dr.ir. C (Congcong) Sun, PhD MSc

My research develops intelligent decision-making and control systems for optimal, autonomous and sustainable agri-food production by integrating artificial intelligence, systems modelling, optimisation, and control.

Agricultural systems face challenges arising from nonlinear dynamics, uncertainty, environmental variability, resource constraints, and interactions between biological and technological processes. I develop methods to improve decision-making, adaptability, and reliable operation under changing conditions. My applications include greenhouses, vertical farms, livestock buildings, agricultural robotics, and open-field crop production. 

My long-term goal is to advance agriculture from conventional decision-making towards intelligent, adaptive, resilient, and trustworthy autonomy. By connecting sensing, modelling, learning, control, and planning, I aim to develop affordable, deployable systems that make better decisions, respond to uncertainty, and operate reliably in real agricultural environments.

Sensing and Monitoring

Reliable sensing underpins intelligent decision-making and control. My work explores physical sensors, soft sensors, and data-driven monitoring. As a co-main applicant of the 4TU Green Sensors project, I contribute to developing biodegradable soil sensors that support agricultural monitoring while reducing environmental impact.

Systems Modelling 

I develop mechanistic, data-driven, and hybrid models that combine physical and biological knowledge with machine learning. Applications include crop growth, greenhouse climate, livestock environments, and animal behaviour. I investigate digital twins for prediction, simulation, optimisation, and testing control strategies under different operating conditions.

Intelligent Control

My research focuses on model predictive control (MPC), reinforcement learning (RL), and hybrid learning-based control. I investigate how to optimise performance while improving adaptability, robustness, and safety under uncertainty and practical constraints. Applications include climate and production control in greenhouses and vertical farms, and environmental control in livestock buildings, balancing productivity, resource efficiency, costs, animal welfare, and sustainability. I also study human-in-the-loop control to integrate growers' knowledge and preferences into autonomous decisions.

Integrated Farm Intelligence

I develop optimisation and planning methods for autonomous agricultural operations and integrated production systems. In robotics, I study safe coordination, task allocation, and mission and motion planning for multiple robots, including cooperative harvesting and manure-removing robots. At system level, I investigate multi-objective optimisation of crop production, renewable energy, batteries, and electricity grids, alongside water–energy–food interactions. Projects include NWO DurableCase and NWO Greenhouses in Transition.