MARS

The project titled “sMart fArming with dRoneS”, with the acronym MARS, is implemented under the Action “Research-Create-Innovate”, co-financed by the European Union and national resources through the Operational Programme Competitiveness, Entrepreneurship and Innovation (EPAnEK).The MARS project aims at the following

• Development of telematics applications for real-time monitoring and inspection of agricultural crops using Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs).
• Integration of agricultural data collected by UAVs into Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and cloud infrastructures for immediate access and processing..
• Timely detection and diagnosis of early-stage diseases in trees and plants, enabling targeted treatment and faster recovery of affected species through the use of advanced machine learning methods and Big Data analytics.
• Integration of the MARS architecture subsystems into a unified control, management, and alert system, utilizing user-friendly mobile applications.

The ultimate objectives of the MARS project are to reduce the cost of agricultural production and supervision, and to decrease the volume of plant protection products applied, thereby contributing positively to environmental protection.

Participants in the Project:

• University of Western Macedonia (UOWM), Department of Informatics and Telecommunications Engineering based in Kozani, which carries out high-level research activities with a focus on technological innovation in areas related to the Internet of Things, 5G telecommunications systems, network security, and privacy protection.
• Technical University of Crete, School of Electrical and Computer Engineering based in Chania which active internationally in cutting-edge research, particularly in the fields of signal analysis and information extraction from images and video, with environmental applications in large-area surveillance
• GeoSense P.C. Company, based in Thessaloniki, which is the most experienced company in the field of geoinformatics and a pioneer in professional UAS systems for civil use in Greece.
• Agrosense S.A. Company based in Amyntaio, which focuses on the use of cutting-edge telemetry technologies in the agri-food sector, and more specifically, in precision agriculture.
• Agricultural Cooperative of Grevena, which carries out activities across the entire process of plant or agricultural product production, as well as the processing and marketing of agricultural consumer and livestock products, and the supply and trade of agricultural inputs.
• Agricultural Cooperative for the Processing and Marketing of Fruit and Vegetable Products of Velventos. with main activities focused on the production and management of fresh fruits such as peaches, nectarines, apples, kiwis, apricots, and cherries.