Wine : drones could save viticulture and vines

Drones – Optimus Prime, aid to winegrowers is getting higher

Optimus Prime against vine curling

The vines need to be jostled a little to give good clusters. Too much water is detrimental to the quality of the grapes and promotes the growth of diseases. A moderate water deficit is a crucial issue for the winegrower.

This aerial view of a vineyard is a prime example of what Optimus Prime can analyze. Areas in yellow are super healthy vines with high chlorophyll levels. The purple / pink represents the vines in water deficit and which release little chlorophyll. Finally, the blue between the lines represents the land in water saturation. If you have followed the grape on the right of the photo will be of better quality to produce wine than the one on the left.

Drones – Stan, the ground agent

This machine is still only a prototype, but it seems very promising for the future of the winegrower's profession

Stan mature analyst

This is what Stan sees when he looks at a bunch of grapes. The color is used to determine the thickness of the skin and the maturity of the grape. With this information, the winegrower will be able to know the maturity rate of his entire vineyard. So, rather than picking the grapes in small areas, he can wait until the vineyard has reached maturity, uniform quality and quantity.

The next robot will be able to fight mealybugs

Mealybugs are insects that feed on plant sap and cause vines to weaken. They are also carriers of the vine leaf roll virus and the vine virus A. It is therefore essential to eliminate these insects to avoid contamination and impoverishment of the vineyard. Today, winegrowers have no other choice but to sulphate pesticides that attack the nervous system of mealybugs. This technique, although very effective, to unwanted effects. It has been shown that a beehive has 94 % chance of dying if a bee carries the insecticide even at low doses. Researchers are currently developing a robot to strategically treat areas affected by mealybugs and thus limit the impact of pesticides on the environment.

The opinion of fine wines on drones

T-800 in Terminator 3

You understand, vineyard robots can play a big role and provide invaluable help against the various problems encountered by winegrowers. This technological development should lead to an optimization of production that can guarantee both quality and quantity.. These inventions can be adapted to other types of farms and perhaps feed the whole world. Second possibility, they will turn into ferocious robots ready to annihilate the human species. — I have to stop watching science fiction movies —

Jean-Nicolas Mouretin