VirtuaCrop is a tool that enables farmers to use their phones to take photos of their soil and get an automatic soil analysis report. The idea developed by Ricardo Teixeira and Tiago Morais, from the Laboratory for Robotics and Engineering Systems (LARSyS), had already been distinguished in the first phase of the myEUspace 2022 competition. The prototype of the computer application “VirtuaCrop”, which competed with three other European teams, was selected by the jury and announced in Prague, on June 1.

The Portuguese team won a monetary prize of 25,000 euros. After taking a photo of a specific area, machine learning algorithms developed from satellite data are applied. The results are calculated in the cloud and shown on the farmer’s smartphone, without the need to perform laboratory tests, or use sensors for the collection of information.

“We are very happy with this award. It is a huge recognition of our work and effort. This competition was a major test for our ability to design and to build real solutions that can make a difference in the World, and has put us to the test in a context of great pressure”, said the researchers, who highlighted that the whole process took place in only nine weeks, with only two members on the team.

The beta version of the app is already available for Android devices and can be ordered by farmers at www.virtuacrop.com. The winning team, which has received support from the European Union Agency for the Space Programme (EUSPA), wants to make “VirtuaCrop” commercial. In future versions, it will be possible to obtain more useful data for farmers in the area of fertilisation and evaluation of the state and productivity of crops. The Técnico researchers, who have always believed in this idea, stressed “this victory has validated its viability and will surely open doors to its expansion.”