agriculture
A scientist’s opinion: interview with Dr Isabella Fiorello on plant-inspired materials and robots
You might not expect plants to be able to jump. But wild oats possess almost magical ability: their seeds, though dead and without muscles, use the energy of moisture to bury themselves in the soil, searching for the spot to start a new life. Dr. Isabella Fiorello leads a research group in the Cluster of ...
A scientist’s opinion: interview with Dr Mònica Mir Llorente on robotic plant roots
In humans and animals, the brain sends signals to indicate hunger, animals go hunting, while humans go to the refrigerator. But in plants, this process is controlled by the roots, which grow toward areas rich in nutrients. This idea inspired the study “Biomimetic Plant-Root-Inspired Robotic Sensor System”, which was developed within the framework of the ...
How to address water scarcity in the EU? Interview with STOA study author Maria Kottari
The EU is facing major challenges with increasing water scarcity. That said, there is also some good news: water consumption by households has been decreasing over the last years. This is what green transition and innovation expert Dr. Maria Kottari has found. She authored a new study commissioned by the European Parliament’s Panel on the ...
Technologies at the heart of STOA’s work on Green Deal
The EU Green Deal has been a priority for the European Parliament's Panel for the Future of Science and Technology (STOA) in the 2019-2024 legislative term, with the scientists, other experts and MEPs exploring how technology can help reduce Europe’s carbon footprint. Creating a climate-neutral EU European economy requires a deep transformation in areas like ...
Future of farming: adapting agriculture and food to a warming climate
Agricultural economist Hermann Lotze-Campen leads climate resilience research at the world-famous Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK), and he’s also a professor of sustainable land use and climate change at Humboldt University in Berlin. In this interview, he explains more about the relationships between land use, agriculture, climate and our food – and gives us a ...
Microbiomes: the unseen majority of tiny little things
How do diverse microbial communities in seas and soils affect the climate? Scientists plead for an increase in microbiome research as part of global climate change investigations.
AI in agriculture: benefits and challenges ahead
Artificial intelligence (AI) could greatly benefit and streamline sustainable agriculture in the EU at every point in the production chain, from farm to fork. However, it does not come without challenges to its implementation.
A scientist’s opinion: Interview with Jörg Dörr about AI in agriculture
Prof. Dr.-Ing. Jörg Dörr holds the chair of "Digital Farming" at TU Kaiserslautern. In this position, he is responsible for the research programs of the institute and has been leading the Smart Farming program at the institute since 2020. His work at the TU as well as at Fraunhofer IESE focuses on software and systems ...