The continuous evolution of the agricultural sector also includes the incorporation and adaptation of the latest technologies. The Horizon 2020 project Agricultural Interoperability and Analysis System
(ATLAS) is on the search for interoperability between agricultural machinery, sensors, and data processing services in order to increase productivity in a sustainable way (Smart Farming). Companies can submit innovative ideas and solutions until 15 September 2020 and obtain EU funding.
Bonn, 11 May 2020 – Digital transformation in the agricultural sector is providing farmers with new devices and services, such as sensors, actuators, weather information, drones, and satellite images that make it possible to optimise resources, improve productivity, and simultaneously reduce the impact on the environment. To facilitate this kind of transformation in agriculture, a common, data-driven integration platform is needed to unify datasets and generate new services based on the sector’s needs.
The new ATLAS project aims to develop an open, distributed, and extensible data platform based on a microservice architecture. It will thus offer innovative, data-driven services in agriculture to help improve the
efficiency of farmers in a sustainable way. ATLAS, a joint research project funded by the Horizon 2020 initiative, is bringing together a consortium of 30 agricultural stakeholders and researchers from seven European countries.
The consortium is now looking for innovative ideas and solutions via an open call for the development of new services that will make use of the ATLAS platform’s technical foundation. Until 23:59 CEST on 15 September 2020, interested companies will be able to submit their proposals at www.atlas-h2020.eu/open-call “Modern agriculture is facing a multitude of environmental, economic, and societal challenges. The public’s awareness of environmental impacts is increasing, and there is a demand for sustainably produced food. The next generation of farmers needs to face these challenges, and digital transformation is the key technology that will help them do so,” says Dr Stefan Rilling, ATLAS coordinator at the Fraunhofer Institute for Intelligent Analysis and Information Systems (IAIS).
Innovative companies will receive seed funding for the services they provide through the platform. Proposed solutions should offer clear added value to customers or stakeholders along the agricultural
value chain and focus on the development of services that build on and extend the use cases carried out within the project. Interested companies registered in one of the EU Member States or one of the
countries associates with H2020 are welcome to participate.
In 2020 and 2021, the ATLAS consortium will fund five to 10 business entities per open call in two rounds by allocating an average of EUR 52.500 per use case. In addition, successful participants will have the chance to become part of the ATLAS ecosystem and benefit from its extensive network of end users, service providers, researchers, and policymakers. All the companies funded will present their solutions in front of all the project’s stakeholders and interested third parties at a Demo Day event at one of the project’s five Innovation Hubs.
About ATLAS
ATLAS will run for 36 months with 30 partners from seven European countries: Germany, Switzerland, Greece, Italy, Romania, Spain, and Latvia. The ATLAS consortium’s test sites include 13 agricultural operations at different geographical locations in Europe, with a variety of farm sizes and farming goods produced. Of these, five are purely research farms, six are commercial farms, and two are combined research/commercial farms. The pilot studies will be carried out at five Innovation Hubs at the test sites in close collaboration with end users. ATLAS is bringing together an excellent combination of stakeholders that have been active in the automation, IoT, and robotics sectors since before the term “smart farming” was even coined. The Fraunhofer Institute for Intelligent Analysis and Information Systems (IAIS, Germany) is coordinating the project.
