Final Report Summary - VINTAGE (A user friendly Decision Support System for an integrated vineyard management, for addressing quality and quantity production variability optimising the use of resources)
Executive Summary:
The main goal of VINTAGE project is to fine tune wine production within the vineyard, abating seasonal variability issues with the application of information technologies, maximizing the oenological potential of the vineyards and providing the vine-growers with continuous up-to-date information through user friendly web and mobile interfaces and an advanced solution for the decisional support (DSS).
The VINTAGE DSS is a decision support system designed and implemented to satisfy vineyard monitoring and management needs of vine growers associations, allowing each user to benefit from timely and accurate information and suggestions, without disrupting the historically consolidated agronomical traditions and practices. To this scope, the system run data collected by local wireless monitoring stations (WMS), remote sensing data, field data provided by users, and weather forecasts.
In this context, mathematical modelling plays a central role in the VINTAGE system and regards mainly solar radiation, temperature and precipitation data interpolation over complex terrain, plant development and growth, soil moisture status, grape quality assessment and disease risk. Data and models output are then used by an artificial intelligence component to derive specific advice to growers. Indeed, the VINTAGE system is interactively accessed by means of a fully geographical web interface and a lighter mobile one.
The VINTAGE system was designed and implemented by a European consortium including researchers and engineers from Italy (Labor, Arpa, Mavigex), France (Université de Bourgogne, Inra) and Austria (TU Wien). Moreover, four pilot areas were set up during the project, in cooperation with the local vine growers associations involved: in Italy (Vignaioli Piemontesi), France (BIVB), Spain (Rioja) and Portugal (Andovi). In these pilots area, WMS were installed and tested, and local field data were collected to calibrate and test the different version of VINTAGE system prototypes implemented.
The users requirements and needs were collected and analysed with specific interviews to base on them system and interface design, whilst prototypes were successively proposed for usability test and analysis, before the implementation of the final VINTAGE HMI (human machine interface).
The VINTAGE HMI shows for each pilot area the geographical representation of vineyards, location and data from the WMS, three-days local weather forecasts and includes a large number of products from models and DSS. It also allows users to draw, characterize and save new vineyards, and to fill the field book, providing important feedback to the VINTAGE system. Indeed, the mobile interface allows the users to load data from the field taking advantage of the mobile GPS for localization.
Products available from the web VINTAGE HMI can be grouped in the following categories: localized prescriptions from the DSS, weather data and forecasts, remote sensing data (surface moisture and vegetation index), soil conditions (moisture profile and temperature), and vine status variables (phenology, leaf area and grape growth), disease risk from WMS and models (powdry and downy mildew), system configuration and management tools.
In 2015 the system entered its operational phase, managed by the mentioned associations together with Gaiag, an Italian start-up company charged with running the system and expanding the market use of VINTAGE.
Project Context and Objectives:
4.1.2.1 Project Context
The VINTAGE project was conceived on the assumption that “Wine is a cultural and economic asset for Europe and, therefore, a product upon which European countries have built their own fortunes”. However, in recent years, New World producers (mostly South Africa, Australia and South America) had been taking advantage of several compelling market trends, attacking the European leadership in this sector: the consumers are reported to perceive price/quality ratio as too high for European wines. Hence, European vine-growers need increasing support from technology to face the challenges from the global market and, therefore, have focused their interest towards the application of precision viticulture technologies in order to re-gain a pivotal role at international level.
Not only global market competition but also global climate change is currently putting a strain on wine production in Europe. Climate change in the Euro-Mediterranean region, where most of European wine is produced, manifests itself not only with rising temperatures and lower summer precipitation, but also through an enhanced variability of weather patterns that puts many traditional management concepts on hold. Plant phenology and growth, grape quality and sugar content, harvest management and timing, disease risk, all these aspects are changing fast and traditional calendars are more and more being challenged.
