Special Session 7

SPECIAL SESSION #7

Federico Coro

University of Padova, Italy

• federico.coro@unipd.it

Manlio Bacco

T.1 Digital Economy Unit, Joint Research Centre (JRC), Ispra

• manlio.bacco@ec.europa.eu

Lorenzo Palazzetti

University of Perugia, Italy

• lorenzo.palazzetti@unipg.it

Cristina Domingo-Marimon

CREAF, Spain

• cristina.domingo@uab.cat

Enrico Casella

The Pennsylvania State University, U.S.

• casella@psu.edu

The role of sensing, including in-situ, proximity and remote, is increasingly crucial for agriculture and forestry. Huge investments have been made in this field - consider for instance satellite constellations for remote sensing, the thriving UAV sector, and the dawning sector of terrestrial rovers - and benefits are evident in several application areas. The other side of the coin is represented by the data platforms used to collect, store, and process the huge amount of data coming from sensing platforms. Such data platforms should, among others, provide interoperable data through open interfaces (APIs) to different classes of users, but such functionality has not yet reached its full potential.

In Europe, there have been several recent initiatives focused on enhancing data sharing and processing. One key effort is the European Strategy for Data, which introduces the concept of a Common European Data Space and includes actions to deploy Agriculture and Green Deal sectorial data spaces. Additionally, the Horizon Europe framework is providing funding for the establishment of European Partnerships that bring together the European Commission with private and/or public partners to address pressing challenges through collaborative research and innovation projects. One such partnership, the European Partnership for Agriculture of Data, aims to support sustainable agriculture in the EU and improve policy monitoring and implementation by leveraging digital and data technologies for environmental observation.

The goal of this special session is to investigate the potential and the challenges of both sensing and data platforms, looking to future developments, and also considering economic and legal aspects to be carefully taken into consideration.

Contributions are expected to contribute to, but are not limited to, the following topics:

• sensing systems, both local and remote, and recent developments;
• state of the art of data platforms linked to sensing systems, standards, interoperability enablers, and sustainability of their business model;
• GEOSS Data Sharing and Management Principles, FAIR principles, and other interoperable solutions with the potential to further push the use of sensing data;
• economic and legal aspects that can fuel or limit the use of such systems.

Federico Coro, i am currently a Fixed-term Junior Assistant Professor (RTDa) in the Mathematics Department of the University of Padova in Italy. I received my BSc and MSc in Computer Science from the University of Perugia in 2014 and 2016, respectively, and my Ph.D. in Computer Science from the Gran Sasso Science Institute in L'Aquila, Italy in 2019. Prior to my current position, I was a postdoctoral researcher at La Sapienza University of Rome in Italy from 2019 to 2020, at the Missouri University of Science and Technology in the United States from 2021 to 2022, and at the University of Perugia from 2022 to 2023. My research interests include various areas of theoretical computer science, such as combinatorial optimization, network analysis, and algorithm design and implementation.

Manlio Bacco, was awarded a PhD in Information Engineering and Science from the University of Siena, Italy, in 2016. He works as a Scientific Project Officer at the Joint Research Centre (JRC) in Ispra, Italy, since October 2023. He has been associated with the Institute of Science and Information Technologies (ISTI), National Research Council (CNR), Pisa, Italy, since 2012.
His research interests include data spaces, digital twins, and the development of methodologies and technologies for using digital technologies in agriculture, forestry, and rural areas.

Lorenzo Palazzetti, received the Bachelor and Master degrees in Computer Science from the University of Perugia, Italy, in 2018 and 2020, respectively. He earned a PhD in Computer Science with praise at the Uni- versity of Florence, Italy, in 2024. He was a HALY.ID Research Fellow at Univerisity of Perugia. He is currently a Postdoctoral researcher at University of Perugia. His research interests include design and analysis of algorithms, combinatorial optimization, unmanned vehicles, computer vision.

Dr. Cristina Domingo-Marimon, is a researcher at CREAF. Biologist, Master in Remote Sensing and GIS and PhD in Geography. She is currently involved in several European projects (LIFE NewLife4Drylands, H2020 BESTMAP, H2020 EOTIST, H2020 I-CISK, ESA CCI+ HR-LCC) mainly focused in the use of remote sensing as a tool for the analysis of natural and climatic patterns, monitoring and improving ecosystem services and analysis of vegetation function changes Dynamics. She is also a dedicated teacher. Cristina is an adjunct lecturer at the Geography Department of UAB, teaching at the Degree in Geography and Regional Planning, Degree in Smart Cities and Degree in Environmental Sciences for 6 years and she has collaborated in others Master programs in different universities (UAB, UB).

Dr. Enrico Casella, is a computer scientist with a highly multi-disciplinary background. His research applies Artificial Intelligence (AI) to complex systems, primarily within the animal science domain. His expertise includes AI-based methods for data analysis and optimization from heterogeneous sensor data. His most recent work focuses on computer vision solutions for animal health, growth and development, as well as privacy-preserving solutions using federated learning.