, which is supporting evolution to reinforce the funnel. 

More information: see S3 site

Partners

Leading region:

Flanders (BE)

Wallonia (BE)

Participating regions:

Asturias (ES)

Attica (EL)

Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes (FR)

Brittany (FR)

Central Denmark (DK)

Galicia (ES)

Közép-Dunantul (HU)

Navarra (ES)

North Brabant (NL)

North Rhine Westphalia (DE)

Slovenia (SL)

Southern Ostrobothnia (FI)

Deelnemen

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