National & International Research Projects

The active involvement of commercial companies in research and development activities is a key factor in Europe's development.  Vienna Scientific is fully committed to the Triple Helix concept of university-industry-government relationships - illustrating the necessary shift from an industry-government dyad in the industrial society to a growing triadic university-industry-government relationship in the knowledge society. Get in contact to develop a joint, multidisciplinary, cross-sectoral proposal!

Within the EU BarleyMicroBreed project, we are creating a portable fluorescence root imaging system for BOKU Vienna. This system aims to automate root counting in barley phenotyping, analyzing soil cores from 600 barley varieties directly in the field. The lighting system will be fine-tuned to generate high-contrast images of roots emerging from the cores. Past work with wheat has demonstrated that the correlation of measurements with root length density in (washed) soil cores can surpass that of human operators (Wasson et al. 2016), leading to increased throughput.

The C-SALS project aims to create an adaptable UAV-based reconnaissance system for enhancing tactical mission planning. It will feature a versatile sensor suite, including on-board gas sensors, a high-performance stand-off detector, retractable air sampling devices, and a high-precision laser scanner mounted on a robust UAV. This system is suitable for diverse missions, ranging from environmental monitoring to police and military operations.

The EU H2020 ATTRACT call funded breakthrough ideas in detection and imaging technologies. Our NextMR-IAA project will combine imaging technology, mechatronic automation and image analysis technology in a unique and highly innovative way to significantly advance minirhizotron technology for in situ root analysis. In detail, the NextMR-IAA project will 1) combine state-of-the-art imaging sensors (UHD VIS and certain near infrared (NIR) wavebands) with MR imaging automation to allow for effective and precise imaging of roots, and 2) will develop machine learning-based approaches to automatically segmentate & classify roots. See the VSI ATTRACT web-page for details. 

The objectives of Vienna Scientific in the H2020 project 'FutureArctic' (Marie Sklodowska-Curie Action, Innovative Training Network) are 1) to develop an an autonomous, permanently installed and remote-controllable automatic minirhizotron (MR) imaging systems suitable for arctic environments, 2) to identify multi-spectral wavelength (ranges) allowing for enhanced segmentation and species-specific differentiation of (three exemplary) arctic target root systems, and 3) to conceptualise the implementation of multi-spectral imaging beyond VIS in MR imaging systems. Please see the VSI FutureArctic webpage and the FutureArctic consortium website for details.

Within the HuLK Humus project, school students will work as researchers and, under the guidance of scientists, will gradually approach topics such as humus, climate change, soil and agriculture. They will learn to better understand processes (CO2 emissions, soil as a CO2 store, humus as an adaptation to climate change for crops in agriculture) and how to translate this knowledge into practical solutions.

Currently, atmospheric sampling for gas emission measurements requires the construction of towers or the hiring of aircraft - capital-intensive methods. Easy access to unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV, "drones") has opened up new possibilities for remote gas sampling (e.g. greenhouse gases, VOCs and water vapor). The aim of the Iso-Drone projects was to develop, test and produce modular UAV-based gas sampling and monitoring systems for emission and isotope measurements. Please find further information on the ISOdrone project site. 

Teaming up with BOKU and S4 mobile laboratories in the PHENET project, our priority is developing a virtually groundbreaking root imaging probe. This automated tool aims to detect roots as it penetrates the soil, providing real-time calculations for root length density, rooting depth, and soil density. Positioned as an advanced root phenotyping tool, it seeks to close the existing methodological gap between soil coring and minirhizotron imaging.

Vienna Scientific Instruments is highly interested in participating as a partner or beneficiary in cross-sectoral research and training activities at the national (Austrian), European and international level. We are also interested in hosting Early Stage Researchers (ESR; who can enroll for PhD studies at several world-class universities in Vienna), short and long term secondments of academic staff at any career stage from PhD students to senior researchers as "Entrepreneurs in Residence" (EIR), and participating with our engineering staff in R&D&I calls and exchange programs for research and innovation staff. We have experience in writing and submitting grant proposals to Austrian (e.g. "Iso-2-Drone", "C-SALS", FFG, Austria) and European partner organizations (e.g. "FutureArctic" proposal, Marie Sklodowska-Curie Action, Innovative Training Network, FP7, H2020, Horizon Europe) and have implemented many successful industry-academia projects. Please contact us if you would like to discuss opportunities for joint projects.