Periodic Reporting for period 1 - AgroRadar (Using Copernicus Earth Observation radar data to disrupt Precision Agriculture)
Berichtszeitraum: 2017-02-01 bis 2017-07-31
In particular, we go beyond current PA services, by providing low cost (automated) solutions to small and medium farms, and also provide new territorial services for banks, insurance companies (asset owners) and governmental agencies (subsidy control, fire protection, etc.).
The objective of the overall AgroRadar project is to deploy a scalable PA service based on Copernicus Earth Observation data (using optical but also SAR imagery) available to farmers worldwide, tailored for diverse types of crops and livestock explorations.
The goal of the project is to optimize our Copernicus EO big data algorithms, in order to further automate data mining and pre-processing of PA reports, namely the time-lapse images (using the current 5-day refresh rate) that provide timely decision support information to farmers, agronomists and public entities.
The expected outcome of AgroRadar is a robust cloud-based back office that processes Copernicus Earth Observation data and provides it in a user-friendly way to the end-user in a browser and mobile app.
With our Phase 1 Feasibility Study we have reached the conclusion that AgroRadar is a highly innovative PA service, with several unique selling points that far outperform current competition. Therefore, we will further develop our business case and apply to a Phase 2 project.
We also carried out a detailed market assessment and competitor analysis, and have interviewed clients from Brazil, Portugal, Spain, UK, France, Germany, Poland, Mozambique and Angola.
Regarding IPR, we have confirmed our Freedom to Operate, as our algorithms cannot be the target of a patent, but instead are our own trade secret. With this in mind, we will focus on trademark registration in our potential markets.
A business model assessment has been performed and we established a detailed risk assessment of our project, with a comprehensive work plan for the Phase 2 project. All our findings have been documented in a Business Plan and Feasibility Study that we will annex to our Phase 2 proposal.
We have established a detailed workplan for the demonstration of AgroRadar, and we will apply for a SME Instrument Phase 2 project. We have several potential clients in different EU countries and Brazil that are willing to participate in a Phase 2 demonstrator pilot.