Wall-Ye Wine Robot. Watch a French Vineyard-Tending Robot in Action - Video Interlude. Thursday, September 27, 2012, by Paula Forbes This is Wall-Ye, a vineyard-tending robot being developed in France.
Wall-Ye costs a hefty €25,000 (US $32,000), but for that price, according to the AFP, it can "move from vine to vine, recognise plant features, capture and record data, memorise each vine, synchronise six cameras and guide its arms to wield tools. " The solar-powered Wall-Ye can prune 600 vines per day and even collect data on soil and fruit. It even has an anti-theft device that causes the hard drive to self-destruct if the GPS detects it's been removed from the vineyard. It's still in the prototype phase, but big name French wine producers including Chateau Mouton-Rothschild have offered their vineyards for test runs. Wall-Ye wine robot takes bow in Burgundy. Wall-Ye wine robot takes bow in Burgundy. By Suzanne Mustacich MACON, France, Sept 26, 2012 (AFP) - A new vineyard worker is looking for a job in France.
He has four wheels, two arms and six cameras, prunes 600 vines per day, and never calls in sick. The Wall-Ye V.I.N. robot, brainchild of Burgundy-based inventor Christophe Millot, is one of the robots being developed around the world aimed at vineyards struggling to find the labour they need. It takes on chores such as pruning and de-suckering -- removing unproductive young shoots -- while collecting valuable data on the health and vigour of the soil, fruit and vine stocks. Sales demonstrations are about to begin, and big name French vintners like Bordeaux's First Growth Chateau Mouton-Rothschild have offered their vineyards as a venue for the 20-kilogramme (44-pound) robot to put on its show.
White with red trim, 50 centimetres (20 inches) tall and 60 wide, it also has an in-built security mechanism is designed to thwart would-be robot snatchers. To do so took three long years. Robots. There are no translations available.
Reportage de l'Agence France Presse (cliquez sur l'image) : La technologie créée par Wall-YE est protégée. Toute reproduction est interdite. Meet Wall-Ye: The French grape-picking robot which can work day and night - and may well put vineyard workers out of a job. By Eddie Wrenn Published: 12:09 GMT, 28 September 2012 | Updated: 12:11 GMT, 28 September 2012 If your secret dream is to head to France to take a summer job picking wine, you best be quick or you will be out of luck.
For a new vineyard worker is around, who has four wheels, two arms and six cameras, prunes 600 vines per day, and never calls in sick. The Wall-Ye V.I.N. robot, brainchild of Burgundy-based inventor Christophe Millot, is one of the robots being developed around the world aimed at vineyards struggling to find the labour they need. It takes on chores such as pruning and de-suckering - removing unproductive young shoots - while collecting valuable data on the health and vigour of the soil, fruit and vine stocks. Wine Robot 'Wall-Ye' Performs Complex Vineyards Tasks For $32,000. Take a look at Wall-Ye, a robot designed to tend vineyards.
It doesn't come cheap -- it's cost is currently set at an astounding $32,000 (€25,000) -- but it's capable of complex tasks, according to the AFP: Wall-Ye draws on tracking technology, artificial intelligence and mapping to move from vine to vine, recognise plant features, capture and record data, memorise each vine, synchronise six cameras and guide its arms to wield tools.
Wall-Ye is also being programmed to take on labor-intensive jobs that no one else wants to take on, from pruning and de-suckering (removing unproductive young shoots) to recording important data on the soil, fruit and vine stocks. In an AFP-produced video, winemaker Claire Gazeau-Montrasi expressed an interest in the machine, which could help understaffed vineyards.
"I think it could be a bonus to have a little robot who does the boring jobs for us," she said. French vineyards look to robots as new source of manual labor. Robots are no strangers to jobs in manufacturing, but in France they may soon expand into the wine business.
As the AFP reports, a new robot (known as Wall-Ye) has been designed specifically to help winemakers with its ability to prune vines — in fact, its creators say that it can prune up to 600 each day. And for vineyards, the machine has more to offer than just manual labor, as Wall-Ye also has the added ability to record data on plants and soil using six built-in cameras. It also includes a GPS and gyroscope that serve as a security feature, so that the robot knows when it's not where it should be.
"If that happens, the hard-drive self-destructs and the robot sends a message to the winegrower: 'Help! '" says creator Christophe Millot. Wall-Ye Robot Is In Your Vineyard, Prunin' Your Vines. Ah, booze.
The only thing it's (generally) missing is the sweet and vaguely servo-y taste of robotics. A little robot named Wall-Ye is trying to get involved in the process from the ground up by helping out in vineyards in France, meaning that we'll get to add "robotolicious" to the official list of wine descriptors. Here's some video of Wall-Ye in action: I don't think any robot without tank treads and a binocular head really deserves to be named after Wall-E (who you can still vote for to be inducted into the RHoF, by the way), but Wall-Ye is sort of charming I guess.
Wine Robots! Breaking Wine News! “F’in Merlot!” Toast To Your Movie Health! « johnrieber. “Wine is sunlight, held together by water.”
Did you know that this is a picture of eternal life? A LOT OF ETERNAL LIFE? Toast, It’s Good For You! We all know that a glass of red wine every day tastes great, but science has shown that it’s a great way to maintain a healthy heart. Did you know the other benefits of a glass of wine? There are so many great things to share about wine, including this story about a robot that can help pick grapes! This Little Robot Will Help Make the Wine You Swill.