Terratech
14 Courses
Data Acquisition and Sensors / IoT Platforms and Systems Integrated Lab
This topic is the integrated Laboratory for the TS1.2 and TS1.8 Courses. The laboratory sessions focus on sensors and IoT systems used in precision agricultural systems. The experimental setup is designed and given to the students so as to use the available hardware (sensors and data acquisition end nodes) to measure agricultural data using analog and digtals sensors and then send data to IoT systems (gateways and IoT platforms) in order to plot, store and analyse data.
TS1.1 Plant Pathology
This course will provide the basic concepts in plant pathology and the understanding of how climate changes, past soils management practices and pest resistance mechanisms to phytopharmaceutical products are contributing for more frequent plant disease outbreaks. Students that will successfully attend the course will also perceive that the complexity of the factors require multidisciplinary approaches to reach technological developments for the early detection of plant diseases and precautious interventions to protect crops. Therefore, this course will also demonstrate how different types of available IoT devices and BIGDATA or Cloud Base Systems could measure specific physiological responses of plants to pathogens, store data, integrate multiple variables and develop comprehensive analysis systems for the prediction of plant diseases
TS1.2 Data Acquisition and Sensors
This topic focuses on data acquisition circuits and systems, an essential part of control networks. Sensors used in precision agricultural systems, such as voltage/current sensors, temperature, humidity, pressure and modern sensoring systems are analyzed together with their connectivity with modern diagnostic systems. An appropriately designed laboratory session will complete the course. An experimental setup will be designed and given to the students. This setup will comprise the most common sensor types found on agricultural applications (Temperature, humidity, pressure, voltage etc.). The students will use the available hardware to connect to each sensor depending on the type (Analogue or Digital) and collect, plot and store data.
TS1.3 NI LabVIEW Training
The LabVIEW Training course is an introduction to National Instruments’ LabVIEW graphical programming language for data acquisition and control. Topics covered include creating, editing, and executing programs using the LabVIEW interface. The course will set for the participants the bases for programming and utilizing practical data acquisition structures as well as sensor control circuits. The practical idea of real time processing, essential for surveying systems, will be introduced and the necessary knowledge in order to understand the demonstrator phase of the course will be provided.
TS1.4 Geographic Information Systems
Introduction to geospatial databases, spatial data formats, cartography and projection systems. Description of elements comprising a Geographic Information System.
Demonstration of GIS applications, with a particular focus on agricultural applications. Spatial analysis processes and methods.
Raster imagery processing methods. Digital elevation models and information extraction. Satellite image processing and classification methods.
Multi-criteria analysis and Decision Support Systems, through a GIS. Main considerations, data quality and availability, sources of data and data collection.
Practical hands-on exercises on the main spatial analysis operations and the decisions made throughout the multi-criteria analysis process.
TS1.5 Remote Sensing and Wireless Sensor Networks
This course focuses on technology and architectures in the area of Wireless Sensor Networks. It will cover all aspects of these systems, mainly the hardware and radio architecture as well as software applications. Students that will successfully attend the course will be able to understand and operate the integration of sensors in a mesh wireless network. The course will provide an overview of positioning with external reference and principles of data acquisition and processing. Topics will include sensor network architectures, hardware platforms, physical layer techniques, medium access control, topology control, quality of service (QoS) management, storage, and other advanced topics.
TS1.6 Greenhouse and Soilless Culture
The Greenhouse and Soilless Culture Course will provide the students with a comprehensive insight on this type of controlled production systems.
An introduction will be made to the different kinds of: (i) greenhouses (structures, covering materials, designs etc) and relating them to their geographic region; (ii) soilless cultures (hydroponics vs. substrate production) relating them to different crops’ needs. Moreover, an important emphasis will be given to the crop growth and product quality and its relationship with the climate and root zone management, targeting at a sustainable horticultural production. The sensors and other technological tools available for growers´ decision support (DS) on the selection of the optimal environment will be explored.
