R&D Project / Acuadori
Open Source platform for the management of Idric networks with artificial intelligence
R&D PROJECT: AGRITECH
Open Source platform for the management of Idric networks with artificial intelligence
Status: Completed
Period of reference: 12 September 2018 – 30 November 2021
Funder: POR FESR Sardegna 2014-2020
Asse I: “Ricerca Scientifica, Sviluppo Tecnologico e Innovazione”
Azione 1.2.2: Obbiettivo principale “Rafforzamento del sistema innovativo regionale e nazionale”
Abika Role: Project leader, IoT platform development
Reference Personnel: Maria Katiuscia Zedda
ACUADORI is a Sardinian Regional project (POR FESR Sardegna 2014-2020 programme) led by Abika that involves two universities, University of Cagliari and University of Sassari, and two more companies, Cantina su Entu and Viticoltiori Romagna. By applying IoT technologies to the precise agriculture production processes, Acuadori offers new innovative tools for the automatic measure and monitoring of the plants hydro-stress, providing the farms with simpler and more efficient methods for DI-based irrigation methods. The main technical role of Abika is related to the development of the IoT platform.
The climate change and the consequent decreasing of water resources availability pushed the demand for methods to improve the water efficient use. This is especially true in those application fields that can have a high return on investments, such as in viticulture and wine production processing, which requires high quality and environmentally sustainable solutions. Deficit irrigation (DI) is an optimization strategy in which irrigation is applied during drought-sensitive growth stages of a crop. Outside these periods, irrigation is limited or even unnecessary if rainfall provides a minimum supply of water. New DI-based strategies for irrigation waste reduction allows farms to dispense the right amount of water, by means of techniques that measure the hydro-stress of the plants.