PROTECHMED presents AGROVISION: The Smart Glasses for greenhouse operators
“A practical tool to have the agronomist at your fingertips, keep the crop under control, and intervene promptly” was the almost unanimous judgment from operators at the Sicily Camp, where …
“A practical tool to have the agronomist at your fingertips, keep the crop under control, and intervene promptly” was the almost unanimous judgment from operators at the Sicily Camp, where AGROVISION was presented: SVIMED’s pilot project using smart glasses for real-time crop parameter monitoring.
Developed within the PROTECHMED project, AGROVISION will soon be trialed at Op Moncada company in Ispica (Ragusa). During the Sicily Camp held in Ragusa last June, participants (agronomists, service providers, agricultural companies, researchers and public organisations) visited the company’s pilot greenhouse, a cutting-edge demonstration site with a closed-loop aeroponic system, where digital monitoring and remote assistance will be tested under real Mediterranean production conditions, with scientific support from CIHEAM Bari.
The innovation at the heart of the pilot is the AGROVISION smart glasses, which SVIMED, with technical assistance from Dynamica, intends to validate in Sicily. As participants saw during the visit, these glasses allow external experts, agronomists and specialized technicians to follow and guide greenhouse operators remotely. By combining real-time data with direct expert guidance, AGROVISION addresses initial gaps such as poorly integrated data, weak decision support, difficulties in assisting operators and in digital monitoring, and insufficient use of agronomic information in daily decision-making.
How remote assistance works
The system relies on the digital infrastructure already deployed within PROTECHMED. In the greenhouse, sensors and control units collect environmental and agronomic data (temperature, humidity, irrigation parameters, and more) and send them to a platform that processes and displays them on a single control screen. With the glasses, the operator has the crop and its data in front of them: the remotely connected expert sees what the operator sees, provides immediate guidance, and detects early signs of disease.
Interview — Viviana Stefanini, CEO of Dynamica srl
“The glasses bring together, at the same time, everything needed to decide: field observation, real-time data, historical archives, multi-language translation and expert advice. Being able to read climate, fertigation and crop status data directly in the greenhouse proved decisive for responding faster and reducing repeated technical visits to the company.”
Next steps
The final workshop of the Sicily Camp charted the path to best exploit the technology. To make the system reliable and replicable in other companies, operators stressed the importance of clear rules: when and how to collect data and images, inspection frequency, archiving, report drafting and follow-up. These foundations will allow artificial intelligence to be added to the glasses in the future to recognize plant stress, flag anomalies, and monitor pests and diseases.
A second front concerns digitally integrated pest management: connected monitoring tools, smart traps and organized pest-and-disease reporting. This links resource efficiency with advanced health management, reducing risks, improving traceability and making production more sustainable. The pilot’s results will be measured with concrete indicators: water and nutrient savings, reduction in field visits, faster resolution of technical problems and the extent of technology adoption by operators.
Following the Sicily Camp, the Sicilian pilot will prioritize field use of the AGROVISION glasses for real-time agronomic assistance, digital monitoring and remote expert consultation. Alongside the glasses, a decision support system will translate climate, fertigation and crop status data into practical, ready-to-use recommendations. Operators placed a clear condition: before full deployment, it is necessary to define data ownership and access, how confidentiality will be protected, and how company know-how will be safeguarded. These issues must be resolved before final approval.
The Sicilian pilot aims to produce transferable knowledge so that smart technologies can truly enter companies. In the coming months, further visits to involved Sicilian firms are scheduled to test the glasses in the field for nutritional control and early disease diagnosis. The goal is to raise efficiency, sustainability and digital maturity of an already advanced soilless tomato production, combining closed-loop resource management with real-time digital assistance, as stated by Emilia Arrabito, project coordinator for Svimed.
Interview — Emilia Arrabito, PROTECHMED Project Coordinator and Director of SVIMED
“The underlying aim of the project is to make greenhouse horticulture more sustainable through technology. For Sicily this is a significant challenge: we have a great greenhouse heritage but low R&D spending and high exposure to climate change. With this innovation we want to provide operators with tools to decide directly in the greenhouse, both to prevent by catching early symptoms and to treat plant diseases. The discussion at the Sicily Camp among technology providers, farmers, researchers and public institutions can help us focus on the real needs of greenhouse workers and build tailored solutions.”
Contact Information
SVI.MED. ETS – Euro-Mediterranean Center for Sustainable Development
Emilia Arrabito, director – e.arrabito@svimed.eu
SVI.MED. team – svimed.next@gmail.com
Last Update
15/07/2026
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