2023

RECREO – Resource-Efficient and Climate-change REsilient hazelnut Orchard

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Title RECREO – Resource-Efficient and Climate-change REsilient hazelnut Orchard
Project ID A0613-2023-078152
Funding Agency Regione Lazio
Recreo logos
Call POR FESR LAZIO 2021-2027
Topic(s) Avviso pubblico “Riposizionamento competitivo RSI di cui alla Det. n. G18823 del 28.12.2022
Funding Scheme Ambito 2 “Economica del mare, Green economy e Agrifood”
Funding EUR 403.278,88
Abstract

The goal of RECREO is to provide agronomists and agricultural entrepreneurs with a Decision Support System (DSS) for precision irrigation and fertilization of extensive crops. Through an integrated analysis of heterogeneous data acquired both in the field (moisture sensors, weather stations, SAP-FLOW sensors, optical-spectral sensors) and remotely (satellite images and proximal data acquired from drones; use of electromagnetic emission sensors for soil mapping activities), it can generate specific irrigation and fertilization programs for the short and medium term. These programs are optimized based on the soil-climatic characteristics of the site, as well as the agro-hydraulic and phenological aspects of the crop.

Keywords Control, Artificial Intelligence, Precision Farming, Remote and Proximal Sensing, Big-Data
Duration 18 months  (21/11/2023 – 20/05/2025)
Scientific Coordinator Sigma Consulting S.r.l.
Consortium SIGMA CONSULTING S.R.L. (Italy), TERRASYSTEM S.R.L. (Italy), Università degli Studi della Tuscia (Italy), Università degli Studi Roma Tre (Italy)
Roma Tre Unit Leader Andrea Gasparri
Roma Tre Unit Members Andrea Gasparri, Martina Lippi, Riccardo Torlone
Roma Tre Funding EUR 79.450,30

2021

CANOPIES – A Collaborative Paradigm for Human Workers and Multi-Robot Teams in Precision Agriculture Systems

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Title CANOPIES – A Collaborative Paradigm for Human Workers and Multi-Robot Teams in Precision Agriculture Systems
Project ID 101016906
Funding Agency European Commission
Call H2020-ICT-2018-20
Topic(s) ICT-46-2020
Funding Scheme RIA – Research and Innovation action
EU Funding EUR 6.904.940,00
Abstract

In CANOPIES, our goal is to develop a novel collaborative human-robot paradigm addressing the challenges of Human Robot Interaction and Human-Robot Collaboration in the unstructured highly dynamic outdoor environment of permanent crop farming (Agri-Food Area). Our approach will be demonstrated through an integrated system composed by farming robots and logistics robots with a real-world validation of two economically relevant agronomic operations within a tablegrape vineyard: harvesting and pruning. CANOPIES represents the first attempt to introduce a collaborative paradigm in the field of precision agriculture for permanent crops where farmworkers can efficiently work together with teams of robots to perform agronomic interventions, like harvesting or pruning in table-grape vineyards. Both operations require complex processes of perception, communication, shared planning in agreement, prediction of human intentions, interaction and action. But also, both agronomic operations should be done in real life conditions, that is, in changing illumination and cast shadows, changing agronomic situations, where the vine branches or grapes can make it difficult to harvest or prune in a safe manner, due to the robot physical proximity to the human, while operating in real time. CANOPIES ambition will be achieved by introducing: i) novel human-robot interaction methodologies for enhanced safety and coexistence, ii) novel human-robot collaboration methodologies for increased system adaptability and intuitive usability; iii) novel multi-robot coordination methodologies for improved scalability. CANOPIES impact will contribute to filling the current gap in the development of fully autonomous robotic solutions for permanent crops by introducing a novel concept of farming robots, where we leverage an effective interaction with the human workers to mitigate the greater complexity of permanent crops as compared with field crops.

