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Bugged?
"Vines are guarded by pest sensors - sophisticated microphones backed up by powerful analytical software which can distinguish the species and even the gender of a visiting insect from the patern of its wing beats"
[This comes from a fascinating story and I'm just sorry the good folk at Accenture declined our invitation to come to Doors 9 to tell it. In fact, they didn't even even reply to our several emails. Perhaps the company's spam filter had not been calibrated to recognise Doors as a friendly bug...] Anyway, the story continues:
"Every small variation of heat, soil, sunlight, and moisture affects the grapes and the flavour. The 30 acre Pickberry Vineyard home to a large network of wireless sensors, installed in 2003 as a pilot project by Accenture Technology Labs. Over 100 sensors measure humidity, soil and ambient temperature, and moisture levels in soil and air.
"Vines are guarded by pest sensors (bugged?) - sophisticated microphones backed up by powerful analytical software which can distinguish the species and even the gender of a visiting insect from the patern of its wing beats.
"These sensors are connected wirelessly to 30 small computers called motes. 'Having access to all this data has taken some of the trial and error out of viticulture: things that would take them two or three years now take them two or three months', says Mr Khan."
"The proliferation of sensors is part of a technological phenomenon that Accenture calls Sensor Telemetry, which refers to the use of sensor technologies and two way wireless communications to gather intelligence from products, people and places, and transform it into 'value-added business insight'.
" The Remote Sensor Network provides Pickberry with the ability to:
-Make calculated decisions-almost vine-by-vine-thanks to the granular level of the data obtained in near real time. For example, Pickberry can use the data to adjust watering schedules for a specific area.
-Combine vineyard data with other data sources. This enables Pickberry to manage operations and resources, such as water usage, more scientifically. Live data on soil moisture and air humidity can be correlated with weather forecast data to match estimated water demand with well supply.
-Detect potentially devastating events such as frost, disease and pests early on. Armed with insight provided from sensor applications, Pickberry can take immediate action. These capabilities lead to more effective crop management, lowering costs while raising product quality".
Posted by John Thackara at February 4, 2007 05:37 PM
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