Glossary
Glossary
Solution/initiative
Registered user
Users (individuals, or organisation representatives) that have registered (and have a valid/working account at the specific point in time) for the use of a digital solution or platform.
Use cases
A specific field of application where users use a D4Ag solution or platform to improve their operations towards achieving their objectives.
Farm management & advisory
Market linkage & e-commerce
Supply chain management
Finance
Ecosystem support
Technologies
(Digital) technology: electronic tools, systems, devices and resources that generate, store or process data in digital form.
Advanced visualisation (e.g. Augmented/Virtual Reality)
Adding simulated elements to the real visual world.
VR: simulated experience that can be similar to or completely different from the real world.
AR: a system that incorporates a combination of real and virtual worlds, real-time interaction, and accurate 3D registration of virtual and real objects.
Aerial photography
Technique of photographing the Earth's surface or features of its atmosphere or hydrosphere with cameras mounted on aircraft, rockets, or Earth-orbiting satellites and other spacecraft.
Agronomic diagnostics equipment (e.g. new types of portable soil, crop and agriculture input testing tools)
Specific software with decision rules and models to ascertain the condition of the crop or soil and any deficiencies or needs (Diagnostics) and determine whether location-specific treatment is necessary and if so, which (Decisions).
Artificial Intelligence
A system's ability to correctly interpret external data, to learn from such data, and to use those learnings to achieve specific goals and tasks through flexible adaptation.
Four categories: systems that think like humans, systems that act like humans, systems that think rationally and systems that act rationally.
Big Data
Although the term refers, in its narrower meaning, to ‘large, diverse, complex’ volumes of data, it is usually extended to also incorporate the processing capabilities to aggregate, store and analyze the same data. Big data is produced in high speed (velocity), and needs to be processed (streaming data). This requires specific techniques (different than working with large volumes of stored data).
Blockchain
Decentralised governance system with an incentive mechanism.
Cell broadcast
Cell Broadcast (CB) is a method of sending messages to multiple mobile telephone users in a defined area at the same time.
Chatbots
Software applications which do on-line chat conversations via text or text-to-speech.
Cloud-based
A cloud-based solution refers to applications, storage, on-demand services, computer networks, or other resources that are accessed with an internet connection through another provider's shared cloud computing framework. In farming, cloud computing can be used in aggregating data from tools like soil sensors, satellite images and weather stations. It is used for big data analytics thanks to storage, speed and computing power capabilities.
Commercial microwave links (CML)
Commercial microwave links (CMLs) are point-to-point radio connections widely used as cellular backhaul. CML networks allow for the quantification of path integrated precipitation because the attenuation by hydrometeors correlates with rainfall between transmitter and receiver stations.
Dashboarding
Type of graphical user interface which often provides at-a-glance views of key performance indicators (KPIs) relevant to a particular objective or business process. A form of data visualization.
Data analytics
Processes and performs statistical analysis on existing sets of data. Curating relevant and meaningful insights from the data. Finding answers and gaining insights for problems that we know.
Digital twins
A dynamic virtual representation of a physical object or system, usually across multiple stages of its lifecycle, that uses real-world data, simulation, or machine learning models combined with data analysis to enable understanding, learning, and reasoning. A Digital Twin can be used to answer what-if questions and should be able to present insights in an intuitive way.
Drones
Unmanned airborne vehicles (UAVs) that are able to collect spatial information by flying over specific areas.
Farmer videos
Videos integrating contents curated by agronomist and extension specialists with farmer-generated content.
Field data collection devices
Devices which help in obtaining data directly from the location where an event or transaction takes place. Data collection devices do not read or scan data from the source document.
GIS
Aerial platforms and sensors generating fine grained, multi-spectral earth observations.
GPS
Global Positioning System is a navigation and tracking system that uses satellite conections and radio waves. This system can compute the exact geographic coordinates of an object or person on the surface of the earth as long as it has a device that contains a GPS receptor.
In situ sensors (e.g. farm field, livestock, agricultural machinery sensors)
A direct measurement of the measurand in its original place.
IoT analytics
IoT analytics is the application of data analysis tools and procedures to realize value from the huge volumes of data generated by connected Internet of Things devices.
IoT devices + connectivity
The Internet of Things (IoT) refers to a system of interrelated, internet-connected objects that are able to collect and transfer data over a wireless network without human intervention
IVR
Interactive voice response (IVR) allows humans to interact with a computer-operated phone system through the use of voice and DTMF tones (touch tones) input via a keypad. In telecommunications, IVR allows customers to interact with a company’s host system via a telephone keypad or by speech recognition, after which services can be inquired about through the IVR dialogue.
LBS (Location Based Services)
Location-Based Service is a tracking system that uses mobile phone signals. The tracking is done by using GSM cell towers of local mobile phone service providers. Tracking through LBS is less precise when compared to GPS because the device estimates its position in the area of the cell tower.
Machine Learning
Machine-learning (ML) is an application of artificial intelligence (AI) that provides systems the ability to automatically learn and improve from experience without being explicitly programmed.
Mini satellites, cubesats, nanosatellites
A CubeSat (U-class spacecraft) is a type of miniaturized satellite for space research that is made up of multiple cubic modules. A cubesat is a 10-centimeter cube with a mass of less than 1.33 kilograms.
Mobile applications (smartphones)
A mobile application, most commonly referred to as an app, is a type of application software designed to run on a mobile device, such as a smartphone or tablet computer.
Natural Language Processing
Processes and analyzes large amounts of natural language data. The result is a computer capable of "understanding" the contents of documents, including the contextual nuances of the language within them. Accurately extract information and insights contained in documents as well as categorize and organize documents themselves.
OBD
Outbound Dialing (OBD) is a robust system designed to effectively manage mobile service-provider-initiated outbound calls. The system automatically dials out calls to a list of mobile users provided by the telecom operator.
Radio broadcasting
Transmission of audio (sound), sometimes with related metadata, by radio waves intended to reach a wide audience. The listener must have a broadcast radio receiver (radio).
Rich media
Rich media indicates the use of advanced features like video. In telecom, rich media refers to the use of Multimedia Messaging Service (MMS) and Rich Communication Services (RCS).
Satellites
Artificial satellites creating imagery (scans - not photos) of the Earth.
SMS
Short Message Service
Social Media
Interactive technologies that allow the creation or sharing/exchange of information, ideas, interests, and other forms of expression via virtual communities and networks.
Storage and logistics sensors (e.g. RFID)
A direct measurement of the measurand in its original place where the measurand is related to storage and logistics characteristics.
TV broadcasting
Analogue or digital transmission of the audiovisual signals to the final user.
USSD
Unstructured Supplementary Service Data
Weather stations
A direct measurement of the measurand in its original place where the measurand is related to weather characteristics.
Business Growth Stages
Pilot
Startup
Scaling
Sustaining
Business Funding Stages
Pre-seed
Average ticket sizes: $50K-150K
Seed
Average ticket sizes: $150K-500K
Series A
Average ticket sizes: $500K-2M
Series B
Average ticket sizes: $2M-10M
Series C
Average ticket sizes: $10M+