TU Delft AgTech Institute

Interested in a PhD position at TU Delft on Physics-informed Learning and Layered Control Architectures for High-tech Greenhouses? Check out the post below!

We are working with various stakeholders on an R&D program idea for an 𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐫𝐠𝐲 𝐡𝐮𝐛 in 𝐠𝐫𝐞𝐞𝐧𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐬𝐞 𝐡𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐮𝐥𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞, aiming to develop a research proposal. In an energy hub, greenhouses and nearby industries or communities could 𝐬𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐜𝐞𝐬, like waste heat or CO₂, creating opportunities for more 𝐬𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐞𝐟𝐟𝐢𝐜𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐫𝐠𝐲 𝐮𝐬𝐞. Researcher Emile Chappin aims to better align policy and practice by modelling 𝐡𝐮𝐦𝐚𝐧 𝐛𝐞𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐢𝐨𝐮𝐫 to accelerate the 𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐫𝐠𝐲 𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧. In his research, he wants to give the greenhouse horticulture sector a boost in using clean energy more intelligently and profitably by using computer simulations that include behavioural uncertainties. 🔗 Read more here: https://edu.nl/g9t3u

The iGEM TU Delft 2024 team recently completed their work on an exciting project: 𝗡𝗶𝘁𝗿𝗼𝗕𝗟𝗔𝗦𝗧! 🚀🌱 As team NitroBLAST, they set out to address the nitrogen pollution problem in the Netherlands, caused largely by the overuse of nitrogen-rich fertilizers in agriculture. Excess fertilizers go to waste and pose serious environmental and health risks due to leakage into the environment. Their proposed solution is radical: to develop plants that can fix nitrogen directly from the atmosphere, reducing dependency on fertilizers. This can be achieved by introducing nitroplasts, newly discovered organelles capable of nitrogen fixation, into crop plants. Given the complexity of this goal, the team initially focused on unicellular model organisms. By fusing these hosts with nitroplasts, they explored the requirements for successful cooperation between the host and organelle. Following the competition, part of the team will continue the project by focusing on lab research to achieve results they couldn’t reach due to time constraints and ultimately publish their findings. 📚

𝐀𝐝𝐯𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐒𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐆𝐫𝐞𝐞𝐧𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐬𝐞 𝐇𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐮𝐥𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐀𝐈   We’re excited to announce that the TU Delft-led project "𝑨 𝑳𝒂𝒚𝒆𝒓𝒆𝒅, 𝑬𝒙𝒑𝒍𝒂𝒊𝒏𝒂𝒃𝒍𝒆 𝑨𝒑𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒂𝒄𝒉 𝒕𝒐 𝑰𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒍𝒍𝒊𝒈𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝑮𝒓𝒆𝒆𝒏𝒉𝒐𝒖𝒔𝒆 𝑯𝒐𝒓𝒕𝒊𝒄𝒖𝒍𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒆 (𝑳𝑬𝑨𝑷-𝑨𝑰)" has 𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐞𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐝 𝐟𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐍𝐖𝐎 as part of the 𝐊𝐈𝐂 𝐂𝐚𝐥𝐥: 𝐀𝐈 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐚𝐠𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐮𝐥𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞, 𝐡𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐮𝐥𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞, 𝐰𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐫, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐟𝐨𝐨𝐝.   𝐋𝐄𝐀𝐏-𝐀𝐈 aims to explore how 𝐥𝐚𝐲𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐝, 𝐀𝐈-𝐛𝐚𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐫𝐨𝐥 𝐬𝐲𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐦𝐬 can enhance 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐜𝐞 𝐞𝐟𝐟𝐢𝐜𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐲 𝐢𝐧 𝐠𝐫𝐞𝐞𝐧𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐬𝐞𝐬  while ensuring that these systems make 𝐝𝐞𝐜𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐞𝐱𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞 to people, paving the way for broader adoption.   The impact of 𝐋𝐄𝐀𝐏-𝐀𝐈 is anticipated to be threefold: 👉 𝐈𝐧𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐠𝐫𝐞𝐞𝐧𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐬𝐞 𝐬𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐛𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐲 👉 𝐑𝐞𝐝𝐮𝐜𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐜𝐨𝐬𝐭𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐠𝐫𝐞𝐞𝐧𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐬𝐞 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐝𝐮𝐜𝐭𝐬 👉 𝐒𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐠𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐟𝐨𝐨𝐝 𝐬𝐞𝐜𝐮𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐲   Led by professor Tamas Keviczky, this collaborative project includes experts Robert McAllister, Manuel Mazo Jr., and Sebastijan Dumančić (TU Delft); Dirk Deichmann (Rotterdam School of Management, Erasmus University); and Silvère Vialet-Chabrand (Wageningen University & Research), alongside industry partners Blue Radix, Ridder, HarvestAi, and Glastuinbouw Nederland.

