A consortium led by Joost Batenburg of CWI’s Computational Imaging group has been awarded a grant of EUR 800.000 from the Smart solutions for horti- and agriculture programme by the NWO domain science board. The project consists of a consortium of knowledge institutes as well as private partners. The programme is aimed at research that provides new, smart solutions that lead to sustainable and circular agricultural systems, while, at the same time, securing a healthy livelihood for farmers and agriculture-related companies.
The project is called "Universal Three-dimensiOnal Passport for process Individualization in Agriculture" (UTOPIA). Agri- and horticultural products have a rich internal structure that contains crucial information for the processing of the products, to detect health risks early on, minimize waste and predict the shelf life. In this project the researchers will focus on developing a methodology to make a 3D model with the use of CT-scanning and machine learning, while processing large amounts of products. The data will be combined into an individual 3D passport for each product and used to make optimal decisions.
The project will cover a 4-year period. The research consortium consists of:
- Wageningen University & Research (postharvest, processes in fruit); Prof. Leo Marcelis and Dr. Rob Schouten
- Greefa (producer of machines for sorting fruit)
- Utrecht University (veterinary science, quality control of chicken); Dr. Len Lipman
- Meyn Food Processing Technology (producer of machines for the poultry processing industry)
A total of four researchers will be appointed, two of them will be employed by CWI.
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