In this context, precision viticulture is one of the systems to be adopted to adapt European agriculture, and more specifically viticulture, to these new constraints and challenges. Local monitoring with automated and wireless stations and sensors, remote sensing from space and drones, crop phenology and growth modelling, interactive web tools, geographical information systems are examples of technologies to be implemented to face the new wine growing situation. Of course users should not be bothered with excessive technicalities, and difficult interfaces, so a deep understanding of their needs is essential to design and implement simple but powerful support tools like the one envisaged and carried out with the VINTAGE project.
With this context in mind, four relevant European Associations of wine producers - Vignaioli Piemontesi (Italy), Grupo De Empresas Vinícolas De Rioja (Spain), Bureau Interprofessionnel des Vins de Bourgogne (France) and Associacao Nacional das Denominações de Origem Vitivinícolas (Portugal) - have decided to endorse the VINTAGE project in order to support their associates for increasing their competitiveness. In fact, the project aims at providing final users with a low cost and easy to use web based integrated management solution in order to support wine producers throughout the vineyard life cycle (from planting to harvesting), to improve their productivity as well as to optimise the use of resources (irrigation water, fertilizers, pesticides, manpower).
4.1.2.2 Project Objectives
In this vision, VINTAGE project makes available to the Associations and SMEs involved an innovative management platform (including both SW and HW components) able to provide novel precision viticulture services to their associated members and to new customers.
In order to fulfil the application needs expressed by the users, the VINTAGE system was conceived and developed on the basis of the following modules:
1. Local monitoring
An accurate, precise and continuous monitoring of the grape environment is an issue in precision viticulture. This implies the identification of the most important forcing variables, as well as the design of a reliable and affordable monitoring system.
Weather and soil are the most relevant environmental factors affecting grape development and growth. In particular, air temperature and radiation controls the phenology and the photosynthesis, respectively; knowing humidity and leaf wetness is essential for the risk of diseases; wind intensity affects evapotranspiration; precipitation represents the main water input in the soil, and soil humidity is the major water reservoir for the plant.
These environmental variables could be used as they are in a Decision Support System, but mainly they should feed agrometeorological simulation models. A sufficiently dense network is needed to monitor these variables outside and inside the vineyards. The aim of this monitoring network (WMSs network) is to reproduce the weather, soil spatial and temporal variability. In each pilot area, a specific network was deployed, taking into account the land characteristics.
2. Real time vineyard modelling and state assessment
Vineyards are typically located in hilly areas, characterised by a complex topography that deeply influences the spatial variability of weather variables. Therefore, a detailed spatialization of these variables is required to a reliable computation of the grapevine growth and development, soil water availability and disease risks. Several algorithms are available to take into account the topography of the area (elevation, slope, aspect, shadowing) in the spatialization of key variables as solar irradiance, air temperature and relative humidity. Using a high resolution Digital Elevation Model (DEM), as the new NASA SRTM at 1-arc second resolution, very detailed output maps could be produced.
Also the soil-water model has to provide high resolution information on the soil moisture and water availability; therefore, we used Criteria3D model, that solves the equations of water transport on surface and within the soil in a 3D domain and is fully coupled with the plant transpiration and soil evaporation. The phenology model has to compute the plant development during both dormancy and growing season, while the plant growth model has to estimate the biomass accumulation, the water uptake, the wine yield and berry sugar content. Plant growth in VINTAGE is computed by simulating the photosynthetic process at hourly time step, specifically the carbon assimilation is determined through the Farquhar photosynthesis model, with a procedure which computes stomatal conductance too. The plant growth and soil-water models have to be able to change their state in case of field operations carried out by users and recorded in the VINTAGE field book, as irrigations, green pruning or cluster thinning.
A new model for assessing the berry sugar content from cumulated heat units and assimilated solar radiation has been developed; its calibration was possible thanks to the availability of the high resolution maps of air temperature and solar irradiance. Finally, the risk related to the main grapevine diseases (downy and powdery mildew) has to be estimated with great accuracy both in time and space, in order to optimize the phytosanitary operations. This is achieved by using state-of-the-art pest models, forced by high resolution weather maps.
