By Dimitra Dafnaki | Agronomist | EdenCore
In modern agriculture, disease detection is not just about spotting symptoms—it’s about staying ahead of outbreaks before they escalate. Traditional scouting methods, reliant on manual inspections, often fall short due to their inconsistency and labour-intensive nature. Eden Viewer, a pioneering technology within the STELLA Horizon EU Project, is designed to transform how farmers monitor plant health. By leveraging AI-powered analysis through a tractor-mounted camera system, EdenCore introduces a smarter, more efficient approach to disease detection, ensuring that no sign of infection goes unnoticed.
By seamlessly integrating into existing farm operations, Eden Viewer automates data collection while farmers perform routine tasks. This not only enhances efficiency but also aligns with STELLA’s mission to advance agricultural technology, enabling proactive decision-making, reducing the risk of disease outbreaks, and minimising crop losses.
Bringing AI to the fields: Eden Viewer’s impact on STELLA
As part of the project, EdenCore has developed three proximal imaging protocols for close-range data collection, deployed the Eden Viewer across all European UCPs, and is set to deliver novel AI models. The following sections outline its key contributions.
Seamless integration with routine farm operations
Eden Viewer is mounted on tractors, allowing for continuous data collection without disrupting farm workflows. As the tractor moves through the fields, high-resolution cameras scan crops in real-time, capturing detailed images for AI-based disease detection. This eliminates the need for labour-intensive manual scouting, ensuring every plant is monitored consistently.
Leveraging AI and Machine Learning for early pest detection
EdenCore plays a critical role in the STELLA project, by advancing AI applications for pest detection. Integrating computer vision models, enables the precise identification of pest infections and disease symptoms at an early stage, helping farmers take immediate action. By utilising deep learning architectures to analyse plant health indicators, the AI-driven models continuously assess plant stress factors, allowing for disease detection and more accurate decision-making.
Close-up image collection for enhanced accuracy
Unlike aerial solutions, Eden Viewer captures close-up images from within the canopy, offering unparalleled detail on plant surfaces. This enables precise identification of early-stage disease symptoms, including discoloration, lesions, and fungal growth that might go unnoticed from a top-down perspective. The high-resolution imaging ensures even the smallest abnormalities are detected before they spread.
24/7 monitoring with LED lighting
Eden Viewer is equipped with LED lights, allowing it to operate efficiently regardless of the time of day. This 24/7 monitoring capability ensures continuous disease scouting, even in low-light conditions or at night. Eliminating dependency on natural light provides uniform image quality and minimises inconsistencies.
Reliable performance in any weather
Weather conditions can greatly impact traditional scouting methods and aerial-based monitoring systems. Eden Viewer mitigates these challenges by operating at a fixed distance from crops, reducing the impact of shadows, reflections, and varying sunlight intensities. This stability ensures reliable and standardised data collection across different times and weather conditions.
The future of Disease Detection in agriculture
Agriculture is undergoing a technological revolution. AI-driven solutions are redefining how farmers approach disease detection and crop protection. Gone are the days of reactive farming—precision agriculture now enables proactive and predictive strategies, minimising losses before they occur.
By leveraging AI and Machine Learning, Eden Viewer allows farmers to anticipate risks, optimise treatments, and ensure healthier, more resilient crops. With AI-powered imaging, data analytics, and sustainable farming practices, the STELLA project is driving a new era of smart pest scouting—one where every decision is informed, every treatment is precise, and every harvest is safeguarded.
DE 
EN 
EL 
FR 
IT 
LT 
NL