“More information, improved action” – we don’t predict the future, but we are pretty close

INESC TEC Science Bits – Episode 35

Link to the episode (Portuguese only)

Guest speaker: Lino Oliveira, Researcher at INESC TEC

Keywords: smart monitoring, spatial data, decision support, climate change

250.000 hectares. 1756. Marquis of Pombal. Yes, we’re talking about the Designated Region of Douro – the oldest designated and regulated wine-growing region in the world. Back then, in the 18^th century, efforts were made to protect and ensure the quality of a product crucial to the Portuguese economy – while organising the production and marketing of Port wine.

Today, more than two and a half centuries later, the challenges are different, with one of the biggest being the impact of climate change, which not only jeopardises the quality of the product, but also the crops. This is where the INFRAVINI project comes to play, with a Spatial Data Infrastructure to support the management of climate change in vineyards.

The solution is already available for wine growers in the Designated Region of Douro – and we want to know everything about it! What data does it include? How does it work? Could it become available for other regions of the country? That’s what we’re going to find out – thanks to Lino Oliveira, researcher at INESC TEC. We will also get to know the results of another recently completed project that aims to support olive growers in preventing pests and diseases. How? Using a smart robotic trap.