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 7 of two robotic pruning shears. "This holistic approach enables the sys- tem to apply whatever pruning rules an operator desires," says Wallach. Vision Robotics has an orange picker, lettuce thinner and a blue- berry harvester that minimizes damage to the fruit already in pro- duction but, according to Wallach, in the past, wine grape grow- ers have been reluctant to fund research and development at a pri- vate company. "We have about 18 months of fully funded work ahead of us to bring the pruner to mar- ket," he says. BIGGER ISN'T ALWAYS BETTER Pruning is just one of many tasks being delegated to the agbots. In addition to labor costs, wine grow- ers in St. Emillion, France, are faced with a host of concerns and legal actions around chemical inputs in the vineyard and their impact on public health and the environment. Enter the Vitirover, a vineyard mower robot invented by Xavier David Beaulieu (owner with his brother, Alain, of Chateau Coutet in St. Emilion), and developed by Vitirover, of which Arnaud de la Fouchardière is CEO and Beaulieu technical director. After four generations of pro- totypes, the unassuming Vitirover made its debut during the 2016 Bordeaux en primeur tastings at the heels of Bernard Magrez, owner of four classified growths of Bordeaux including the 13th century Château Pape Clément and some 50 estates worldwide. The compact, solar-powered rover, which weighs just 44 pounds and covers 200 meters (218.7 yards) per hour, is designed to man- age the grass in a 2-hectare (4.9 acre) plot. "It's a paradigm shift brought about by the huge discrep- ancy between the fragile nature of the vine and the brutality of the traditional machines {tractors and such]," says de la Fouchardière, who cites that growers can hurt or cut up to 2% of their vine stock due to plowing. Guided by a set of sensors, Vitirover uses three small mowing heads that can cut grass within 2 cm (0.8 in) from the base of the vine. The rover, which is controlled remotely through a smartphone application, works autonomously within an area bounded by GPS coordinates. "It requires zero train- ing. In two clicks, you can operate the bot," says de la Fouchardière, who makes it clear that the compa- ny doesn't sell robots. "Producers can subscribe to the service they want — in this case, the grass man- agement of their vine plots." He estimates the cost of managing 2 hectares of grass using the rover to run €900 ($1,026) annually. Cover crop management is the first of several tasks corresponding to several tools that can be plugged on the robot. The company has also designed other tasks for Vitirover, from mapping weather, identify- ing pests and estimating yields to applying pheromones and precision Xavier David Beaulieu and Arnaud de la Fouchardière raise a glass to Vitirover in St. Emillion, France. [Photo by Pierre de Ferluc] Letina tanks, sanitary valves and fittings. St. Patrick's of Texas • StPats.com 50,000 square feet of Stainless Steel