During the phase-1 project, Metacortex had the opportunity to develop the necessary cornerstones for the forthcoming development activities by validating both technical and economic aspects.
Concerning the technical aspects, Metacortex provided a sound risk analysis to extrapolate the priorities of MIDA technical development and the most relevant functionalities to be implemented according to a costs / benefits approach. Further, the related business impacts have been accounted to permit the evaluation of most relevant new functionalities to be introduced in order to foster its market uptake.
Following this, the technical implementation process has been designed considering the input / output flows, while different programming environments have been evaluated by Metacortex to permit the extension of functionalities such as demanded by the market. At the same time, the different data sources contributing to MIDA model have been organized and evaluated. In particular, for what concerns the input, Metacortex evaluated the possible integration of different input devices (hardware) to obtain a more complete set of data and metadata for the analysis performed by MIDA software. Possible integration of advanced devices such as Laser scanner and hyperspectral sensing systems has been also evaluated. In addition, Metacortex provided an analysis of the scientific literature (peer review) to identify which crop species could be effectively surveyed by MIDA. During the assessment, Metacortex also identified the optimal cloud computing infrastructure to ensure the delivery at largest scale and enough computing power for the predictive models.
The technical feasibility was completed by assessing the patentable outcomes, the continuous implementation strategy and the list of potential partners network.
After completion of the technical feasibility, Metacortex assessed the economic feasibility of the entire project considering its market uptake in a 5-year timeframe. This study started since a preliminary SWOT analysis, supported by a detailed market analysis concerning the permanent crops production in EU and a costs analysis related to the OPEX of agricultural productions. The results supported the elaboration of a sound pricing and a series of P&L projections accounting each identified market segment.
The feasibility study was further accompanied by a sound regulatory framework analysis, also considering the operation with U.A. in different European countries and the possible forthcoming change in regulatory landscape. During the Phase-1 project, Metacortex has also started a series of activities aimed at disseminating the benefits offered by the large-scale use of M.I.D.A and also fostered the attendance to events and congresses. The M.I.D.A project further received a remarkable coverage by local and national press highlighting the relevance of the project for the development of a sustainable agriculture.