3. Geographical access to information and data
Presenting data in visual format is much more direct and effective with respect to numerical format. Being ease-of-use and providing a satisfactory experience to no-expert users, two objectives of the VINTAGE system, having a geographic representation of information and data was a straightforward choice for the VINTAGE system and HMI. This was realized through the insertion into the system architecture of a Geographic Information System (GIS) server, able to process and store geographic data in an optimized fashion.
4. HMI design and implementation based on user needs
The Human Machine Interface (HMI) is the VINTAGE system component that allows the users to interact with all system sub-modules. It is thus of primary importance to present the users with an easy-to-use, custom interface that is specifically tailored to their usage needs.
Users have been at the center of the whole design process of the VINTAGE HMI, starting from usage scenario identification and requirement collection and analysis. Design and development followed a user centric approach and specific usability guidelines/heuristics.
In general, a heuristic is a guideline or a general principle that is conceived to drive the design activity and to assess the performed design choices. In particular, an overall approach entailing five subsequent steps (planes) has been followed, continuously and progressively involving all system stakeholders through both questionnaires and hands-on sessions with early and advanced HMI prototypes.
With specific references to dedicated user sessions, the physical sessions have been carried out with specific focus on usability and acceptance in France, Italy, and Spain pilots, with users belonging to the SME associations participating to the VINTAGE project. In this context, the user acceptance was evaluated as a confirmation that the results of the VINTAGE project activities are both relevant and on-target with the users’ needs, paving the way for the following industrialization and the future commercial exploitation of the system.
5. Feedback from the growers
User feedback on the performed vineyard interventions and actions is of primary importance to ensure that the output of agro-weather models and the decision support system are aligned to the actual current status of the vineyard.
The VINTAGE HMI provides a specific insertion form for the users in order to input the type of performed action and its magnitude. A wide number of actions can be inserted relevant to the different phonological phases of plants.
The diary of the past inserted actions is visualized in a specific section of the interface, allowing the users to easily keep track of the performed interventions.
6. DSS and Prescriptions
By using the knowledge of fully-experienced experts, coded in form of a set of rules, an ontology-based artificial intelligence subsystem (DSS Engine) is in charge of integrating indices and estimations computed starting from satellite data, models and data coming from Wireless Monitoring Stations (WMS) in order to help users to take decisions. Indeed, hints and suggestions based on a large set of data, evidences, observations and best practice are provided to domain experts (e.g. agronomists) and final users (e.g. grape growers, winemakers, etc.). To his scope, three kind of key-information are generated:
✓ what is suggested/recommended to do;
✓ list of facts that justify the suggestion (data, observations etc.);
✓ knowledge rules involved.
The Decision Support System (DSS) as a whole provides all the information needed by the user, such as weather forecast, vegetative status, infection risks. The DSS-Engine has been studied for offering even something more: to take the right decision, the farmer should be a true expert and, what is worst, should spend a lot of time analyzing every day almost all the DSS's data. However, the DSS-Engine has been conceived to accomplish exactly this role (and even something more) for the farmer, providing him/her with its "pills of wise" every day, simple but powerful targeted advices.
During its development, the DSS has been assessed by users, whose feedbacks have been used for the identification of the improvements and re-design activities needed to realise the final system.
Many DSS exist in grapevine and wine industry for vineyard management. The specificities of VINTAGE, which, to our knowledge, are innovative features not provided so far in agriculture, lie in the integration of the following services related to the DSS:
• A wide set of recommendations, covering almost all of the major aspects of vineyard yearly management, i.e.: plant disease management, winter and summer pruning, irrigation, soil management, yield management, grape ripening follow up and harvest date.
