On June 4th, 2025, Watson took centre stage at the 6th International Conference in Electronic Engineering and Information Technology (EEITE 2025) in Crete (Greece), where we hosted a Special Session.
Organised under the theme “Digital technologies in the agrifood value chain: From precision agriculture to advanced processing and sustainable distribution”, the Special Session brought together researchers and experts exploring the digital transformation of agri-food systems.
A full day of WATSON-led sessions
Special Session 3, chaired by Watson coordinator, Prof. Dimitrios Argyropoulos (University College Dublin), was dedicated entirely to presenting our latest developments in traceability technologies across different agri-food chains.
Several project partners delivered engaging and insightful presentations:
- Prof. Dimitrios Argyropoulos presented a compelling speech on developing a smart framework for digital farming and field robotics, emphasising their critical role in achieving sustainable agriculture.
- Dr. Spyros Evangelatos and Dr. Nikoleta Tsampanaki (Netcompany) showcased the Digital Food Product Passport (DFPP), a powerful tool developed within Watson to enhance transparency, traceability and safety in the fish supply chain.
- Dr. Christina Mastralexi (INESC TEC) presented a novel solution for wine colour analysis using smartphone cameras, based on the CIEDE2000 metric, enabling in-situ quality assessment in unconstrained environments.
- Dr. Stelios Arhondakis (BioCoS) introduced a machine learning pipeline for the automated DNA-based classification of Italian olive cultivars, reinforcing the importance of genomic tools in food authentication.
- Dr. Antonios Kioukis (SYNELIXIS) discussed recent AIM ontology extensions designed to support semantic interoperability across the food chain’s traceability systems.
- Dr. Georgios Klados (UBITECH) presented a feature selection mechanism for the Watson’s Early Warning System to detect anomalies and risks in fishing activities.
Poster spotlight on honey authentication
Adding to the rich scientific exchange, our partner Dr. Inés Vázquez-Iglesias (ASINCAR) presented a Watson poster titled: “Portable NIR and HSI Technologies for Honey Authentication: A Non-Destructive Approach”.
The poster highlighted how our project is leveraging Near Infrared Spectroscopy and Hyperspectral Imaging to validate honey authenticity in real-time, an especially valuable approach in the high-value market of PGI-certified honey.
Strengthening collaboration with the EU Cluster for Food Traceability and Trust
The session also featured a presentation from Watson’s sister project ALLIANCE, where Dr. Kostas Choumas (University of Thessaly) discussed blockchain-based traceability and its role in building trust across food supply chains.
On June 5th, Watson also organised a dedicated workshop focusing on our Extra Virgin Olive Oil (EVOO) pilot, further detailing how DNA, blockchain and AI-powered tools are being applied to ensure transparency and authenticity in olive oil production.
More details on this workshop will be shared soon!
Watson’s participation in EEITE 2025 reinforces the project’s commitment to advancing digital solutions that bring integrity, trust and innovation to food systems.
For updates on our pilot activities, publications and upcoming events, be sure to follow Watson across social media and our project website!