This article is also available in Italian / questo articolo è disponibile anche in italiano
Plantbit, a spin-off startup of the National Research Council, has developed Bioristor, an electrochemical sensor made of biocompatible material that, placed in the stem of plants, monitors their health status in real time, allowing for timely diagnosis. Through the incorporation of a dedicated algorithm and a decision-support system (DSS), Bioristor enables optimization of irrigation and fertilization, saving up to 45 percent of water, and early detection of diseases and physiopathologies.
Bioristor has been applied to study abiotic stress in a controlled environment on numerous species, including tomatoes, kiwifruit, soybeans, grapevines, and wheat. On the field, it is connected to an IoT control unit capable of transmitting the signal to an app, detecting the onset of water stress and potentially sending an alert to the farmer or operating machinery indicating that it is time to irrigate.
“The idea originated from working with biocompatible materials, used in organic bioelectronics, to create biosensors for humans,” says Nicola Coppedè, president of PlantBit. “Looking at the colleagues working on plants, it dawned on us to create sensors that, properly designed, could work in plants, directly in-vivo.”
With Bioristor, the plant is constantly interconnected with the operator, who can use this information to optimize agricultural practices. Data collected from the plant is processed and then analyzed through the use of mathematical analytical models and artificial intelligence algorithms in order to make predictions up to 24 hours in advance. Outputs to the farmer or agronomist are conveyed via a simple and effective graphical interface, providing, for example, guidance on the correct water supply to be given to plants.
Plantbit, currently engaged in the Terra Next acceleration process, has 15 pilot projects to its credit, 10 customers and about 500 sensors already installed. The startup has also developed a B2B model targeting farms and producer associations. In addition to sensor deployment, Plantbit intends to develop a service that includes sensor installation, dedicated APP, data analysis, reporting, and real-time decision support.
The target market served by Plantbit is precision agriculture, currently worth around €88 billion worldwide. A market, however, where there is no shortage of barriers. The main one, according to Coppedè, “was demonstrating to farmers that really measured data was a real innovation and could be very useful for them. To convince them, a long experimentation was carried out with repeated and comparative trials, to allow them to experience firsthand the advantages of this technology.”
Name:
Plantbit
Website:
Sector:
Agritech
Plus:
Targeted water, nutrient, and phytosanitary needs application
Features:
Directly and accurately acquiring information on plant health conditions, stress, and needs
Image: PlantBit