All posts by : minoo doost

By Eclipse Foundation

On April 29, 2025, the SPADE EU project proudly joined the Eclipse Foundation Research Webinar series to explore a cutting-edge integration of open-source innovation, digital twins, and agricultural technology.

This session brought together key voices from both industry and research to present how Eclipse BaSyx and SPADE are enabling smarter, sustainable drone applications across agriculture, forestry, and livestock.

📅 Watch the full recording here: https://www.crowdcast.io/c/research-29042025

Speakers & Talks

Frank Schnicke – Fraunhofer IESE

Talk: Eclipse BaSyx: Making Asset Administration Shells Easy
Frank offered an insightful walkthrough on how Eclipse BaSyx simplifies the development of Asset Administration Shells (AAS)—the building blocks of digital twins—through robust SDKs and modular frameworks. His practical examples demonstrated how even complex industrial processes can be streamlined using BaSyx.

Aristotelis Tagarakis – iBO / CERTH & Pablo Counhago Soto – Gradiant

Talk: SPADE: Building Agricultural Drone Digital Twins with Eclipse BaSyx

This joint presentation showcased how SPADE is using AAS-based digital twins to model data from UAVs operating in real-world agroforestry environments. From crop monitoring to livestock and forest mapping, the speakers revealed how the BaSyx platform provides the flexibility and scalability needed to build next-generation, AI-driven agricultural services.

Collaboration in Action

This webinar exemplified the SPADE project’s commitment to:

• 🔄 Open-source ecosystems
• 🌍 Sustainable innovation in agriculture
• 📡 Scalable digital solutions powered by drones
• 👥 Cross-sector collaboration between academia and industry

Our sincere thanks to the Eclipse Foundation for hosting this event and continuing to build bridges between research and real-world application.

Stay tuned as SPADE continues to develop its digital twin platform and open tools to help shape the future of smart agriculture.

From May 1-3, the SPADE EU Project proudly joined the 11th edition of Shift APPens, Portugal’s longest-running hackathon, as a Gold Partner. This incredible three-day journey brought together brilliant young minds, a passion for technology, and a shared mission to shape the future of drone innovation in agriculture, forestry, and livestock.

Our Challenge: Drone Navigation & Mapping in Forest-like Environments

We launched a hands-on challenge for participants to design an autonomous drone system capable of navigating from point A to B through cluttered or constrained environments—like forests. The system had to ensure fast, collision-free flight while generating a real-time map of its surroundings. A real “cage” was set up to test the algorithms in action, with students debugging live and watching their drones either hover in place—or crash dramatically!

The Winners

We are proud to congratulate Ana Leonor Filipe and Meryem Koç, two outstanding female IT scientists, for winning the SPADE Challenge. Their creative coding, persistence, and collaboration stood out in this intense competition. Their win also marks a significant step toward greater diversity in tech, a value close to SPADE and the European Commission’s mission.

Why It Matters

Beyond the fun and the flights, this hackathon was a unique opportunity to:

• 📣 Present the SPADE EU Project and its Open Call 2
• 🌍 Connect drone innovation to the goals of open source and sustainability
• 💬 Interact with 300+ students from across Portugal and beyond
• 🔗 Launch potential new collaborations with faculty, student associations, and tech communities

Relive the Moments