TS1.7 Soil Quality & Health
This course will provide the basics on Soil Science and on Soil Quality Evaluation. Students who will successfully attend this course will be able to perceive soils as a dynamic environmental compartment where physical, chemical and biological processes account for their formation, stability and for the functions and ecosystem services provided, especially in what regards agro-ecosystems. Further, the course will approach the need and the difficulties in defining soil quality indicators that are both sensitive to soil management practices, easy to measure and interpret in a routine basis by farmers.
TS1.8 IoT Platforms and Systems
This course provides an insight to Internet of Things (IoT) functionalities and the technologies related to its implementation. The main characteristics of IoT, the architecture and the structural elements that comprise an IoT system are provided together with the interconnection protocols and interfaces used for transferring sensor data to the cloud, as well as the services offered by integrated IoT cloud platforms are described. Principles of wireless communication and networking accompanied by the most usual wireless protocols and their characteristics are presented with emphasis on precision agriculture solutions and future trends.
TS1.9 Precision Soil Cultivation and Sowing
Students will gain knowledge of the issues related to the improvement and conservation of soil quality and the conditions of production, mechanization and precision farming conditions. They get acquainted with the degradation processes endangering the condition of soils, the methods of soil condition classification, the characteristics of conventional and precision tillage, their effects on the soil and the environment, and the conventional and precision tillage and sowing methods suitable for preventing environmental damage.
TS1.10 Precision Nutrient & Irrigation Management
Soil physical and chemical properties affecting within field variability as related to geological origin and soil formation as well as to human operations. Scales of variability, from regional to single-block level.
Ground-truthing of remotely or proximally sensed homogeneous areas showing similar soil properties and, as a consequence, analogous plant growth and needs. Innovative methods allowing non-destructive early detection of plant mineral and water status. Strategies for managing existing variability, from vigor map to prescription map. Mechatronic solutions, equipment and machineries enabling variable rate applications. Water and nutrient use efficiency will be considered.
TS1.11G Local Culture & Language
According to the Common Framework of Reference for Languages, adult participants in this course will acquire the basic skills of Greek (understanding and using oral and written discourse) as well as its socio-linguistic features so as to be able to respond in simple communication situations. In particular, they will focus on issues related to their personal and everyday life (identity, accommodation, environment - weather, leisure time – entertainment, social relationships, health and fitness, home and outdoor activities, shopping, nutrition, education, transportation and travel). In order to promote interculturalism, during the course will present the main parts of the history of Greek culture and will be presented and visits to museums and cultural sights of the city of Thessaloniki (e.g. Byzantine Museum of Thessaloniki, Castles etc.) will be carried out.
TS1.11H Local Culture & Language
According to the Common Framework of Reference for Languages, adult participants in this course will acquire the basic skills of Hungarian (understanding and using oral and written discourse) as well as its socio-linguistic features so as to be able to respond in simple communication situations. In particular, they will focus on issues related to their personal and everyday life (identity, accommodation, environment - weather, leisure time – entertainment, social relationships, health and fitness, home and outdoor activities, shopping, nutrition, education, transportation and travel). In order to promote interculturalism, during the course will present the main parts of the history of Hungarian culture and will be presented and visits to museums and cultural sights of the city of Debrecen will be carried out.
TS1.12 Intermediate Project
The Intermediate Project will concern the participating students, right after the end of the courses of Time Slot 1. The students, assigned to DEB, will have to develop a sensor cluster apparatus with a remote data acquisition module based on the NI products. The sensor cluster apparatus will be used by the Developing Tool Demonstration course taught in Time Slot 2 of the educational procedure. The apparatus will be able to detect physical phenomena needed in agricultural applications. Students will also use the developed sensor cluster during their 1 month and log their findings on the e-Learning Platform. The students, assigned to IHU, will have to develop simple Augmented Reality (AR) code based on the NI products provided by the partner institutions. The AR code will be used by the Developing Tool Demonstration course taught in Time Slot 2 of the educational procedure. The code will be simple enough as developing blank geometrical drawings in the AR space. A tutor will be assigned to each group of students in order to assist them complete their project. A descriptive manuscript, the AR code / data acquisition components and a small presentation will be the deliverables of each project group. A descriptive manuscript and a small presentation will be the deliverables of each project group. Each intermediate project will have to be delivered by the beginning of the courses of time slot 2.