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The innovation and research laboratory of the Barcelona Faculty of Computer Science (inLab FIB) at the Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya - BarcelonaTech (UPC) collaborated with ModpoW, a company specialised in wireless technologies, sensors and general electronics, to create a solution that optimises water and fertilizer usage in agriculture. This solution, which can potentially save over 30% of annual water and fertilizer consumption, monitors underground water data to draw up an irrigation recommendation for farmers, according to the real-time conditions of each plot.
To achieve this, inLab FIB developed a machine learning model that can detect the phases that occur naturally and at various depths when a field is irrigated. These phases are identified using data obtained from soil water content sensors installed by ModpoW at various depths in the fields.
The project was developed in 2023.

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- A research team from the Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya - BarcelonaTech (UPC) has participated in the M3LEC project, coordinated by the Centro de Astrobiología (CAB), a joint centre of the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC) and the Instituto Nacional de Técnica Aeroespacial (INTA), with the Universidad de Sevilla (US) / Instituto de Microelectrónica de Sevilla (IMSE) also participating. M3LEC aimed to contribute to the characterisation of the Martian atmosphere and meteorology, and to investigate new instrumentation for future planetary exploration missions.
- The Interdisciplinary Group on Building Science and Technology (GICITED) and the Energy, Catalysis, Process and Reaction Engineering (ENCORE) research group at the Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya - BarcelonaTech (UPC) are participating in the European ArchiSpace project, to develop infrastructure prototypes for human settlements in extraterrestrial environments using materials and conditions analogous to those on the Moon and Mars.
- A team from the Matrix Analysis and Discrete Potential Theory (MAPTHE) research group at the Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya - BarcelonaTech (UPC), and the Department of Mathematics at CUNEF Universidad in Madrid, have participated in the development of MARIA, a prototype of a portable, flexible and radiation-free device designed to improve the early detection of breast cancer. The device can identify tumours through electrical conductivity, with the aim of enabling its future use in primary care settings.
- The Research Group in Smart and Sustainable Resources and Industries (RIIS) at the Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya - BarcelonaTech (UPC) is developing the ZeroCarbonPave project, which aims to assess the feasibility of incorporating biochar as filler and/or as the fine fraction of granular material in bituminous mixtures, with the objective of reducing the carbon footprint associated with the manufacture and laying of road pavements.




