Glossary
Learn more about the key concepts and terms that define the BBTWINS project
Agri-food
The commercial production of food by farming.
Artificial intelligence
Artificial intelligence (AI) refers to systems that display intelligent behaviour by analysing their environment and taking actions – with some degree of autonomy – to achieve specific goals.
AI-based systems can be purely software-based, acting in the virtual world (e.g. voice assistants, image analysis software, search engines, speech and face recognition systems) or AI can be embedded in hardware devices (e.g. advanced robots, autonomous cars, drones or Internet of Things applications).
Big data
Big data refers to collected data sets that are so large and complex that they require new technologies, such as artificial intelligence, to process. The data comes from many different sources. Often they are of the same type, for example, GPS data from millions of mobile phones is used to mitigate traffic jams; but it can also be a combination, such as health records and patients’ app use. Technology enables this data to be collected very fast, in near real time, and get analysed to get new insights.
Bio-based products
Bio-based products are wholly or partly derived from materials of biological origin, excluding materials embedded in geological formations and/or fossilised. In industrial processes, enzymes are used in the production of chemical building blocks, detergents, pulp and paper, textiles, etc. By using fermentation and bio-catalysis instead of traditional chemical synthesis, higher process efficiency can be obtained, resulting in a decrease in energy and water consumption, and a reduction of toxic waste. As they are derived from renewable raw materials such as plants, bio-based products can help reduce CO2 and offer other advantages such as lower toxicity or novel product characteristics (e.g. biodegradable plastic materials).
Bioactive compounds
Can be defined as phytochemicals, which can be extracted from foods or foods by-products, and able to regulate metabolic functions leading to beneficial effects.
Biomass
The biodegradable fraction of products, waste and residues from biological origin from agriculture (including vegetal and animal substances), forestry and related industries including fisheries and aquaculture, as well as the biodegradable fraction of industrial and municipal waste.
Bioprocess
A specific process that uses complete living cells or their components (e.g., bacteria, enzymes, chloroplasts) to obtain desired products.
Biorefinery
A facility that performs the sustainable processing of biomass into a spectrum of marketable products (food, feed, materials, chemicals) and energy (fuels, power, heat), using a wide variety of conversion technologies in an integrated manner.
Blockchain
Blockchain is a system of recording information in a way that makes it difficult or impossible to change, hack, or cheat the system. A blockchain is essentially a digital ledger of transactions that is duplicated and distributed across the entire network of computer systems on the blockchain.
Data analytics
Data analytics refers to the techniques and processes that are applied to data, in particular big data, in order to reveal patterns and correlations. They are used to extract, from the raw data, information and knowledge that can be used in making decisions, improving productivity or developing innovations.
Data analytics technologies and techniques are widely used in commercial industries to enable organizations to make more-informed business decisions.
Data lake
Data lakes are raw data ecosystems, where large amounts of diverse data are retained and coexist. They facilitate self-service analytics for flexible, fast, ad hoc decision making.
Deep learning
A type of machine learning based on artificial neural networks in which multiple layers of processing are used to extract progressively higher level features from data.
Digital twin
A digital twin is a digital representation of a real-world entity or system. The implementation of a digital twin is an encapsulated software object or model that mirrors a unique physical object, process, organization, person or other abstraction. Data from multiple digital twins can be aggregated for a composite view across a number of real-world entities, such as agricultural processes and their related processes.
Effluent
Liquid waste that is sent out from factories or places where sewage is dealt with, usually flowing into rivers, lakes, or the sea.
Feedstock
A raw material going into a chemical process or plant as input to be converted into a product.
GIS
A geographic information system (GIS) is a system that creates, manages, analyzes, and maps all types of data. GIS connects data to a map, integrating location data (where things are) with all types of descriptive information (what things are like there). This provides a foundation for mapping and analysis that is used in science and almost every industry.
Internet of things
A distributed network connecting physical objects that are capable of sensing or acting on their environment and able to communicate with each other, other machines or computers. The data these devices report can be collected and analysed in order to reveal insights and suggest actions that will produce cost savings, increase efficiency or improve products and services.
Machine learning
The use and development of computer systems that are able to learn and adapt without following explicit instructions, by using algorithms and statistical models to analyse and draw inferences from patterns in data.
Neutraceutical
Nutraceuticals are food or food ingredients that have defined physiological effects. They do not easily fall into the legal categories of food or drug and often inhabit a grey area between the two. These products in general terms cover health promotion, “optimal nutrition” the concept of enhanced performance – both physically and mentally – and reduction of disease risk factors.
Value chain
A value chain is a model that describes the full range of activities needed to create a product or service. For organisations that produce goods, a value chain comprises the steps that involve bringing a product from conception to distribution, and everything in between—such as procuring raw materials, manufacturing functions, and marketing activities.