• Decision support is provided at the subplot spatial level, which allows the grape-grower to apply a differential management of each plot. Traditionally, most of the grapevine management operations are performed at the same period considering the vineyard as a whole. VINTAGE offers the possibility to limit interventions only where they are needed, providing therefore time, financial and environmental benefits
• The VINTAGE system models integrate the feedback of each interventions performed by the grape-growers and the accounts therefore for the past actions prior to further advices. In addition, the field diary facilitates a differential management of each plot for the grape-grower, as a track of each operation is kept within the system and remains available through the VINTAGE HMI.
The development of precision viticulture is made difficult because of the complexity brought by the separation of field intervention in space and time within the vineyard. VINTAGE, by integrating precise advices, field interventions feedback and a vineyard management diary, responds to this major challenge, and aims at allowing a more precise and relevant vineyard management.
Project Results:
4.1.3.1 Project pilots
The VINTAGE system required an operational testing in commercial vineyards to both provide a demonstration to grape-growers of the whole set of features available in the system, through the Human Machine Interface, and to assess the relevance of the VINTAGE system as a whole for integrated vineyard management via its decision support system. This testing was led in four commercial vineyards called “pilots”, with the aim to:
➢ evaluate different deployment efforts and the relative efficiency of VINTAGE hardware, software and their integration though “real-world” test-drives;
➢ assess the quality of VINTAGE plant and soil models, by comparing their spatialized outputs over the pilots area to UAV, satellite and field observations;
➢ test the relevance of the DSS recommendations to end-users, via ex-post comparisons of VINTAGE simulated actions to grape-growers actual vineyard operations;
➢ offer demonstrations to local grape-growers and consultants of the VINTAGE system.
The major interests of the grape-growers (or other potential end users) in VINTAGE features are likely to differ depending on the soil, climate and socio-economical context of the region. Therefore, four pilots were selected in remote grape growing regions, with different environment and productions modes, as well as equipped with Weather Monitoring Stations, geographic and agronomic data (Digital Terrain Model, vineyard geodatabase, agronomical characteristics) and monitored (field observation and grape growers survey) in Italy, France, Spain and Portugal.
(Refer to the Section 4.1.3.1 of the pdf file for more details about the project pilots).
4.1.3.2 Wireless Monitoring Stations
Overview and main achievements
The technical activities concerning WMS (Wireless Monitoring Stations) have been carried out focusing on modularity and smartness criteria, in order to make possible to use a single electronics (VUB – Vintage Universal Board) as well as single mechanical methods for every pilot.
The electronic core is the VUB, namely a PCB (Printed Circuit Board) conceived and designed in order to fulfill the several needs, first of all the possibility to manage the different configuration options (Main and Local stations). Each typology allows to interface a set of sensors, therefore different circuital parts, such as integrated circuits and custom blocks, devoted to special measurements. Here are some among the most notable VUB’s features, developed and implemented throughout the project lifetime:
✓ Sensors interface
✓ RTC sync, on-board battery
✓ Remote reprogramming
✓ EEprom storage
✓ USB connection
✓ Smart remote reset
✓ Web service data interface
The WMSs are agro-weather stations. They, relying on a flexible setup, can assume several shapes, according to the local measurement needs. It is an important achievement for the agro-weather field, because final users, by means of such architecture, are now able to optimize costs as well as overall system’s reliability. In fact, it is possible to use a single electronic board for all the expected typologies, simply mounting the needed components and leaving empty the remaining footprints. Also the firmware is modular, since a single programming packet is needed for every station: users can remotely assign the station typology, so that the station automatically runs the portion of code related to the wanted typology.
Alongside this, the mechanical mounting solutions are modular and easy to implement: we have constantly taken into account ease of installation, under both a mechanical and electronic point of view. We have two fundamental kinds of WMS, in turn composed of further sub-types of stations.
Main stations: a landmark for agro-weather variables, supplying data for model calculations:
• Main Meteo: air temperature and humidity, wind speed and direction, atmospheric pressure, solar radiation, precipitation (Fontanafredda, Rioja).
