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Ecological Sentinel

Project description

Transforming nature into a smart ecosystem monitor

The world is facing severe environmental challenges, with ecosystems like forests under constant threat from problems such as wildfires and biodiversity loss. The degradation of nature is worsening, and we need better ways to monitor and protect the environment. Traditional methods of environmental monitoring are often limited and costly. With this in mind, the EIC-funded EcoSentinel project turns plants into self-sustaining digital sensors. Using the natural energy of plants, EcoSentinel creates a network of ‘smart’ plants that can monitor forests and other ecosystems. This enables a carbon-negative communication system, powered by nature itself, to detect and prevent environmental disasters like wildfires. Through this digital plant network, EcoSentinel aims to protect our planet in a sustainable way.

Objective

The EcoSentinel project envisions a groundbreaking transformation in our relationship with nature to address pressing global sustainability challenges as biosphere integrity degradation, fostering a harmonious coexistence between technological innovation and environmental conservation; culminating in a community of Ecological Sentinels (EcoSentinel).
Specifically, EcoSentinel leverages the biological processes and the resilient nature of living plants to give them the necessary means (i.e. energy harvesting and electromagnetic signal propagation) to become self-sustained digital nodes of a network able to autonomously monitor themselves. This revolutionary approach aims to enhance our capacity to safeguard forests and other ecosystems. The EcoSentinel technology will introduce a carbon-negative wireless communication system, powered by the ecosystem itself, enabling environmental monitoring to prevent and mitigate critical events such as wildfires and biodiversity loss.
The EcoSentinel project proposes a new form of plant-plant interaction by elevating it to a digital level. By enhancing plants’ interconnection through cybernetical implants, we embark on a path to digitally transform the greenery. This unprecedented approach aims to establish a novel wireless plant-based communication system, using plants as natural antennas, uniquely powered by the integration of plant-microbial electricity generation seamlessly blended into the vegetation.

Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)

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Keywords

Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)

Programme(s)

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Topic(s)

Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.

Funding Scheme

Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.

HORIZON-EIC - HORIZON EIC Grants

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Call for proposal

Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.

(opens in new window) HORIZON-EIC-2024-PATHFINDEROPEN-01

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Coordinator

FUNDACIO PRIVADA UNIVERSITAT I TECNOLOGIA
Net EU contribution

Net EU financial contribution. The sum of money that the participant receives, deducted by the EU contribution to its linked third party. It considers the distribution of the EU financial contribution between direct beneficiaries of the project and other types of participants, like third-party participants.

€ 534 161,25
Address
CALLE SANT JOAN DE LA SALLE 42
08022 Barcelona
Spain

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Region
Este Cataluña Barcelona
Activity type
Higher or Secondary Education Establishments
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Total cost

The total costs incurred by this organisation to participate in the project, including direct and indirect costs. This amount is a subset of the overall project budget.

€ 534 161,25

Participants (5)

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