With a rapidly growing global population, changing climate, and increasingly fragile supply chains, ensuring a steady and safe food supply has become a major challenge. Water scarcity and pollution, especially in agriculture and aquaculture, threaten both productivity and sustainability. Traditional water quality monitoring methods are slow and labor-intensive, making it difficult to respond quickly to environmental threats.
AGRARSENSE addresses these challenges by developing an ecosystem of autonomous technologies and smart sensors. In particular, Use Case 7 focuses on smart water quality management, aiming to revolutionize how water quality is monitored and managed. The solution involves AI-powered, miniaturized multiparameter sensors that can deliver rapid, in-field analysis and continuous monitoring, integrated into autonomous platforms.
The project’s approach is collaborative and multidisciplinary. Partners work together to integrate new sensing technologies into wireless, portable, and unmanned autonomous platforms. Demcon unmanned systems plays a key role by developing a small autonomous uncrewed surface vessel (USV) equipped with a sensor station. This USV incorporates sensors from project partners, enabling real-time water quality monitoring in reservoirs, rivers, and other waterways. The system reduces analysis time from days in the lab to seconds in the field and improves detection thresholds for pollutants, supporting smarter irrigation and pollution management.
AGRARSENSE is paving the way for a more resilient and sustainable future in European agriculture and forestry. By integrating advanced sensing and autonomous technologies, the project empowers stakeholders to respond quickly to environmental challenges, optimize resource use, and secure the food supply for generations to come. Demcon unmanned systems’ contribution to smart water quality management exemplifies the project’s commitment to innovation and collaboration.
