Munich, Germany – 06.02.2025 – VISTA GmbH is at the forefront of agricultural remote sensing with its leadership in the ESA-funded CHILL-Y project. As part of the European Space Agency’s Sentinel Users Preparation initiative, CHILL-Y is dedicated to preparing for the next generation of Copernicus satellites, which promise advanced capabilities in hyperspectral, thermal, and L-band radar data collection.
In collaboration with esteemed partners VITO (Belgium), KappaZeta (Estonia), and EurA AG, VISTA is at the forefront of efforts to simulate data from these upcoming missions. VISTA holds primary responsibility for the hyperspectral component, working to simulate the data and extract critical plant parameters, including leaf area, crop structure, nitrogen uptake, and water content.
Furthermore, VISTA is also leading the project’s innovative yield simulations, with a groundbreaking approach, integrating well-established physical plant growth models with artificial intelligence, that not only enhances yield prediction but introduces the capability to predict yield quality parameters, a major advancement in agricultural forecasting.
Currently, while yield quantity predictions exist, CHILL-Y is breaking new ground by developing models to estimate yield quality parameters, which have not been available before. This novel capability will provide farmers and stakeholders with unprecedented insights into factors such as nutrient composition, protein content, and overall crop quality, offering a transformative tool for precision agriculture.
The goal of the CHILL-Y project is to develop a new service for improving the prediction of yield quantity and establishing the forecast of yield quality based on future Copernicus Sentinel Expansion missions. To ensure its practical relevance, VISTA and its partners are closely collaborating with key stakeholders from across the European agricultural value chain. This engagement guarantees that end-user requirements are integrated early in the service development process.
The impact of this initiative extends far beyond scientific advancement. The improved predictive capabilities and insights derived from CHILL-Y can play a crucial role in ensuring global food security, equipping agricultural stakeholders with the tools needed to address future challenges effectively. With this project, VISTA continues to lead the way in agricultural remote sensing, setting the stage for next-generation applications in the field.
For more information, contact us directly.
About VISTA GmbH
Vista GmbH has been working with optical and radar remote sensing data for thirty years and makes this data available in over 25 countries. Its clients and customers include international institutions such as ESA and the EU Commission, national institutions such as the German Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture, various state authorities and companies in the agricultural and insurance sectors. Vista’s philosophy is to help reduce the global footprint of agriculture and support sustainable, climate-resilient food production. Vista develops its own solutions for processing large volumes of data, which have been established on the market for years, particularly in the areas of smart farming and yield forecasting.
