Digital technologies at the heart of the event
Drones, satellites, autonomous agricultural robots, all of the latest generation machines were once again the focus of attention at the great Bologna exhibition. The topic of training highly specialized profiles
Over the course of the five-day EIMA International event, the spotlight was on agriculture 4.0. The Bologna event was in fact the stage for numerous meetings dedicated to the digitalization of the primary sector and the use of next-gen agricultural machinery.
Drones. Efficient and versatile, used to reach difficult-to-access areas, drones are able to sustainably perform increasingly complex operations. Until recently their use has been limited by costs, training deficits, regulatory and safety restrictions, but – it was pointed out in Bologna – the time is now ripe for a more substantial development. An opportunity to delve deeper into the topic was provided by the presentation of the European project called Icaerus, aimed precisely at exploring the potential offered by drones as multipurpose vehicles in agriculture, forestry and rural areas of the European Union. One of the objectives of the initiative (with a EUR 6 million endowment) is to promote the use of these vehicles not only for cultivation needs, but for the prevention of natural disasters or for the conservation and protection of biodiversity. Five areas of agricultural activity were taken into consideration to assess the impact of drones: crop monitoring, spraying, livestock management, forestry resources monitoring, and rural logistics. Icaerus will release the complete results for each of these areas on the project platform (https://www.platform.icaerus.eu/). The platform also offers a comprehensive training course aimed at companies and users who see drones as potential key players in the future of agriculture.
Satellite monitoring. Another topic addressed at EIMA International was the use of satellite technologies for monitoring farm land. The use of satellite images – it was explained during a conference organized by the CIA – is of great help in carrying out farm work, as well as for CAP compliance. “The goal is to have reconstructed images of the farmer's holding available on a monthly basis in the farmer's company file,” explained Domenico D'Amato, head of the Agricultural Assistance Centers (CAA) of the Italian Confederation of Farmers (CIA). We are not there yet, but we can see real progress. We have moved from only aerial photo surveys to monitoring with two Sentinel satellites that photograph the entirety of Italy's surface area from overhead every five days. The integration of the two systems using artificial intelligence – D'Amato stated – provides much greater accuracy and immediacy than we had before”. Satellite images from Sentinel are supplied as raw images of RGB bands with a resolution of 10 meters, but the AMS control system ensures that the images are reprocessed and brought to a much higher resolution, of 2.5 meters. These operations produce a soil map, which is a fundamental tool for land management and planning.
Highly automated systems. The new frontier of technological innovation is that of agricultural robotics, which is developing rapidly all over the world. In just the last year alone, around 100 specialized companies have come on the scene. Robotization, in fact, helps entrepreneurs in the sector to reduce production costs and optimize operational processes, as well as to make up for the current shortage of manpower. Robotics is already revolutionizing farm work in Italy as well. In fact, it not only offers greater profitability, but also the continued development of precision agriculture, minimizing the use of resources and simultaneously reducing the impact of production on the environment. This was discussed at EIMA during two meetings entitled “Agricultural robotics: the future is now” (promoted by FIRA, AEF, Tevel, Field Robotics, Arvatec and FederUnacoma) and “The era of autonomous tool carriers in agriculture”, organized by Edagricole. “The world of new technologies always shows us the same dynamic. We see a curve that starts with a peak in usage and then levels off,” explained Matteo Matteucci, of the Polytechnic University of Milan. This dynamic id also true of robots: in the agricultural sector they are already starting to become a reality capable of supporting all crops. If equipped with AI-based software, they can also learn from mistakes and thus improve their performance. So much so that this situation is driving the birth of numerous companies specialized in the production of robots designed to support the agricultural entrepreneur. In the last year alone, around a hundred of them have popped up around the world, attesting to how robotization is changing agricultural production processes. The robots offer multiple advantages and these are not only related to profitability and sustainability. For example, they make it possible to deal with parasites more effectively and precisely and to perform farm work in an even more efficient, safe and sustainable way, with on-demand interventions. This is why the field robot market has opened up development scenarios with great potential on a worldwide level.
