From April 16th to 21st, the 49th Geneva International Exhibition of Inventions took center stage in Geneva, Switzerland, drawing nearly 1,100 inventive projects from over 40 countries and regions. Among them, the "CropSense Crop Health and Growth Monitor," developed by the Remote Sensing Technology Department of NERCITA, stood out with a Silver Award.

The CropSense Crop Health and Growth Diagnostic Instrument is a product of over two decades of pioneering research in crop quantitative remote sensing, spearheaded by NERCITA and NERCIEA under the guidance of Academician Zhao Chunjiang. Tailored for staple and cash crops such as wheat, corn, rice, tea, and apples, the device has undergone four rounds of refinement to enhance its portability, data stability, and precision.

Incorporating a high-integrity, modular design, the CropSense system is compact, lightweight, and user-friendly. Its core components are rigorously vetted for reliability. With a simple tap on a mobile app, users can access a wealth of data, including NDVI, chlorophyll levels, leaf area, canopy coverage, yield estimates, and fertilization recommendations. The system ensures data integrity through synchronized local and server storage updates.

The versatile system supports various operation modes, from on-the-go manual measurements to fixed observations at weather stations and continuous multi-point assessments via drones.

To date, the system has secured numerous core proprietary intellectual property rights, registered trademarks domestically and internationally, and received national quality certification. It was honored as an outstanding project in the 2021 digital agriculture initiative, with over 800 units deployed across more than 20 provinces by the end of 2023. The technology has been embraced by agricultural extension stations, research institutes, national modern agricultural industrial parks, universities, and related enterprises.

In collaboration with the UK's Rutherford National Laboratory and Map Ag, the system has also made its mark in the UK and along the Belt and Road countries.

The Geneva International Exhibition of Inventions, established in 1973, has a storied history, having hosted 47 in-person exhibitions and 2 online special editions. Jointly organized by the Swiss Federal Government, the Canton and City of Geneva, and the World Intellectual Property Organization, it stands as one of the most enduring and expansive invention showcases globally.