The project aims to develop an affordable machine vision system for precision farming, specialized in horticulture. The sensory system will be used directly on the field, as in-vivo measurement, as either a handheld solution or attached to an autonomously driving tractor to allow for intensive monitoring of the crop.HortiQD will help to reduce or avoid the usage of pesticides in European orchards, paving the way towards sustainable farming and increasing food quality.

It will scale up the intensity of monitoring by automation, hence, ensure the reliability of European food production. It will help analyze and address the impacts of climate change. The project aims for a fully integrated solution, consisting of several innovative sub components. Each of the developments brings benefit to the industry it addresses and opens up new markets, beyond agriculture and food.

To accelerate the deployment of the novel sensing technology in orchards, this project aims to integrate the developed sensor on Trektor. The goal is to provide precision farming applications that leverage the new spectral data. In this context, the new sensor, and the developed algorithms, will be integrated within the farmer’s ecosystem through task autonomation and enhanced mission reports and decision support tools.