The future is now: new AI applications. You can't talk about robotics without discussing the merits of Artificial Intelligence, which was the focus of numerous meetings at EIMA International. Among these, the conference entitled “AI: its industrial prospects” aroused great interest, and saw the participation of representatives from Cema, the University of Modena and Reggio Emilia and major manufacturers, such as John Deere and Cnh. "With artificial intelligence you can't wait and see what happens. We need to be active, because we are dealing with a revolution similar to that which occurred with the advent of the Internet", stated Giampaolo Barbieri, CEO of Barbieri srl and member of the Presidential Council of FederUnacoma, during the course of the workshop discussions.
Research is making great strides in this industry and there are now multiple applications in the agricultural sector. Visual recognition in the field means that it is now possible to identify phytopathological problems or irrigation deficiencies that require prompt attention. Through robots equipped with artificial intelligence - the speakers explained - harvesting operations can be automated and, even further downstream in the production process, AI can be used for selection in the fruit and vegetable sector and to optimize packaging processes.
According to Barbieri, artificial intelligence is not the exclusive domain of industrial giants, but constitutes an extraordinary opportunity small and medium-sized enterprises as well. “A recent study on these types of companies – remarked the FederUnacoma council member – has shown that the making use of AI in their business have more than double the chances of creating income and growing compared to companies that have decided not to enter this market”. This is due to increased efficiency, decision support systems and improved productivity. "Artificial intelligence," Barbieri concluded, "represents a real 'boost' for business and for us manufacturers".
The growth of AI in Italy is attested to by constantly increasing numbers. According to data from the Milan Polytechnic, in 2018 the market was worth EUR 210 million, which then rose to 300 million in 2020 and 500 million in 2022. In 2023 (the latest data available for Italy), there was an increase of 52% over the previous 12 months, climbing to EUR 760 million. Yet, as Marko Bertogna, Full Professor of Physical, Computer and Mathematical Sciences at Unimore, points out, Europe is lagging behind: “It is never too late to invest and there are still opportunities for expansion. But it is worth remembering that the top ten companies in terms of investment in this high-tech sector are all American or Chinese”. Bertogna states that there are several mature products in the agricultural mechanization sector, on the autonomous driving front, for example. EIMA International 2024 was the mirror for evolution in progress.
Highly specialized know-how. Closely connected to the theme of the application of new agricultural technologies is that of operator training. The daily use of cutting-edge systems requires a highly specialized set of knowledge and skills that make it possible to fully exploit all the features of next-gen machines.
At EIMA International, the discussion about training went hand in hand with the presentation, of a more purely technical nature, of the most recent construction solutions. On the training front, great emphasis was placed on the launch of Agri Digital Growth, a European initiative supported by FederUnacoma and financed by the Interreg Central Europe program, coordinated by Crea Viticoltura Enologia of Conegliano and involving eleven partners: the Universities of Maribor, Zagreb and Budapest, two Austrian research centers, the Josephinum and the Linz Center of Mechatronics, the Czech Plan4Al, Arssa, the development agency of the Polish region of Bielsko-Biała, Eita Digital, part of the European Institute of Technology and the Fenice Foundation of Padua. Agri Digital Growth will seek to develop training courses on specific topics, aimed - as stated by the project manager, Luca Masiero - both at young specialists and at people already in the working world.
The selected areas are digital security (cybersecurity), mechatronics, IOT (Internet of Things), data management, cloud and edge computing and the usage of satellite services for agriculture. Agricultural business management systems are increasingly digital and also in agriculture we have to deal with a flood of data: agronomic, on product volumes and quality, meteorological, on energy and on the functioning of machinery. “Faced with this evolution - said Alessio Bolognesi, head of the digital area of the Federation - it is necessary to adapt the access of current and future operators to training that meets the needs of both machinery and system manufacturing companies and farms".
The Agri Digital Growth project also launched the first Call for Talent, a competition for precision agriculture specialists who will have to respond to concrete challenges formulated by the project partners to generate innovative solutions that can be applied to the actual operations that farms deal with regularly. The project will conclude in 2026 in conjunction with the next EIMA International event.
