On 23 April 2026, Farmtopia’s Sustainable Innovation Pilot 2 (SIP2), led by University College Dublin (UCD), presented its Smart Mushroom Farming Technology during Mushroom Days 2026 in Den Bosch, the Netherlands. Organised as part of the largest international event dedicated to the mushroom sector, the Open Day introduced visitors to digital solutions that support oyster mushroom production through artificial intelligence and computer vision.
While around 20 participants attended the dedicated Open Day programme, SIP2 reached a much wider audience thanks to its presence at Mushroom Days, which welcomed more than 4,500 visitors over three days. Farmers, researchers, technology companies and other stakeholders had the opportunity to explore how digital technologies can improve mushroom production and discuss their practical application with the project team.
Demonstrating AI for Oyster Mushroom Production
The Open Day began with an introduction to the Farmtopia project and the objectives of SIP2, presented by Dr Dimitrios Argyropoulos. Participants learned how the pilot is developing a smart monitoring system for oyster mushroom cultivation that combines image recognition and artificial intelligence to monitor crop growth, classify mushroom maturity and identify the optimal harvesting time.
The programme also included a live demonstration led by Dr Meiqing Wang, presenting how the system collects and analyses production data. The demonstration highlighted the practical use of computer vision for monitoring mushroom growth and presented visual dashboards, notifications and maturity classification that can support more informed decision-making on the farm.
Strong Interest from the Mushroom Industry
For many participants, the concept of smart mushroom farming was entirely new. Although most attendees were already familiar with digital climate control systems used in mushroom production, they had not previously encountered integrated monitoring solutions based on image recognition and AI.
Discussions throughout the event presented strong interest in testing the technology under commercial farming conditions before wider deployment. Participants highlighted several factors that would influence adoption, including ease of installation, digital skills, reliable technical support, internet connectivity for cloud-based services and affordable implementation costs.
The conversations also expanded beyond crop monitoring to future possibilities such as robotic mushroom harvesting and integrating the monitoring system with autonomous harvesting robots.
Valuable Feedback for Future Development
The Open Day provided an excellent opportunity to gather direct feedback from farmers and industry representatives. Participants viewed the technology as practical and promising, while also raising important questions about system performance in different production environments, return on investment and long-term maintenance requirements.
Overall, attendees appreciated the opportunity to see the technology in action and engage directly with the researchers behind its development. The event confirmed the growing interest in digital innovation within the mushroom sector and highlighted the importance of demonstrating solutions in real production settings. By bringing Smart Mushroom Farming Technology to one of the industry’s leading international exhibitions, SIP2 successfully connected research with practice and opened new conversations about the role of AI in the future of mushroom production. Stay tuned, as soon there will be SIP2 Video Testimonial on our YouTube Channel.