SQAT is a 3.5-year Horizon Europe project implementing smart farming applications using Earth-observation data, soil sensors and robotics — tagline: “Laboratory In The Field”. The consortium is coordinated by the Association of Balkan Eco–Innovation and brings together 11 partners, including ILVO on the Belgian agronomic side and Exobotic on the robotic-sampling side.
I was involved in the preliminary conception, the design of the sampling tools, and in securing Exobotic’s place in the consortium during the grant-writing phase.
2025 highlights
SQAT GA 2025 — Merelbeke (BE)
16–20 June. In-person General Assembly at ILVO. First full-scale, real-world fertilisation-procedure demo on a live ILVO field.
Werktuigendagen 2025 — Oudenaarde (BE)
20–21 September. 47,000+ visitors across two days. ILVO showcased the SQAT robot performing probe-based soil sampling.
VOKA Open Company Day — ILVO campus
5 October. 1,500+ visitors saw the robot perform its stop-and-go sampling task for an audience of all ages.
Going further
- Project homepage: sqat.farm.
- Coordination: Association of Balkan Eco–Innovation. Belgian partner: ILVO.