Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/705606
w w w. v w m m e d i a . c o m J u l y - A u g 2 016 | V I N E YA R D & W I N E RY M A N A G E M E N T 5 5 from apple harvesting robots that can carry bins of fruit weighing half a ton, to grapevine pruning rovers that make surgical cuts, several breeds of agricultural robots designed spe- cifically for use in the vineyard are preparing to make their commercial debut in the near future. While each area of agriculture presents its own challenges, for example, apple trees must be dra- matically modified (downsized and espaliered) for optimal mechanical picking, vineyards that have been intentionally developed for mechan- ical harvesting are already well suit- ed to robotic monitoring, spraying, mowing and pruning. One such application is the driv- erless tractor currently being field tested in California vineyards by Mendon, Utah-based Autonomous Solutions, Inc. (ASI). The compa- ny operates in several industries including mining and automotive, where the technology automates vineyard tasks, researchers uni- v e r s a l l y r e p l i e d , " t h e g r o w i n g shortage of labor." And while it's a fact that some jobs will be lost to robots, the belief is that they'll create far more interesting jobs for people. "Until now, the cost of the robots had been a wash with labor rates, but the minimum wage hike has spurred investment," says Bret Wallach, CEO of San Diego- based Vision Robotics. The com- pany has been working with Lodi, Calif., producers Vino Farms and Lange Twins, as well as Napa Val- ley's Trinchero Family Estates and Beringer, who describe pruning as their "pain point" to develop a robot that can spur prune bilateral cordon grapevines at the rate of one second per cut. Vision Robotics' over-row pruner is equipped with multiple sets of cameras that model a three-dimen- sional image of the vine well ahead repetitive tasks like durability test- ing for Ford vehicles. "Sensors are the largest cost-driver in an autono- mous system," says Matt Nielsen, marketing director at ASI. "Now that accuracy is improving and sensor prices are dropping, return on investment will help speed the adoption of robotics in farming industries." Labor is an evergreen topic in California where, in an increasingly tight labor market, fragile crops like raspberries can take prece- dence over other high-value crops like peaches and wine grapes. Advances in mechanical harvest- ing, destemming and sorting tech- nologies have given winegrowers more control during harvest, but vineyards still require year-round maintenance that relies on skillfully trained human hands. When asked what motivated them to develop an autonomous robot that could tackle labor-intensive