Softcom 2025 – Industrial panel

Building Croatia’s Digital Future: Opportunities and Challenges of the ICT Sector

The industrial panel at the SoftCOM 2025 conference will take place at the central day of the conference, on Friday 19th September, and it will be connected to the official conference opening ceremony. It will start at 9:00, with a duration of 90 minutes. It will be held in Radisson Blu Resort Split hotel.

Panelists:

  • Damir Habijan, Ministry of Justice, Public Administration and Digital Transformation
  • Gordana Kovačević, President and CEO, Ericsson Nikola Tesla
  • Irena Weber, Director General, Croatian Employers’ Association
  • Dr. Ana Katalinić Mucalo, Deputy Executive Director, HAKOM
  • Dr. Valerio Frascolla, Director Research and Innovation, Intel Labs
  • Dr. Siniša Krajnović, Partner, McKinsey & Company (moderator)

The panel will focus on selected topics vital to the Croatian ecosystem and, more broadly, the European Research & Innovation landscape. Invited panelists from key industries in Croatia and Europe will address a series of questions and engage with the audience to guarantee a lively and open discussion.

The discussion will focus on a combination of

  • key technology trends
  • business dynamics
  • competitiveness amid an increasingly challenging geopolitical landscape.

1st Workshop on Computer Vision and Artificial Intelligence in Fruit Cultivation

Softcom 2025,  Split, 18.09.2025. – 20.09.2025.

ORGANIZING COMMITTEE

  • Prof Vladan Papić, University of Split, FESB, Croatia, vpapic@fesb.hr
  • Prof Vassilis Kaburlasos, International Hellenic University (IHU), Greece, vgkabs@ihu.gr
  • Prof Frane Strikić, University of Split, University Department of Marine Studies, Croatia, frane.strikic@unist.hr

Workshop supported by the Croatian Science Foundation under the project number HRZZ IP-2024-05-6393.

Timetable:

  • Introduction (10 min)
  • Invited lecture, „Application of AI in Agricultural Robotics“ prof. dr.sc. Zdenko Kovačič (60 min)
  • Current research and results (30 min)
  • Break (15 min)
  • Invited lecture, „Bringing Computer Visiοn and AI to the Orchard: Four Case Studies in Fruit Cultivation“ assistant professor Eleni Vrochidou (20 min)
  • Short lecture abstract: This lecture introduces MLV Research Group and its recent achievements in applying computer vision and AI in the cultivation of four different fruit types of regional interest, specifically in the Region of Eastern Macedonia and Thrace (EMT): Grapes: Guidelines for the application of computer vision in precision viticulture tasks. Pomegranate: Presentation of a novel image dataset of pomegranate fruits of three different quality grades related to their intended use and comparative performance evaluation of deep learning models for pomegranate quality assessment. Cherries: Presentation of a vision-based pruning algorithm for cherry tree structure elements segmentation and exact pruning points determination, following strict and precise pruning rules for dormant cherry trees of the Central Leader training system, supported by an open-access dataset. Kiwifruit: Presentation of an open dataset for kiwifruit leaf disease recognition and a corresponding application that is currently used in EMT region by over 100 kiwifruit producers, as part of the participation of our team at the project DigiAgriFood, which is the first European digital innovation hub in the Hellenic agri-food sector.
  • Biography: Eleni Vrochidou received a diploma degree in embedded systems, an M.Sc. degree in automatic control systems, and a Ph.D. degree in signal processing from the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Democritus University of Thrace (DUTH), Greece, in 2004, 2007, and 2016, respectively. She is currently Assistant Professor at the Department of Informatics, Democritus University of Thrace. As a researcher, she is a member of the Machine Learning and Vision (MLV) Research Group, where she participates in research projects. Her research interests are intelligent systems, signal processing, pattern recognition, and embedded systems. She has several publications in international scientific conferences, journals, and book chapters in her research areas.
  • Discussion (20 min)
  • Future research in Yield estimation (20 min)

Workshop is linked with project HRZZ IP-2024-05-6393 (COVIO)  – Computer Vision in Olive Fruit Detection and Yield Estimation

Expected number of attendants: 10

Research demonstration:  XR Communication and Interaction Through a Dynamically Updated Digital Twin of a Smart Space – DIGIPHY

presented by 
Lea Brzica, University of Zagreb Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Computing

The goal of the DIGIPHY project is to research and design technologies for immersive and intuitive eXtended Reality (XR) inter-personal communication and interaction. The project aims to enable remote presence and interaction of people and objects within a dynamically updated digital twin (DT) of a sensor-equipped smart space. In this demonstration, visitors can experience it firsthand by playing a game of chess across virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) displays.