Projects
Pre-study to develop a UAV-based monitoring tool for flowering intensity in strawberry. KU Leuven
In open-field strawberry cultivation, especially ever-bearing varieties, the farmer needs information on the flowering intensity. The number of flowers per plant can easily be translated to expected number of fruits through well-known relations between initial flowering intensity and final yield. This information will enable the grower to optimize its management decisions. Moreover auctions or other sales organisations can make longer-term ...
Imaging and modeling of the microstructure of frozen foods during recrystallization and sublimation: A case study on plant-based products KU Leuven
Recrystallization and sublimation are the main physical phenomena responsible for the degradation of food quality of frozen products along the frozen cold chain. Both phenomena occur slowly at constant temperature over long periods of storage and more pronounced during temperature fluctuations often encountered in the cold chain. Recrystallization is characterised by ice crystal growth which leads to the damaging the tissue structures. ...
Model-based characterization of the mechanical niche of mouse fetal liver hematopoietic stem cells. KU Leuven
Generation of hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) from pluripotent stem cells (PSCs) would theoretically provide an inexhaustible pool of HSCs, suitable for transplantation or for the generation of blood cells for transfusion. Although immature HSCs can be generated from PSCs, they do not robustly engraft and cannot yet be used to generate large numbers of hematopoietic cells.
The behavior of somatic stem cells is regulated by their ...
Model-based monitoring of recovery and cure for improved mastitis management in dairy cows KU Leuven
With an annual production value of 639 million euros, dairy production is the fourth most important agricultural sector of Flanders. About 18% of all farms have dairy cows, summing up to a total of more than 300 000 animals. The modern dairy sector is characterized by strong specialization and scale enlargement, in which technology plays a prominent role. This technology supports the management on farm, and secures that despite the large herd ...
Advanced Computational Fluid Dynamics modelling for a more sustainable and energy efficient postharvest cold chain of pome fruit KU Leuven
The demand for fresh fruit is high and expected to increase significantly in the near future due to consumers targeting a healthy diet. This inherently leads to the need for high-quality fruit being available year-round for fresh consumption. However, freshly harvested fruit solely rely on their internal reserves to maintain their respiration metabolism. By lowering fruit temperature, the respiration rate can be reduced, thus retarding the ...
De ontwikkeling van een monitoring systeem voor het opvolgen van celpopulaties in real-time. KU Leuven
User-centric design of automatic lameness detection in dairy cattle KU Leuven
Lameness is an important health problem causing severe welfare deteriorations and economic losses up to € 53 per cow per year in dairy cattle. Timely detection and treatment can help to minimize economic losses and preserve cow welfare. Current visual detection methods are labor intensive and subjective, and require training to allow detection of subtle changes in a cow’s gait. As a result, the problem is underestimated in practice, and ...
Towards a knowledge-based approach for an integrated control of Alternaria spp. in potatoes Centre for Applied Research and Extension in Potatoes
After six seasons of intensive monitoring of potato fields, analysis and diagnosis, laboratory, greenhouse and field trials, a good picture of the real Alternaria problem in Flanders was obtained: importance of the pathogen, occurrence of the disease in space and time, influence of weather , crop and cultivation factors. This knowledge forms the solid basis of the decision support system that is widely applied in practice, in order to ...
Model-based active thermography for contactless quality assessment in the agro-food industry KU Leuven
In the agro-food industry, there is an increasing demand for non-destructive quality inspection tools that allow to inspect every individual product. This is the result of an increased focus on food safety and quality over the past decades. Several fast, non-destructive and contactless technologies have been studied for food quality inspection, many of them based on the interaction of electromagnetic radiation with the food product. ...