Keywords Human robot collaboration, Human robot interaction, Robotics for agriculture, Multi-Robot Systems, Precision Agriculture, Permanent Crops
Duration 48 months  (01/01/2021 – 31/12/2024)
Scientific Coordinator Andrea Gasparri
Consortium Università degli Studi Roma Tre (Italy), KTH Royal Institute of Technology (Sweden), Università degli Studi di Roma La Sapienza (Italy), Polytechnic University of Catalonia (Spain), Università degli studi di Cassino e del Lazio Meridionale (Italy), Danish Technological Institute (Denmark), PaleBlue (Norway), Pal Robotics S.L. (Spain), Agrimessina S.r.l. (Italy), Romana Servizi Amministrativi S.r.l. (Italy)
Roma Tre Unit Leader Andrea Gasparri
Roma Tre Unit Members Andrea Gasparri, Giovanni Ulivi, Stefano Panzieri, Federica Pascucci, Martina Lippi, Antonio Furchì
Roma Tre Funding EUR 910.960,0

AGR-o-RAMA – Precision Agriculture with Autonomous Robots for Active Monitoring

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Title AGR-o-RAMA – Precision Agriculture with Autonomous Robots for Active Monitoring
Project ID B85F21001360006
Funding Agency Regione Lazio
Call POR FESR 2014-2020
Topic(s) Avviso Pubblico Progetti Gruppi Di Ricerca 2020
Funding Scheme Asse I Ricerca e Innovazione
Funding EUR 149.986,87
Abstract

AGR-o-RAMA project proposes the development of autonomous drone swarms for monitoring extended agricultural fields, exploiting online planning and drone collaboration for active field monitoring. Active monitoring implies that each drone can decide where to move and what to observe, based on an estimate of the level of interest of the observed area. This allows to obtain high resolution data only in the areas of greatest interest, while less relevant areas are observed with less accuracy. In addition, the ability to observe the same point of interest from multiple perspectives allows for a three-dimensional reconstruction. The goal is to provide a multiple-resolution, 3D map of the field, where features of interest can be appropriately labeled, for example differentiating between normal or pathological situations. The techniques developed will be adapted to a case study relevant to Lazio: viticulture.

Keywords Control, Artificial Intelligence, Precision Farming, Proximal Sensing, Active Monitoring, Multi-Robot Coordination
Duration 24 months   (15/04/2021 — 14/04/2023 extended to 14/10/2023)
Scientific Coordinator Vito Trianni
Consortium ISTC-CNR (Italy), Università degli Studi Roma Tre (Italy), Università degli Studi di Roma La Sapienza (Italy)
Roma Tre Unit Leader Andrea Gasparri
Roma Tre Unit Members Andrea Gasparri, Martina Lippi
Roma Tre Funding EUR 49.378,90

2019

PARADISE – Precision fARming for sustAinable proDuctIon in Suburban arEas

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Title PARADISE – Precision fARming for sustAinable proDuctIon in Suburban arEas
Project ID F84D20000030003
Funding Agency Regione Lazio
Call POR FESR 2014-2020
Topic(s) Avviso Pubblico “Progetti Strategici” per l’Area di Specializzazione “Green Economy”
Funding Scheme Asse I Ricerca e Innovazione
Funding EUR 311.826,73
Abstract

On 1 June 2018 the European Commission presented to the Parliament and to the European Council the legislative proposals for the reform of the Common Agricultural Policy valid for the period 2021-2027 in order to pursue the objective of an agriculture capable of resisting changes (especially those of the market), which is sustainable, and which guarantees the vitality of rural areas through greater synergies with policies and the most incisive research and innovation initiatives by increasing the use of new technologies in agriculture, still not widespread throughout the EU, especially by small and medium-sized enterprises. In this regard, the project PARADISE, which fits within the GREEN ECONOMY specialization area, aims to study the development of peri-urban agricultural areas, in order to guarantee: i) an appropriate integration with the social and urban fabric, ii) a production process based on the paradigm of precision agriculture that is effective and respectful of the environment, and iii) an energy sustainability from renewable sources of the technological infrastructure to support the production process.

