eMAPs

With DeVines, the eMAPs project has developed an innovative solution which will offer a gain in efficiency and precision to manage vineyards with ease. The solution is based on the highly-accurate eMAPs GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite) receiver. It has been tested on vineyards in France and offers wine professionals the opportunity to integrate technology into the heart of their management.

Higher accuracy and availability of GNSS – receivers (Global Navigation Satellite System receivers) are key, to enhancing current navigation systems. Tackling this need for innovative new technologies, the eMAPs project has developed an enhanced GNSS receiver, which is using Galileo satellite data to develop a platform for various solutions in smart mobility and fleet management.

Challenges in modern viticulture

Based on the eMAPs GNSS receiver, the DeVines solution gives wine professionals the opportunity to integrate technology into the heart of their management. The main mission of DeVines is, on the one hand, to provide data relating to the growth of the vines and to map the anomalies present in the plots. This service also makes it possible to optimize the management of the operation by allowing communication between employees and managers.

DeVines helps to solve several challenges within everyday winemaking: On the one hand, several managerial challenges will be met. The human eye can be very efficient at detecting anomalies in vineyards, however, recording, locating and treating them remain one of the biggest challenges for winegrowers this day. The solution will help keep an overview of these challenges.

On the other hand, economic challenges will be met. In order to save time, the monitoring of grape maturity in vineyards is assessed randomly and only partially. Because of multiple disparities in the vineyard, this method is imprecise. A total evolution and monitoring over time would be incompatible from an economic point of view – DeVines offers an effective solution to these challenges.

Finally, DeVines helps to meet current and pressing environmental challenges. Global warming has had a profound impact on viticulture and will continue to do so in the future. Water shortages, evolving diseases and unfavourable temperatures are some of the problems emerging from climate change and, ultimately, this endangers the health and quality of the grapes. DeVines will provide data and analytics, to help use available resources effectively.

Advantages of the DeVines solution

A continuous tracking of the growth of the vineyard´s grapes and the detection of vineyard anomalies will help to establish a leaner vineyard management system. Qualitative and quantitative data will be continuously gathered from multiple sources and sensors, helping to track a variety of KPIs such as the number of grapes per plant, the grapes and plants’ growth, the leaf density and missing plants. The smartphone application provides an interface for real-time communication between managers, employees and contractors across the vineyard. The application allows users to manually record the geolocation of any anomalies they observe. Flagged anomalies are then pictured, timestamped and geotagged, so that managers can visualize them in a matter of seconds.

Eventually, the DeVines solution helps vineyard owners to better plan their day (by allocating tasks to employees on a regular basis), to monitor all activities in the vineyard and to analyse all ongoing developments in the vineyard. Further advancements will be made to it, as currently it is being tested by vineyard owners and will then be made available to all interested customers.

Links

eMAPs Projectwebsite: https://www.emaps.eu/

DeVines Infosite: https://www.emaps.eu/devines/

Keywords

Viticulture, Vineyard management, wine growing; Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS), Galileo, disruptive Localisation Based Service (LBS)