FINAPP was honored at COP28 for its innovative solution using Cosmic Rays and Artificial Intelligence (AI) to address the impact of climate change on food security, sustainable water resources, and disaster mitigation.
Dubai (UAE) 2nd December 2023 – According to the IPCC Climate Change Report 2022, climate change is projected to cause an increase in global temperatures, with increasingly frequent heat waves and shifts in climate zones. Droughts and floods will become more severe, affecting freshwater availability and quality. Addressing the complex global challenges related to water, food and agriculture will require more than human capabilities alone.
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and the World Bank (WB), have launched a new challenge: to advance the development of solutions using artificial intelligence (AI) to address and mitigate the impact of climate change on food security and sustainable water resources.
During the COP28 held in Dubai in the recent days, Finapp was recognized among the winners of this challenge because of its solution to measure soil water content on a large scale, in depth and in real time; measurement obtained by innovative CRNS probes, which use cosmic rays and artificial intelligence to measure soil moisture.
Artificial intelligence plays a crucial role in this area, as it can effectively process and analyze data obtained by various methods and at different resolutions. This makes it possible to create detailed and accurate terrain maps that provide Valuable guidance for proper irrigation strategy from an agriculture 4.0 perspective, environmental monitoring and implementing appropriate land management decisions.
By automating this complex analysis, the artificial intelligence built into the Finapp solution reduces human effort and accelerates the process of understanding soil dynamics on a regional or even global scale.
Finapp probes, thanks to neutrons generated by cosmic rays, provide valuable information on soil moisture over an area of between 1 and 30 hectares depending on the type of installation of altitude. By integrating this data with other analyses, artificial intelligence can provide a comprehensive and up-to-date view of soil moisture dynamics, benefiting agriculture, water resource management, drought prediction and climate change adaptation efforts.
The competition, which rewarded the soul of Finapp, was the springboard for presenting artificial intelligence-based solutions that have the potential to revolutionize the approach to climate change.
At the award ceremony in Dubai, Angelo Amicarelli, CTO and Finapp founder explained to the assembly: “With its positive impact on agricultural irrigation practices, the Finapp solution, reduces water consumption, increases productivity and limits CO2 production, mitigating the effects of climate change. In addition, by measuring soil moisture on a large scale and in depth, and by estimating its dynamics in the days ahead, Finapp provides a site-specific early warning system, increasing resilience and reducing the impact on society.”
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Who is Finapp
Finapp is an innovative startup, a spin-off of the University of Padua, founded in 2018 by Padua entrepreneur Luca Stevanato together with Angelo Amicarelli, Marcello Lunardon, and Sandra Moretto.
The company has developed a state-of-the-art sensor for contactless measurement of water content in soil and in snow, based on the measurement of environmental neutrons produced by cosmic rays (Cosmic Ray Neutron Sensing).
The Finapp solution enables precise and digitized water management, with the aim of cutting down waste in agriculture and water distribution in aqueducts, optimizing hydropower production, and mitigating the risk of hydrogeological disruption in the safety of citizens.
In the past 12 months, Finapp has grown from 3 to 18 employees and expects to add another 10 employees in the near future.
The company currently operates two production units in Italy and plans to open two sales offices abroad in 2024.
It has installed its CRNS sensors in 12 countries and has, already planned for the next half year, pre-localization of water leaks on about 25,000 km of network.
