Within the framework of the AGROPATH project, a modernised specialised educational laboratory has been opened at the Department of Photogrammetry and Geoinformatics of Lviv Polytechnic National University.
The laboratory represents a new educational and practical environment equipped with modern technologies for working with geospatial data, unmanned aerial systems, and digital solutions for precision agriculture. Its establishment is an important step towards strengthening the practical component of education and providing students with opportunities to work directly with technologies that are increasingly used in modern agriculture.
The laboratory was officially opened by Nataliia Melnykova, Vice-Rector for International Relations at Lviv Polytechnic National University, and Borys Chetverikov, AGROPATH Project Coordinator and Head of the Department of Photogrammetry and Geoinformatics.
The opening ceremony was also attended by Ihor Savchyn, Director of the Institute of Geodesy, Deputy Directors Mariia Malanchuk and Viktor Lozynskyi, as well as heads of departments and academic staff of the Institute of Geodesy.
During the opening, participants were introduced to the specialised equipment that will be used in the educational process, practical student training, and research activities.
The laboratory is equipped with:
- an XAG dual-rotor agricultural spraying drone;
- a DJI multispectral quadcopter;
- a mobile soil analysis laboratory;
- a weather station;
- a CHCNAV parallel guidance system.
The new equipment will enable students not only to study advanced technologies theoretically but also to gain practical experience in their application.
In particular, students will be able to conduct UAV-based surveys, acquire and process geospatial data, assess soil conditions, work with meteorological observations, and develop practical skills in the application of precision agriculture technologies.
The use of unmanned aerial systems and multispectral technologies will provide opportunities to explore modern approaches to remote crop and agricultural land monitoring. At the same time, the mobile soil analysis laboratory and weather station will support practical training in collecting and interpreting field and environmental data.
The CHCNAV parallel guidance system will allow students to become familiar with technologies used for the precise navigation of agricultural machinery and the optimisation of field operations, which constitute an important component of modern precision agriculture.
The integration of these technologies within a single educational environment will help students better understand the complete digital workflow in precision agriculture — from field data acquisition and geospatial positioning to data analysis and informed decision-making.
The laboratory will also serve as a platform for research, practical training, interdisciplinary cooperation, and the development of new educational components related to geomatics, Earth observation, geoinformation technologies, unmanned systems, and precision agriculture.
The establishment and modernisation of the laboratory were made possible through the implementation of AGROPATH – Advanced Geomatics and Remote Observation for Precision Agriculture in Higher Education, an international project aimed at modernising higher education in the field of precision agriculture and integrating advanced digital and geospatial technologies into the educational process.
The new AGROPATH laboratory at Lviv Polytechnic represents an important contribution to the development of a practice-oriented educational environment in which students can combine theoretical knowledge with hands-on experience using modern equipment.
Through the development of modern laboratory infrastructure, AGROPATH contributes to the preparation of a new generation of specialists equipped with the digital, geospatial, and technological competencies required for the further development of innovative and precision agriculture.
