BrIAS Forum on Robotics in Agriculture - Where we are, where we are going

The Brussels Institute for Advanced Studies is pleased to announce its first forum of the Sustainable Robotics Programme on "Robotics in Agriculture - Where we are, where we are going"

For in-person attendance (limited places), as well as online attendance of the webinar, registration is necessary. Please register for both days or choose one of the days by filling out the registration form. This Forum will also be live-streamed on our Youtube channel @BrIAStalks

Organised by: Brussels Institute of Advanced Studies (BrIAS).

Funded By: BrIAS, FARI, FNRS, European Commission (Marie Sklodovska-Curie Grant N. 101102281).

Technical Support: Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).

ORGANIZING COMMITTEE

General Chair : Emanuele Garone (ULB)

Program Chair: Luca Rossini (ULB)

Logistics Chair: Anja Garone (VUB)

Member of the Program Committee: Frederic Francis (ULg), Raphael Junkers (UCL), Francesco Lamonaca (University of Calabria), Mario Contarini (University of Tuscia), Yael Edan (Ben-Gurion University of the Negev), Carl Morch (FARI).

Description

Currently most agricultural control action (fertilisation, irrigation, plant protections, weeding, harvesting, etc.) are based on scarcely sampled measurements and are performed homogeneously over large portions of the farm, resulting in unnecessary usage of agrochemicals and loss of yield.  “Precision Agriculture” aims at overcoming this limitation by performing actions only where and when they are effectively needed. Robotics is a key technology to support the technical challenges of precision agriculture. In this forum worldwide experts will approach the topic from different points of view, providing an overview of the current state of the art and future challenges of robotics in Agriculture.

PROGRAMME DAY 1 (15.2.2024)

09:00 -09:30 Registration and Coffee
09:30 - 10:00 Opening Ceremony BrIAS 

Prof. F. Deconinck (BrIAS co-Directeor, VUB), Prof. E. Garone (BrIAS Programme co-Director, ULB), R. Al-Khafaji (FAO)

10:00 - 12:30 Session 1: Session 1: Different points of view about robotics in Agriculture (Chair: E. Garone) 

• Farming, Automation, and Robotics: where are we, where we want to go  –  The vision of an Engineer. 
  Prof. Andrea Gasparri and Dr. Martina Lippi (Università degli Studi “Roma Tre”, Italy)
• Farming, Automation, and Robotics: where are we, where we want to go  – The Vision of an  Agronomist. 
  Prof. Valerio Cristofori (Università degli Studi della Tuscia, Italy)

11:00 - 11:45 Coffee Break

• Farming, Automation, and Robotics: where are we, where we want to go  –  From the lab to the field
  Dr. Renik Van den Eynde (Proefstation voor de Groenteteelt), Tom Lefebre (Hortipower)
• Farming, Automation, and Robotics: where are we, where we want to go  –  The vision of a Company.
  Dr. Marco Silvestri (Barilla S.p.A.)

12:45 - 14:15 Lunch
14:00 - 15:30 Session 2: Session 2: Automation in Agriculture through Policy, History and Society (Chairs: D. Cannella and C. Hermans)

• From Mechanization to Robotization: a brief history of Agricultural Mechanization during the Green Revolution and current trends.
  Prof. John Martin (University of Reading, UK)
• Automation & Robotics In Agriculture - Perspectives from the Real World
  Dr. Nikola Trendov (Food and Agriculture Organization - FAO)

15:30 - 16:15 Coffee Break
16:15 - 17:45 Session 3: Robotics for Agriculture I (Chair: C. Morch)

• Autonomous/Semi-autonomous Tractors: Experiences from Academia to Industry
  Prof. Lorenzo Marconi (University of Bologna/Field Robotics, Italy)
• Robotic pruning for orchards.
  Dr. Bas Boom (OnePlanet Research Center, Netherlands)
• Sustainable AgRobotics: where we are and challenges ahead
  Prof. Yael Edan (BrIAS Senior Fellow/Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Israel)

PROGRAMME DAY 2 (16.2.2024)

08:30 – 09:00 – Welcome coffee
09:00 - 10:30 Session 4: Robotics for Agriculture II (Chair: E. Garone)

• Cooperation of Unmanned Systems for Agriculture 4.0
  Prof. Fabrizio Dabbene (BrIAS Senior Fellow/CNR - IEIIT, Italy)
• On the usage  of Drones in Agriculture: sensing, pollination, and protection
  Ir. Paolo Marras (Aermatica3D s.r.l.)
• Monitoring of agro-ecosystems based on low cost UAV acquisitions
  Prof. Jean-Francois Bastin (Gembloux Agro Bio Tech, Universite de Liege

10:30 - 11:00 Coffee break
11:00 - 12:30 Session 5: Sustainable Pest Management (Chair: F. Francis)

• Sustainable Pest Management: Open Challenges in Sensing and Modelling
  Dr. Mario Contarini & Prof. Stefano Speranza (Universita degli Studi della Tuscia, Italy)
• What should the measurement community do to support precision agriculture ?
  Prof. Francesco Lamonaca (BrIAS Senior Fellow/Universita degli Studi della Calabria, Italy)
• Pest-Finder: Problems and Perspectives on pest modelling in agrifood
  Dr. Luca Rossini (BrIAS Junior Fellow/ULB)

12:30 - 14:00 Lunch
14:00 - 16:00 Session 6: Robots For Insects, Insects for Robots (Chair: L. Rossini)

• The problem of optimal sensing: sensing as a robotic mission planning problem
  Prof Emanuele Garone (ULB) and Dr. Nicolas Bono-Rosello (Universite de Namur/Sciensano)
• What we are developing for Integrated Pest Management – The pats indoor concept
  Bram Tijmons, Pats drones
• Design of insect-inspired flying robots and their potential applications
  Mateij Karasek (Flapper Drones, Czech Republic)
• From social insects to social robots
  Prof. Marco Dorigo (ULB/FNRS)

16:10: Final Remarks and Coffee