As the global population approaches 9 billion by 2050, Smart Farming Technologies has the potential to contribute to the wider goal of meeting the increasing demand for agricultural outputs while ensuring the sustainability of primary production, based on a more precise and resource-efficient approach to agricultural production. However, training professionals and end-users across the agricultural value chain in Smart Farming Technologies are urgently required in order to fully tap the potential of these technologies in agricultural production, especially in a scenario of farming labour shortage and climate change.
To support this goal, the GATES PROJECT was launched today in Athens by the Agricultural University of Athens (AUA), project Coordinator, together with 4 other partners from 3 other EU countries (Germany, Serbia, and Spain), with the aim of developing a near-to-market (TRL7) serious game-based training platform, in order to train professionals across the agricultural value chain on the use of Smart Farming Technology, thus allowing deploying its full economic and environmental potential in European agriculture.
The use of digital games and gamification has demonstrated potential to improve many aspects of how businesses provide training to staff, and communicate and engage with consumers. In that context, the GATES PROJECT, through the development of a cross-platform (Desktop/Mobile/Web) serious gaming available for Android, iOS and Windows, will provide the farmer community, agronomical students, extension services and the SFT industry sales force an easy to use and understand gaming experience that will allow a first approach to the concept of SFT, their uses, available equipment and simulation on the adoption of such technologies.
The GATES gaming platform will be marketed as a white-label app within 1-2 years of project’s end (June 2019), with the possibility of being customized according to the needs of paying customer (SFT companies, universities and extension services /agricultural consultants). An in-depth market analysis and a Business Plan will be conducted during the project for facilitating the entry of the GATES gaming platform in the market.
The GATES project, supported by EUROPEAN UNION’S HORIZON 2020 RESEARCH AND INNOVATION PROGRAMME, is composed of 5 partners from 4 countries, representing academia and research, game developers, advisory and extension services and the agricultural equipment industry: AGRICULTURAL UNIVERSITY OF ATHENS (Greece), MAD ABOUT PANDAS (Germany), INOSENS (Serbia), INICIATIVAS INNOVADORAS (Spain), and ASOCIACION NACIONAL DE MAQUINARIA AGROPECUARIA, FORESTAL Y DE ESPACIOS VERDES- ANSEMAT (Spain)
For more information, please contact Dr. Spyros Fountas, GATES Coordinator, at sfountas@aua.gr.