The Yield Technology Solutions has partnered with Yamaha Motor Company to trial autonomous crop spraying robots at Treasury Wine Estates (TWE).
The trial will commence in TWE vineyards in Australia later this year and the West Coast of the U.S. from early next year. The field tests aim to bring together Yamaha’s robotic platform with The Yield’s microclimate, software, analytics, and AI platform.
According to the collaboration, the trial aims to improve harvest prediction accuracy by gathering growth stage data through visual data collection. It also looks to test and develop emerging autonomous spray robot technology.
Furthermore, the project will work to optimise spray effectiveness by integrating weather data and spray guidelines to maximise autonomous spray efficiency.
Greg Pearce, general manager company vineyards of Treasury Wine Estates, said: “As custodian of some of the world’s most iconic wine brands and with a large global agricultural footprint, TWE is committed to taking an integrated approach to sustainability to manage risks and make the most of new, emerging opportunities
“TWE is focused on cultivating a brighter future for everyone who touches our business and products, and this includes investing in new technology and innovations to adapt to the climate trends impacting our business.
“TWE is proud of our ongoing partnership with The Yield to improve the predictability of weather and climate, crop yield, harvest timing and fruit grading – all critical drivers of wine quality. This latest industry-leading collaboration brings together our viticulture and winemaking expertise with world class robotics and automation to enable us to better predict optimal harvest opportunities and efficiently irrigate our vineyards.”
During the 18-month R&D project, The Yield and Yamaha will negotiate commercial arrangements to bring a joint solution for intensive irrigated crops to international markets in early 2022.
Jim Aota, CEO of Yamaha Motor Ventures & Laboratory Silicon Valley, said: “We are excited to be working with a world-leading analytics business like The Yield.
“We see this symbiotic relationship between analytics and robotics as the future for intensive irrigated crops. It is advantageous for customers and better for the environment.”