Keywords Control, Artificial Intelligence, Precision Farming, Remote and Proximal Sensing, Big-Data, Robot routing
Duration 24 months  (01/06/2020 – 31/05/2022)
Scientific Coordinator Sigma Consulting S.r.l.
Consortium Sigma Consulting S.r.l. (Italy), Università degli Studi Roma Tre (Italy), Università degli Studi della Tuscia (Italy), Wave Advanced Technology Applications S.r.l. (Italy), Eurolink Systems S.r.l. (Italy), Terrasystem s.r.l. (Italy)
Roma Tre Unit Leader Andrea Gasparri
Roma Tre Unit Members Andrea Gasparri, Riccardo Torlone, Martina Lippi, Antonio Furch
Roma Tre Funding EUR 74.599,23

2017

PANTHEON – Precision Farming of Hazelnut Orchards

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Title PANTHEON – Precision Farming of Hazelnut Orchards
Project ID 774571
Funding Agency European Commission
Call H2020-SFS-2017-1
Topic(s) SFS-05-2017 – Robotics Advances for Precision Farming
Funding Scheme RIA – Research and Innovation action
EU Funding EUR 3.144.452,50
Abstract

The goal of PANtHEOn is to develop the agricultural equivalent of an industrial Supervisory Control And Data Acquisition (SCADA) system to be used for the precision farming of large orchards of hazelnut. Our objective is to design an integrated system where unmanned robotics components move within the orchards to collect data and perform some of the most common farming operations. The information will be stored in a central unit that will integrate the data coming from the different robotic units to perform automatic feedback actions and to support the decisions of agronomists and farmers.

Keywords Robotics, Control, Precision Farming, Remote Sensing, Big-Data.
Duration 48 months  (01/11/2017 – 31/10/2021)
Scientific Coordinator Andrea Gasparri
Consortium Università degli Studi Roma Tre (Italy), Ferrero Trading Lux S.A. (Luxemburg), Université libre de Bruxelles (Belgium), Università degli Studi della Tuscia (Italy), Universität Trier (Germany), and Sigma Consulting S.r.l. (Italy)
Roma Tre Unit Leader Andrea Gasparri
Roma Tre Unit Members Andrea Gasparri, Giovanni Ulivi, Stefano Panzieri, Riccardo Torlone, Renzo Carpio, Matteo Santilli, Martina Lippi
Roma Tre Funding EUR 960.893,75

2010

NECTAR – NEtworked Cooperative Teams of Autonomous Robots

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Title NECTAR – NEtworked Cooperative Teams of Autonomous Robots
Project ID RBFR08QWUV (Linea d’intervento 1)
Funding Agency Italian Ministry of University and Research
Call FIRB – Futuro in Ricerca 2008
Funding EUR 431.000,00
Abstract

The NECTAR project is focused on control issues for networked robotic systems. In particular, the NECTAR project wants to investigate and develop innovative techniques for the control of networked and cooperative robotic systems, i.e., teams of autonomous vehicles that, in order to achieve a common goal, cooperate by exchanging information via a wireless communication. The project activities will be focused on the development of motion control techniques for a team of mobile robots that has to carry out coordinated missions both in an environment lacking of a communication infrastructure (or sensor network) and in an environment where these infrastructure are available.

Keywords Multi-robot systems, Networked Robots, Coordinated motion control, Sensor and Communication Networks
Duration 48 months  (01/12/2010 – 01/12/2014)
Coordinator Filippo Arrichiello
Consortium Università degli Studi di Cassino e del Lazio Meridionale (Italy) and Università degli Studi Roma Tre (Italy)
Roma Tre Unit Leader Andrea Gasparri
Roma Tre Unit Members Andrea Gasparri, Attilio Priolo, Donato Di Paola
Roma Tre Funding EUR 215.500,00