Congratulations to IAAS Chairman Professor Tzong-Ru LEE’s project with the Taiwan-Russia Transnational Academic Research Program being approved! This program is funded by the Ministry of Science and Technology (MOST) Taiwan and the Russian Science Foundation (RSF). The research project is titled “Smart Digital Twin of Broccoli: Developing Adaptive Models, Methods and Tools for Plants Growth Modelling Synchronized with Real Plants Cultivation”.

In this 3-year-project (2022-2024), the team would use knowledge-based multi-agent simulator (KB MAS) and Smart Diagnosis System (SDS) and integrate them into Smart Digital Twin of Broccoli (SDTB). The SDTB could be used to synchronize the growth of real and virtual plant and make simulations of broccoli more accurate and precise. Moreover, the Agricultural Purchasing Managers’ Index (APMI) formula for broccoli industry with the optimal variables combination will be also constructed. The index shows the economic status of the broccoli industry and used for decision-making in investment. As a result, the developed SDTB can be used for identification of the current state of plants, modelling plant growth under different conditions, forecasting normal or abnormal development of plants and adaptive correction of recommended actions for agronomists and farmers, as well as bringing more investments in broccoli industry, which is considered as a healthy food for future.

The research team consists of scholars from Taiwan and Russia.

In Taiwan, the research team consists of National Chung Hsing University professors. They are Dr. Yung-Kuan CHAN, tenured distinguished professor of Information Management department, Dr. Yu SONG, professor of Horticulture department, and Dr. Tzong-Ru LEE, professor of Marketing department.

In Russia, there are Prof. Petr Skobelev, Head of Department in Electronic Systems and Information Security, Samara State Technical University, as the Principal Investigator; Oleg Goryanin, Senior Researcher and Professor of Agriculture in Institute of Agriculture of Russian Academy of Science; Elena Simonova, Senior Researcher and Developer in the Department of Information Systems and Technologies Samara University; and Alexey Tabachinsky, researcher in Electronic Systems and Information Security Samara State Technical University.

IAAS believes that the research result will bring a big contribution to agriculture development. IAAS commits to serve as an international platform for academicians, researchers, industry players and policy makers to cooperate and utilize technology innovation promoting sustainable agricultural development.