Agrodigital

Agrodigital is a digital support service for vineyard phytosanitary protection in the Azores, using sensor networks, real-time environmental monitoring, and alert algorithms to help detect and prevent vine diseases while supporting sustainable vineyard management.

Why this service?
Viticulture in the Azores faces several structural challenges, including:

  • Labour shortages and predominantly manual activities
  • Low productivity and high operational costs
  • Need for efficient water-resource management
  • Detection and control of pests and diseases, while reducing the use of
    phytopharmaceuticals
  • Soil regeneration and sustainable ecosystem management

Digital transformation, through sensorization and automation, enables better monitoring, decision-making, and resource optimisation.

Objectives
The Agrodigital service aims to support phytosanitary protection in the vineyards of Terceira and Santa Maria by:

  • Creating a data-visualisation system and disease-risk alerts (e.g., downy mildew
    and powdery mildew)
  • Implementing a public LoRaWAN network
  • Enabling proximal monitoring of climatic conditions
  • Developing an interactive platform (dashboard)
  • Generating actionable information for technicians and winegrowers
  • Providing capacity-building and training activities

Responsibilities of the AIR Centre

  • Overall management of the Vinhas da Terceira e Santa Maria project
  • Development and management of the project’s database
  • Development of the interactive dashboard
  • In-situ monitoring
  • Acquisition and installation of SOFIS
  • Acquisition and processing of in-situ data
  • Development of disease-alert algorithms
  • Implementation and validation of the models

What is SOFIS (Smart Orchard Ferti-Irrigation System)?

SOFIS is a modular, low-cost system composed of fixed sensors that collect real-time environmental data directly from the vineyards.

It measures variables such as photosynthetically active radiation, temperature, humidity, atmospheric pressure, wind speed and direction, precipitation, and includes a solar-powered communication and control unit.

LoRaWAN Network

In co-development with local municipalities, a LoRaWAN communication network was deployed:

  • Secure, long-range, low-cost communication
  • Low energy consumption
  • Scalable to support multiple devices
  • Coverage monitoring and controllable range
  • Suitable for multi-purpose applications

The infrastructure enables automated environmental monitoring and digital communication of data.

The LoRaWAN network deployed on Terceira and expanded across the Azores demonstrated strong coverage across land and ocean.
The success of the network led to the first scientific publication showing the potential and suitability of LoRaWAN technologies for coastal and archipelagic environments.

Gateway installation in Santa Maria Island

Signal quality map (2023). Each point on the map represents one or more locations from which
communication was established. From green to red, representing decreasing signal quality.

Publication: Cruz, N., Mendes, C., Cota, N., Esteves, G., Pinelo, J., Casaleiro, J., Teixeira, R., & Lobo, L. (2025). Extending LoRaWAN: Mesh Architecture and Performance Analysis for Long-Range IoT Connectivity in Maritime Environments. Systems, 13(5), 381. doi: 10.3390/systems13050381

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