Home. CMU researchers dive into agricultural innovation | Pittsburgh Business Times. Debadeepta Dey, a doctoral student at Carnegie Mellon University, collects data at the Cornell University Lake Erie Research and Extension Laboratory. A group of collaborators are working on the use of robotic intelligence in grape growing. A group of researchers at Carnegie Mellon University is looking to revolutionize one of the most basic elements of civilization.
Work is under way on projects aimed at bringing robotics to agriculture. One project in particular, which would introduce robotic smarts into the $3 billion domestic grape industry, is just kicking off. The work isn’t designed to bring robo-pickers into the vineyard. Instead, it’s aimed at using high-tech imaging to accurately estimate crop yield and canopy. “This is fundamental to our existence. Grape estimates are carried out in a labor intensive and inefficient manner that also can be destructive to the vines, the researchers say. Chilean technology to revolutionise winemaking. Chilean winemakers are using radical new technology to revolutionise the country’s wine trade. A group of winemakers was presented with the inventions last month at a seminar sponsored by Chile’s largest wine association, Vinas de Chile. At least ten Chilean companies are preparing to use a new software program called Maya, developed by Santiago firm Ingenium.
Maya is based on the Normalised Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) which uses NASA technology to compare vegetation and is already in use by winegrowers in South Africa, California and elsewhere. Ingenium says Maya goes beyond the NDVI by combining it with rigorous ground measurements, historical data and weather information to provide a comprehensive analysis of grapes and their growth trends. ‘Chilean vintners already have the most advanced technologies in their bodegas, but technology is still lacking in the countryside,’ said Ingenium’s business manager Juan Francisco Martin.
Wireless Sensing at Camalie Vineyards. A Tale of Two Vineyards - Case Study 2008 Growing Season A shared Camalie Networks soil moisture sensing network which spanned two independently managed vineyards separated by about a half mile was used to manage irrigation in these vineyards in 2008. . The results show two very different irrigation paradigms being used and numerous unexpected learnings which directly affected irrigation decisions. Having visibility into the status of moisture in the soil changes irrigation decision making fundamentally.
Wines and Vines published a great article, Wireless Network Monitors H2O about our success in using wireless soil moisture sensing in 2007 written by Tom Ulrich. Paper presented at ASEV 6/19/08. Soil Moisture Correlation to leaf water potentials Camalie vineyards currently has one of the most advanced soil moisture monitoring systems in operation in U.S. agriculture today. Grape quality without sacrificing yield. Chronology of Progress: Wines and Vines Article published 7/2008 Mt. Wi-Fi in the vineyards | San Francisco Business Times. A sensor with an internal antenna at work in a vineyard. Sensor and Wi-Fi technologies are putting more science into the art of vineyard management, a business known for clinging to traditional methods. Grape Networks Inc. of San Ramon announced June 6 what it believes is the largest wireless sensor network for agriculture, consisting of 200 sensors spread over 50 acres in the Central Valley.
Livermore's Wente Vineyards has been working with sensors that attach to the leaf of plants to test for stress, as well as with other probes. And several companies are developing new sensing devices, including Wine Technology Marlborough, of Marlborough, New Zealand, whose experimental fermentation probe may be coming to California wineries soon. The need for sensors is great. Mildew, frost and other conditions can wreak havoc on a vineyard overnight, which makes monitoring a necessity. The networks have two main advantages, says Grape Networks co-founder and CEO, Peter Tsepeleff.