In November 2019, the High Performance Greenhouse project (HiPerGreen) was nominated for the RAAK Award 2019, as one of the best applied research projects in the Netherlands. This paper discusses the challenges faced, lessons learned and critical factors in making the project into a success.
This paper describes the concept of a new algorithm to control an Unmanned Aerial System (UAS) for accurate autonomous indoor flight. Inside a greenhouse, Global Positioning System (GPS) signals are not reliable and not accurate enough. As an alternative, Ultra Wide Band (UWB) is used for localization. The noise is compensated by combining the UWB with the delta position signal from a novel optical flow algorithm through a Kalman Filter (KF). The end result is an accurate and stable position signal with low noise and low drift.
The general aim of this research project has been to examine this phenomenon of tourism flow switching and consider the factors driving the geopolitical instability that can compromise destination security. On a more practical level the research has also examined what the reactions of Dutch tourists are to security threats affecting their tourism decisions and looked at the development of preventive measures against attacks by destinations and travel organisations. Finally, the research on the regional geopolitics of the MENA and European areas have together with the attitudes of Dutch tourists towards destination security been used as inputs into a scenario planning process involving the steering group of tour operators who originally commissioned this research, as participants. This process has focussed on macro environmental analysis, identification of key uncertainties, and the development of resilient strategies for the future.
Our mission is to increase the productivity of Dutch greenhouses. Even the most modern greenhouses still suffer from 10% to 25% loss of crop due to pests and diseases (Pimentel, 2012). Our autonomous flying platform can reduce crop loss by regular scouting while avoiding excessive cost of manual labour. With one drone we can scout one hectare of greenhouse per hour, providing detailed information about environmental parameters and crop health, quality and quantity. In comparison traditional manual scouting methods scout a single hectare per day. As a spin-off from RAAK.MKB006.017 HiPerGreen, we are aiming for a fast track solution to a single pest control problem: Fusarium in orchids, and validate a Minimum Viable Product for use in the Greenhouse.
