Emphasis Belgium

EMPHASIS-Belgium Roadshow

In Belgium there is a vibrant and growing ecosystem of plant physiologists, breeders, agronomists, ecologists, remote sensing specialists, crop scientists, data scientists, and phenotyping experts which are all developing innovative methods and applications that contribute to the future of plant research. With so much expertise available, we believe it is time to hit the road, connect with the community, exchange ideas, and explore how emerging technologies, infrastructures, and research needs can fit into the broader phenotyping landscape.

First stop: UGent - 7 December 2026

Join us at Ghent University for the first stop of the new EMPHASIS-Belgium Roadshow. Discover UGent’s diverse plant phenotyping activities and take part in VITO’s hands-on MAPEO workshop: From Drone Images to Phenotypic Insights. Connect with the plant science community, explore innovative technologies, and discover opportunities for collaboration in plant phenotyping.

Register

Introducing Phenotyping Activities by UGent

We are therefore delighted that Ghent University will host the first stop of the EMPHASIS-Belgium Roadshow. The session will showcase some of UGent's leading plant science and phenotyping activities through the following presentations:

 

Multi- and hyperspectral imaging in a controlled environment for (a)biotic stress detection and mitigation
by Noémie De Zutter
About LAMP

 

 

Increasing selection efficiency through sensor-based phenotyping
by Steven Maenhout
About Predictive Breeding

 

 

Drones for agricultural applications: theory & examples 
by Wouter Maes
About URC

MAPEO Workshop: From Drone Images to Phenotypic Insights

VITO will organise a hands-on workshop on MAPEO, its cloud-based drone image processing platform for agricultural and phenotyping applications. MAPEO has been significantly expanded with new capabilities designed to support operational research workflows:

  • Enhanced plot design functionality and visualisation of plot statistics 
    Easily create, import and overlay digital plot designs on drone-derived products and automatically extract plot-level statistics.
  • High-resolution satellite imagery integration 
    Researchers can task imagery for specific locations and time periods, after which data are quality-checked, processed, and transformed into overview and NDVI products.
  • Mission quality reporting 
    Quality indicators such as geometric accuracy, field coverage, and multispectral calibration are automatically calculated, visualised, and exported for every drone mission.
  • Drone sampling mission support
    User-defined Digital Surface Models can now be used to plan and execute advanced drone sampling missions, including low-overlap and plot-driven flight planning.
  • Integration with droneSTAC (in progress) 
    VITO is developing droneSTAC, an open repository that enables researchers to archive, discover, and share drone datasets in a FAIR and cloud-optimised environment hosted on Terrascope.

Program

09:30–09:45 Welcome & Introduction to EMPHASIS-Belgium
09:45–10:45 Phenotyping activities at UGent

  • Multi- and hyperspectral imaging in a controlled environment for (a)biotic stress detection and mitigation - Noémie De Zutter
  • Increasing selection efficiency through sensor-based phenotyping - Steven Maenhout

10:45–11:00 Coffee break
11:00–11:30 UAV Research Centre

  • Drones for agricultural applications: theory & examples - Wouter Maes

11:30–12:30 Hands-on MAPEO training (Part 1 - VITO)
12:30–13:30 Lunch & short facility visit
13:30–15:30 Hands-on MAPEO training (Part 2 - VITO)
15:30–16:00 Closing discussion
 

Who Should Attend?

Domain experts exploring drone-based phenotyping

  • Breeders, agronomists, crop scientists and plant physiologists
  • Ecologists and ecosystem researchers working on vegetation monitoring
  • Researchers interested in exploring how drone and Earth observation technologies can support their research questions

Technology experts supporting research workflows

  • Remote sensing and geospatial data specialists
  • Data scientists integrating drone, satellite and field observations
  • Experts interested in operationalising image analysis and phenotyping workflows within research projects
  • Researchers and developers looking to connect their technologies, methods and tools with the broader phenotyping community

Whether you are new to phenotyping or already operating advanced sensing infrastructures, this session provides an opportunity to discover available facilities, exchange experiences, and explore future collaborations within the Belgian and European plant phenotyping ecosystem.