Smart City Expo World Congress
Barcelona (November 2025)
From 4 to 6 November 2025, the CERBERUS Project was represented at the Smart City Expo World Congress in Barcelona, where our partner Science for Change showcased how citizen-generated data can strengthen evidence-based decision-making in both rural and urban environments.
Science for Change plays a key role in CERBERUS by leading the citizen science strategy, designing the tools and methodologies that allow farmers, technicians, and local communities to contribute valuable on-the-ground data. This information is then integrated with Earth observation imagery, smart trap data, and AI-driven analytics, ensuring that CERBERUS reflects real needs and real field conditions.
At Smart City Expo, Science for Change presented how this approach—combining Earth observation and citizen-generated data—extends beyond agriculture. The same co-created data flows can help cities identify local environmental challenges, monitor ecosystems, and develop policies that improve public services and citizens’ quality of life.
During her talk, Rosa Arias, CEO of Science for Change, emphasized the importance of co-creation between citizens, researchers, and policymakers. This collaboration ensures that innovation is both scientifically robust and socially meaningful, enabling CERBERUS to deliver solutions that empower communities, from Mediterranean fields to smart, data-driven cities.
Artificial Intelligence in Agriculture
Valencia (October 2025)
Project CERBERUS was presented yesterday at the Congress of Agro-Food Cooperatives of the Valencian Community, within the programme themed “Cooperatives: towards a profitable, sustainable and digital agriculture.” The session, led by Coral Ortiz (UPV) and titled Aplicaciones de IA en el campo, highlighted how Artificial Intelligence in Agriculture is being applied directly in field operations to improve crop health monitoring and decision-making. More than 450 professionals from the agri-food sector attended a programme addressing climate adaptation, market volatility, digitalisation, and generational renewal—priorities that align with the practical, deployable tools CERBERUS is bringing to cooperative technicians and farmers.
Within this context, Project CERBERUS showcased how its AI-driven, cloud-based platform integrates multi-source observations—satellite imagery, smart traps, robotics, and structured field reports—into a coherent data-to-decision pipeline. Machine-learning models detect early pest dynamics, prioritise scouting, and support targeted interventions, turning complex datasets into clear, time-bound actions that fit cooperative workflows. The result is faster and more accurate alerts, fewer unnecessary pesticide applications, optimised labour and input use, and stronger traceability for audits and compliance. By embedding explainable analytics and interoperability from the outset, CERBERUS advances Artificial Intelligence in Agriculture as a reliable, scalable solution that enhances productivity, sustainability, and resilience across Mediterranean vineyards, olive groves, and citrus plantations.
BIOBLITZ
Cyprus (June 2025)
A bioblitz educational workshop under the CERBERUS project was successfully held at CPPC in Limassol, Cyprus, co-organized by ECoE, SFC, CPPC, and the Department of Agriculture of Cyprus. The workshop aimed to train citizen scientists to monitor the Mediterranean fruit fly (Medfly), a serious agricultural pest.
Over 35 participants, including students, farmers, agronomists, and Ministry representative, attended. They learned about the Medfly’s life cycle, monitoring, and control methods. A monitoring kit by SFC was demonstrated and distributed to 20 participants, who will now contribute data to the CERBERUS platform.
This citizen-collected data will be integrated with satellite imagery, smart traps, and agricultural robots, highlighting the value of public involvement in agricultural research and pest management.
Session with STELLA and FORSAID
Spain (June 2025)
Last June, young researchers from the CERBERUS, Stella and FORSAID projects online networking session. Each researcher had 2–3 minutes and a single slide to present their specific work. From CERBERUS Pablo González presented the smart sprayer and prescription maps, while Cristina Asenjo presented the robot and its field functionalities. In addition, a researcher from Cyprus introduced her work on satellite-based research within the CERBERUS project.
The event served as a networking session involving the three projects working on the non-destructive monitoring and management of pests and diseases across the EU, using technologies such as satellites, in both the forestry and agri-food sectors.
VALIDATION of real data in Plugia for Xylella fastidiosa
Plugia, Italy (May 2025)
The validation of real data in Puglia for Xylella fastidiosa and its vector consisted of the following activities, carried out by UPV, GVA, and ECoE in collaboration with the IPSP-CNR (Institute for Sustainable Plant Protection) of Italy and the University of Bari, between May 12 and 19, 2025:
- Installation of three yellow sticky traps. Currently, no captures have been recorded in 2025.
- Sweeping to capture vectors on the vegetation cover. The presence of vectors was confirmed in the pilot plot.
- Sampling of symptomatic trees, which were analyzed in an official laboratory using molecular techniques.
- Verification of the correct installation of three smart traps. No vector captures have been recorded.
Olive fruit fly and Cerberus Platform
Spain (June 2025)
In the month of June, an informative session was held in Jérica (Castellón, Spain) about the olive fruit fly, Bactrocera oleae. The pest was identified using chromatic traps with the support of GVA-Tragsatec. During the session, pheromones and the phenological state of the olive crop were explained. A field demonstration was conducted on how to place traps and replace pheromones and local participants were trained.
CERBERUS platform was presented, and participants registered and learned how to input their data into the system, they were trained on how to input the number of olive fruit flies detected in the traps they would be monitoring during the campaign. They were also provided with the necessary materials for their monitoring work throughout the campaign (thread counter, several yellow traps, a monitoring kit, pheromones, etc.).
Focus groups on users needs
Spain (April 2024), Cyprus (June 2024) and Italy (July 2024)
Following the objectives set for the first six months, we organized three focus group encounters centered on specific crops: Olives in Valencia (Spain) on 23 April, citrus in Limassol (Cyprus) on 25 June and vineyards in Bologna (Italy) on 2 July. Each meeting involved a half-day session with around 30 stakeholders, engaged in a co-creation approach to define the key features of the virtual platform. This platform will be in the cloud and will serve as the portal to the Cerberus multi-platform system for crop protection. The participants were split in focused tables comprising small growers, farmer associations, professional spray applicators, government agencies, consultants, policymakers, researchers, farm equipment manufacturers, etc.
First insect traps set up in pilot vineyards
Italy and Cyprus, April 2024
LAUDAV (IT) and VINE (CY) have installed the first set of traps for monitoring Lobesia botrana. The images show the conventional traps with sticky paper (left) and the IoT traps developed by EFOS (SL) (right). Early catches have been reported in April. Next stages involve the installation of traps in the citrus and olive orchards.
Kick-off meeting
The project CERBERUS, MULTIPLATFORM FIELD SURVEILLANCE FOR INTEGRAL CROP HEALTH, EARLY DETECTION AND ACTUATION (HORIZON-CL6-2023-GOVERNANCE-01-16. HORIZON-RIA. Grant agreement: 101134878), just started.
On 30 January 2024, the partners of the project got together in the coordinator (UPV – Universitat Politècnica de València) facilities. They had a dynamic agenda including partners’ presentations, presentations about the tasks, planning, management…, ending with a visit to the fields owned by Naranjas del Carmen (NACAR), end-user partner.
