Discover Enkronos Apps: FeelGrid Smart Vineyards

Digital Technologies For Monitoring And Management Of The Vineyards

The wine market is characterized by an ever-increasing competition that requires increasing quality standards also in the management of the vineyards. This change call for a transformation also in the technology of production.

As the demand for sustainable quality increases the producers have growing needs on the subject of greater efficiency, improvement of production times and containment of costs.

Without the help of innovative technology it becomes more and more difficult to keep up with the challenges imposed by the growing level of competition in global markets.

Problem

Till now it was impossible to predict Wide Area physical scenarios and creating consequential automatic actions.

There were technological limitations on monitoring physical attributes. The problem was a lack of standards, connectivity and high cost of hardware.

Solution

FeelGrid is a digital platform that allows you to design and manage IoT-based monitoring, forecasts and actions in large geographical areas (such as vineyards, cities, urban, agricultural, industrial areas etc.).

FeelGrid has been released in its first version on 05.05.2017 and will be avalaible on Enkronos Apps on 30.11.2018.

It allows the gathering of data in time and space enabling thus their scientific analysis. The results of analysis translates directly into a benefit for end users, which in vineyards case can be wine growers as much as winemakers-enologists.

FeelGrid creates a personalized environment for specific needs. It offers real time data presented through a customer dedicated control panel.

An example of application is given by the measures required for the management of vineyards, which we are using in areas of Goriška Brda. Readings of temperature and humidity in the air and ground or values of leaf wetness, sunlight, rain and other data can help to better manage the production process of winegrowing. How to, for example, optimize treatments and irrigation only on the basis of the actual need of plants, monitored in real time, remotely and comfortably visible from a PC or smartphone via internet.

Here you can see what a client of ours thinks of FeelGrid:

What is FeelGrid

FeelGrid enables the realization of Projects of Measurements with the Internet of Things (IoT) technology for the wine sector.

The architecture design of FeelGrid involves the use of an open architecture IoT network, which allows the detection of sensor measurements for values that are to be monitored over time and on several points of measurement located in the area of interest.

The new transmission network technologies enables devices to connect to Internet through equipment without using 3G or WiFi. In particular, LoRaWAN (LoRa) technology requires small batteries and acts at long range with little bandwidth. Because the range is very high and the cost of equipment is low it is possible to cover large areas or entire cities with a limited investment.

What FeelGrid measures

Thanks to a trial period of one year we have created a assortment of measuring node devices equipped with sensors that measure any needed value in the wine sector, such as:

• Air temperature
• Relative humidity of the air
• Rainfall
• Leaf wetness — both sides
• Wind speed and direction
• Lighting
• Air pressure
• Soil temperature (on 2 levels of depth)
• Soil moisture (on 2 levels of depth)

FeelGrid protects plants

Thanks to the data collected by FeelGrid it will be possible to control a vast variety of diseases that can affect the vineyard:

• Vine Diseases — impact on growth: Variety, substrate, position, microclimatic conditions, ampelotechnical procedures, phenological phase
• Peronospora of the vine (Plasmopara viticola Berl. & De Toni):
• air temperature, precipitation, leaf wetness: primary infection + relative humidity: Secondary infection
• Oidium of the vine (Erysiphe necator Schwein):
• temperature, relative air humidity, wind speed, precipitation (primary infection!)
• Other diseases:
• gray mold (botrytis), grape black rot

Plus of FeelGrid

FeelGrid measures, compares and facilitates:

• Record the microclimatic elements (data)
• Compare models and parameters of disease development stage
• Determine the treatment

FeelGrid also allows to rise the grapes quality.

This happens thanks to the measurement of:

• Lighting and solar radiation in green parts (parts of the leaf and grape area)
• Soil temperature and humidity (start of growth, agro-ampelotechnical procedures and irrigation)

FeelGrid reduces your costs and protects the environment!

• Facilitate your decision for treatment
• It allows you to make more precise distribution of treatments (with notifications!)
• It permits you to postpone treatment (you will do less treatments)
• Lower the costs (every treatment is a cost!)
• It supports you for a better protection of the environment

Over time the advantages of FeelGrid increase because:

• Records measured data over time (creating the database)
• Increase its accuracy over time thanks to more data
• It will allow greater inclusion of growth phases (phenological)
• Enables registration of data tracking (also for legal and quality purposes)

Nodes and measurement Sensors

Based on individual needs, specific sensors are identified to measure determinate physical values. Their number will depend on confined economic considerations, as with one gateway it will be possible to support up to 10,000 devices connected to transmission nodes within a visible radius of 10 km from it (in particular conditions it can even reach up to 15–20 km).

Example of sensors and detections:

• Soil moisture sensor
• Soil temperature sensor
• Air humidity sensor
• Solar light sensor
• Measurement sensor mm of rain
• Leaf wetness sensor

FeelGrid monitors the operating status of the sensors in order to facilitate the maintenance of the sensors and verify their correct functionality and eventually provide for their adjustment or replacement.

Each measuring point will therefore require the installation of 1 Transmission MotherBoard and all sensors that are to be connected. If you want to install multiple measurement points in a certain area you will have to multiply these “nodes”.

Types of measurement nodes

According to specific needs we will define the different types of measurement nodes.

Artificial Intelligence

The goal of FeelGrid is not only to manage that data, but to give that data life! Through different AI modules each data type will be presented differently and give exact business logic to the owners of each FeelGrid. Building complex sensor layouts for your winery or creating a grid of air monitoring throughout an entire city will be as simple as drag and dropping sensors on top of a map.

For more info you can visit www.feelgrid.com.

Enkronos Marketing Team