Yesterday’s 𝗔𝗴𝗿𝗶𝗰𝘂𝗹𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗮𝗹 𝗦𝘁𝘂𝗱𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗧𝗼𝘂𝗿, which we organized, was an absolute success! We had a fantastic afternoon filled with presentations and a tour! The TU Delft students were very enthusiastic and asked relevant questions.💡 A huge thank you to our speakers; Roeland van Oers, Amber Marijs, Willem Kesteloo, Jildou de Jong, Bram Tijmons, and Bart van Meurs, who gave insightful talks about their fields and the technologies they are working on. It was inspiring for students to realize that this sector is full of technological solutions and offers many more opportunities to develop in the future! And, of course, a special shoutout to Freek Herpers of Division Q for his efforts in organizing this afternoon along with us. 🌱🚀

For our network, the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering at Delft University of Technology is organizing an interactive event titled 𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐧𝐞𝐜𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐇𝐢𝐠𝐡 𝐓𝐞𝐜𝐡 𝐢𝐧 𝐌𝐞𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥 𝐄𝐧𝐠𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠, which will take place on 𝐌𝐨𝐧𝐝𝐚𝐲, 𝐃𝐞𝐜𝐞𝐦𝐛𝐞𝐫 2𝐧𝐝, 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 13:00 𝐭𝐨 19:00. The deep-dive breakout session on Robotics and Automation will touch upon topics related to AgTech and sensing, making it relevant as it aims to develop future strategies for Mechanical Engineering. 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐟𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞:  ◾️ See the latest high-tech expertise and activities at the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering and meet the researchers ◾️ Discuss upcoming challenges and opportunities for the High-Tech sector and start shaping a joint High Tech Research Roadmap in Mechanical Engineering ◾️ Networking and matchmaking opportunities 𝐑𝐞𝐠𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧: Attendance is free of charge, but registration is required. Register via: https://lnkd.in/eBpgrkXA Click this registration link by Friday, November 22nd to confirm your registration.

MuGrow is now taking on the greenhouse experiment phase of the Autonomous Greenhouse Challenge! 🌱 Led by Koty McAllister (TU Delft), the team is developing machine learning and computer vision algorithms to grow dwarf tomatoes remotely and autonomously. Watch the video and follow their live progress via the dashboard: https://lnkd.in/e-iA5Azw

The winning prototype demonstrated a new way of #tying #sachets filled with beneficial #insects to the stem of a #plant.

💡 𝑬𝒙𝒄𝒊𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒅𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒍𝒐𝒑𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒔 𝒊𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 RoboHouse 𝑨𝒈𝒓𝒊𝑭𝒐𝒐𝒅 𝑮𝒓𝒆𝒆𝒏𝒉𝒐𝒖𝒔𝒆! 𝐒𝐍𝐈𝐅𝐅 (𝐒𝐜𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐍𝐚𝐬𝐜𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐈𝐧𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐅𝐥𝐨𝐫𝐚)is currently in the testing phase! Infestations of pests and diseases can reduce crop yields by up to 40% annually, and about one-third of all food produced for human consumption is either lost or wasted. 🐞 🐛 This has a severe impact on both farmers and society. Unfortunately, current detection techniques are labor-intensive and rely heavily on human inspection. To tackle this, a team from TU Delft, including students Alexander Boersma, lucas beaufort, David Willemse, Gabriel Kilg and researcher Suman Kundu from Precision and Microsystems Engineering and Microelectronics Departments, have developed 𝐒𝐍𝐈𝐅𝐅. This sensor research project is part of the NXTGEN Hightech AgriFood use case: Digital Twin, supervised by Peter Steeneken and Murali Ghatkesar. ➤ This 𝙥𝙤𝙧𝙩𝙖𝙗𝙡𝙚 𝙚𝙡𝙚𝙘𝙩𝙧𝙤𝙣𝙞𝙘 𝙣𝙤𝙨𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙙𝙚𝙩𝙚𝙘𝙩𝙨 𝙚𝙖𝙧𝙡𝙮-𝙨𝙩𝙖𝙜𝙚 𝙞𝙣𝙛𝙚𝙨𝙩𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣𝙨 𝙗𝙮 𝙞𝙙𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙞𝙛𝙮𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙑𝙊𝘾𝙨 (Volatile Organic Compounds) to reduce food wastage and monitor the proper growth of crops. 🌾 SNIFF is currently being validated at the RoboHouse AgriFood Greenhouse, where it’s detecting VOCs from both healthy and mechanically stressed plants. Once the testing phase is validated, larger scale trials will soon follow! 🚀 𝗖𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝘁𝗼 𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻: If you are looking to test your innovation in the RoboHouse AgriFood Greenhouse, reach out to Tayyaba Noor!

Koppert and RoboHouse are investigating how to help growers with the automatic delivery of 'tickets'. A prototype is tested on tomato plants in the greenhouse of the RoboHouse AgriFood Lab!