Plantvoice is the startup that is about to launch an innovative sensor technology that allows you to know in real time the state of health and stress of plants through an accurate analysis of their sap. By collecting and analyzing data thanks to native artificial intelligence, it is possible to obtain the fingerprint of each type of stress, “the voices of the plants” hence the name of the company, from that due to infestations to that due to drought.
Today, 70% of the world’s human water consumption is destined for agriculture, but 60% of the water used in this sector is wasted due to inefficient irrigation systems. Agriculture is also responsible for 17% of global carbon dioxide emissions (source: FAO, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations). In short, we are faced with the urgency of adopting more sustainable agricultural practices: a challenge taken up by Plantvoice, a startup that is about to launch an innovative sensor technology on the market that allows us to know in real time the state of health and stress of plants through an accurate analysis of their sap. By collecting and analyzing data thanks to native artificial intelligence, it is possible to obtain the fingerprint of every type of stress (“plant voices”), from that due to infestations to that due to drought.
It is therefore possible, with the solution proposed by Plantvoice, not only to prevent the spread of causes of stress for crops, but also to improve the yield and quality of crops, as well as to achieve economic savings, in terms of efficiency in the consumption of water resources, fertilizers and pesticides.
The company was founded in October 2023 by Matteo Beccatelli, a chemist specializing in the creation of patented technologies, with experience in several research and development projects between Italy and the United States in the field of sensors (CNR and Bercella), Tommaso Beccatelli, electronic technician, agricultural entrepreneur, and expert in additive manufacturing technologies. Together with them who hold the role of CEO and CTO respectively, the other co-founders are Pierluigi Lodi Rizzini, advisor for IP and legal issues, Massimo Ferri, advisor for issues related to information technology and artificial intelligence, CMO Giovanni Collinetti, international business manager Simone Radaelli and Giacomo Giannarelli, grant manager.
The company has established its headquarters in the NOI Techpark Südtirol/Alto Adige, the science and technology park of the Autonomous Province of Bolzano that hosts 3 research institutes, 4 faculties of the Free University of Bolzano, 45 scientific laboratories, 90 companies and startups and several other Italian and foreign institutions, all engaged in research and development activities (and which in October 2024 will host the first edition of Slush’D, the event derived from the well-known Helsinki conference, which is declined in a local version).
Planetvoice also has academic collaborations with Eurac Research, Fondazione Bruno Kessler, the University of Milan, the University of Parma and the University of Verona , which have followed the field trials and have been involved in the scientific validation of the patent.
“Plantvoice was born from the observation of the two main problems in agriculture: water consumption, which globally depends largely on agriculture, and land use. When we designed our technology, we had these problems in mind. And we have done so by devising a tool that does not invade nature and does not modify it, but thanks to the use of artificial intelligence provides useful information to farms to better manage all resources – says Matteo Beccatelli in a note – Water is now a precious commodity, pesticides have impacts on the environment and human health, fertilizers have effects in terms of soil impoverishment: we have created a device, the size and shape of a toothpick, which, thanks to the intelligent processing of hitherto inaccessible data, makes it possible to reduce the use of water and chemicals”.
Plantvoice’s solution
Plantvoice is an advanced as-a-service sensor technology that translates into a non-invasive phytocompatible device, which is introduced directly into the stem of the plant, allowing real-time monitoring of the plant’s internal physiological data, the sap. The survey is carried out by adopting a sentinel plant approach, which is carried out by sensorizing a plant representative of the homogeneous agronomic plot in which it is inserted, with an average size of half a hectare. Once the data has been captured, the sensor sends it to the cloud to an AI software that analyzes it using custom algorithms to provide detailed information, for example on a possible insufficient water supply or an attack by bacteria and fungi. Information that helps farms make timely decisions to preserve the health and quality yield of crops and optimize water use.
Unlike other major agricultural technologies such as weather, soil, irradiance and temperature sensors, satellite imagery, drones, etc., which provide farmers with data external to the plant about the environment around it, Plantvoice technology collects internal data directly from the plant, almost as if it were an electrocardiogram of the plant. relevant to its physiology, allowing rapid detection of abnormalities in the state of health, minimizing latency compared to competing technologies. In addition, thanks to its API (application program interface) it allows integration with other software applications so that agricultural producers can also use the data collected in other applications and tools, avoiding a non-functional fragmentation of all the 4.0 resources now present in the agricultural sector.
One of these integrations is with ESGMax, the solution that simplifies the collection and analysis of ESG data, throughout the company’s supply chain. Thanks to the strategic partnership launched with Startup Bakery, an Italian startup studio that co-founded it together with CEO Massimo Ferri, Plantvoice is able to automatically collect and analyze all the data detected by the sensors for the purpose of drafting the sustainability report.
Plantvoice has also chosen to create a technology that is itself sustainable: the biosensors are made of biocompatible and compostable materials, and can last inside the plant for an entire growing season, thus allowing them to be used for a long time. The production takes place with additive manufacturing techniques, therefore not very energy-intensive.
The Plantvoice sensor was applied in the field thanks to the collaboration with some early adopter farms: Sant’Orsola, an organization of Trentino producers specialized in the cultivation of berries, which used Plantvoice to monitor water stress on raspberry crops; Salvi Vivai, Ferrara company which has been producing and selling strawberry, apple, pear and cherry trees for 50 years, which has installed Plantvoice on Pink Lady apples to correlate water stress with the colour, shape and appearance of the ripe fruit. Martino Rossi, a Cremona-based company that has been producing gluten-free flours, alternative products, functional ingredients and customized gluten-free mixes for 50 years. Martino Rossi used Plantvoice’s technology to better monitor irrigation in maize in order to prevent the onset of aflatoxins due to plant diseases. Fruit Innovation Consortium of Trentino that will use Plantvoice to monitor the production of rennet apples. Thanks to the data collected in these installations, and other internal test installations, it has been possible to see that the use of Plantvoice allows to obtain positive and very concrete results, including the reduction of irrigation, an increase in agricultural production and direct savings on production costs, including fertilizers and pesticides, which are added to the water savings.
Agriculture 4.0, the sector in which Plantvoice’s activity is inserted, is growing strongly – reports the startup in a note – McKinsey calculates that this market today is worth 21.5 billion euros and can mark an increase of 8% per year until 2026. Also in Italy, data from the Smart Agrifood Observatory of the Politecnico di Milano and the TIM Study Center reveal promising forecasts: in 2021, the turnover of companies offering 4.0 solutions for agriculture reached the figure of 1.6 billion euros, an increase of 23% compared to the previous year. A trend that is likely to continue, as agriculture 4.0 seems to be the only way forward in a context where the world population is increasing but arable land is running out.
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