In early December 2025, the AIGODS project reached a significant international milestone by formalising agreements for an ambitious technical outreach programme to New Zealand. Scheduled for early 2026, this strategic cycle, described by the team as a "mega-mission", connects academic research, global scientific dissemination, and applied agricultural innovation through three distinct phases.

The delegation for this outreach cycle comprises researcher Diogo Santos Costa, from NOVA IMS, and Igor Teixeira, representing the IVDP. Their selection was a strategic choice designed to ensure that both the scientific and institutional dimensions of the project are represented on the global stage. As the lead author of the research poster to be presented at ICCWS 2026, Santos Costa brings deep technical knowledge of the AIGODS Geo-AI models. Complementing this expertise, Teixeira, a specialist in Information Systems, provides the vital regulatory and institutional perspective necessary for future tool integration. This joint representation aims to maximise the technical exchange between the Douro and the leading research hubs of New Zealand.

The first phase involves two technical missions at the University of Auckland, focusing on Earth Observation at the Space Institute (Te Pūnaha Ātea) and robotics at the Centre for Automation and Robotic Engineering Science (CARES). The second phase centres on the International Cool Climate Wine Symposium (ICCWS) 2026 in Christchurch, where the team will present their breakthrough research on open-data yield estimation. The final phase concludes with a third mission to Lincoln Agritech, dedicated to precision tools and the practical implementation of AI in the field.

Principal Investigator André Barriguinha highlighted the strategic rationale behind this initiative, noting that New Zealand holds a global reputation for viticultural research that closely parallels the Portuguese experience.

"New Zealand is an international reference point for cool-climate viticulture and high-tech agricultural adaptation," Barriguinha explained. "By synchronising our technical visits with the ICCWS 2026, we are ensuring that our Douro-based methodologies are not only benchmarked against the world’s leading sensing and automation frameworks but also subjected to high-level peer dialogue at the sector’s most prestigious symposium".

This coordinated effort is designed to foster long-term collaboration on shared technical challenges, such as complex terrain monitoring and precision yield estimation. By integrating these missions with the global debut of AIGODS research, the project reinforces its commitment to scientific rigour and international networking, placing the Douro region at the forefront of the global dialogue on viticultural innovation.

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