New networking and transfer project “X-KIT” launched for AI projects of the BMEL and for GAIA-X

Increasing the potential of digitalization in agriculture through knowledge transfer

In the new networking and transfer project (N&T) X-KIT (GAIA-X and AI Projects: Transfer & Networking), seven project partners under the leadership of the Fraunhofer Institute for Experimental Software Engineering IESE are working together to ensure cross-cutting networking and support for the AI projects funded by the German Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture (BMEL). In addition, the domain “Agriculture” is being further developed in GAIA-X – a project to establish a European data infrastructure for sovereign data exchange. The overarching goal of X-KIT is to exploit synergy effects as extensively as possible and to develop compatible solutions. The BMEL is funding X-KIT from September 2022 to January 2025 in order to make the best possible use of the potential of digitalization for food and agriculture as well as for rural areas. The German Federal Agency of Agriculture and Food (BLE) is supporting the N&T project X-KIT as project management agency.

Logo X-KIT, Fraunhofer IESE

On the basis of the “Artificial Intelligence” strategy adopted by the German government, the BMEL is currently funding 36 AI projects in the area of agriculture, food chain, food, and rural areas. These AI projects are one of the focal areas of X-KIT, for which the Kuratorium für Technik und Bauwesen in der Landwirtschaft (KTBL) is in charge. The project consortium as a whole is set up in such a way that the BMEL’s AI projects receive the best possible professional and technical support in order to carry out ancillary and transfer activities – such as workshops or hackathons. The knowledge gained from the AI projects is bundled in X-KIT so that techniques, recommendations for action, and lessons learned in the various AI projects can also be transferred across disciplines such as plant protection or animal husbandry. Through this continuous knowledge transfer, the results of the AI projects can be used optimally by the various stakeholders (e.g., farmers, companies, society).

Another focus in X-KIT is on the GAIA-X activities in the agricultural domain; the Fraunhofer Institute for Experimental Software Engineering IESE is in charge of this aspect. The project is supported by an advisory board consisting of representatives of the currently running GAIA-X agricultural projects “NaLamKI” and “AgriGaia”. The goal is to further develop the domain “Agriculture” in the area of data infrastructure.

Project partners – Who contributes which expertise?
Fraunhofer IESE is taking on the consortium leadership of X-KIT and is familiar with the stakeholders, projects, and specifics of the agricultural domain through its feasibility study on government-run data platforms, among other things. With its lighthouse project COGNAC, IESE has long been exploring concepts for an interoperable data space in agriculture. KTBL is contributing its many years of project experience in the field of information management and data exchange in agriculture to X-KIT.

The 36 AI projects funded by the BMEL cover a wide range of technical and professional topics, which were initially divided into different clusters. To support the different clusters with the appropriate competencies, five additional Fraunhofer institutes are involved in the project: the Fraunhofer Institute for Intelligent Analysis and Information Systems IAIS, the Fraunhofer Institute for Computer Graphics Research IGD, the Fraunhofer Institute for Large Structures in Production Engineering IGP, the Fraunhofer Institute for Factory Operation and Automation IFF, and the Fraunhofer Institute of Optronics, System Technologies and Image Exploitation IOSB.

 

Contact


Project Manager:

Prof. Dr.-Ing. Jörg Dörr
Extended Institute Management, Manager Research Program Smart Farming

Fraunhofer-Platz 1
67663 Kaiserslautern

Phone +49 631 6800-1601
joerg.doerr@iese.fraunhofer.de

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