• Main Agro: soil profile, involving three or more volumetric sensors: soil water content (to be calculated through apparent dielectric permittivity), soil temperature, soil salinity (to be calculated through electrical conductivity).
• Main Meteo-Agro: an integration of the previous two Main stations (Burgundy, Vinho Verde).
Local stations: several stations placed in selected spots over the area, supplying data for interpolations:
• Local Meteo: air temperature and humidity (Fontanafredda).
• Local Agro: canopy temperature and humidity, leaf wetness, soil water content/temperature/salinity, precipitation (never installed).
• Local Meteo-Agro: an integration of the previous Local stations (Fontanafredda, Burgundy, Rioja, Vinho Verde).
(Refer to the Section 4.1.3.2 of the pdf file for more details about WMSs).
4.1.3.3 Models and Remote Sensing
Agro-meteorological models
One of the main components of the VINTAGE Decision Support System is the agro-meteorological models chain that is daily executed. The modeling chain (see figure) starts from the input of data stored in the database, in more detail the observed hourly data from WMS, the field observations recorded by the users in the field book and the previous state variables (needed to restart the models). Weather data are interpolated at hourly time step on the whole domain area, by using spatialization algorithms specifically designed for each variable. For instance, the solar radiation model takes into account information as sun position and topography of the area (slope, aspect, shadowing). The resulting hourly weather maps are input for the other models.
The grapevine model computes the plant development during both dormancy and growing season, while the plant growth model estimates the biomass accumulation, the berry sugar content and the water uptake. In order to establish the best harvest time a new model which computes sugar concentration starting at veraison was developed (Bois et al., 2014).
The soil-water model is based on Criteria3D (Bittelli et al., 2010) that solves the equations of water transport on surface and within the soil in a discrete 3D domain with an integrated finite difference scheme. The water model is fully coupled with plant transpiration and soil evaporation.
Finally, the phytosanitary models provide pest risk information for downy mildew, powdery mildew and botrytis risk at harvesting. At the end of the daily cycle, model output and state variables are stored in the VINTAGE database.
Remote Sensing Data for Viticulture
Data from sensors mounted on satellites, airplanes and Unmanned Areal Vehicles (UAVs) can be used to retrieve geophysical variables and parameters over winegrowing areas. They provide valuable information about the status of the vine plants and grapes, the soil, and the weather conditions in a consistent manner and covering the whole vineyard area.
Optical remote sensing
Two scales were considered: the decametric scale corresponding to LANDSAT8 or the future Sentinel data. And the decimetric scale corresponding to UAV imagery.
(Refer to the Section 4.1.3.3 of the pdf file for more details about models and remote sensing).
4.1.3.4 Decision support system
DSS-Engine
The Decision Support System (DSS) provide all the information needed by the user such weather forecast, vegetative status, infection risks. The DSS-Engine has been studied for offer even something more: to take the right decision, the farmer she should be a true expert and, what is worst, should spend lot of time analyzing every day almost all the DSS’s data but the DSS-Engine does exactly this (and even something more) for the farmer and offers to him/her every day its “pills of wise”, simple but powerful targeted advices.
The VINTAGE DSS has the aim of automatically suggesting advices, and generate notifications and alerts along different phenological phases of the grapevine cycle. Vintage is able to provide, by a rule based engine, the same kind of suggestions that a team of expert specialists in precision viticulture could supply in almost any single situation. The next figure shows the simplified structure of the DSS, by which it is possible to identify the following main modules:
• Wireless Monitoring Systems (WMSs) collect data, which are then used as an input within both DSS and models.
• The Models elaborate data and provide the results to the DSS.
• The Weather Forecast plug-in collects weather web service information and elaborates weather advices disclosed to the DSS system.
• The DSS generates advices throughout the year, which are made available on the HMI that displays information to the final user.
• The HMI shows to the user the information required, the advices, allowed to manage the configuration and collect the users’ feedbacks.
(Refer to the Section 4.1.3.4 of the pdf file for more details about the DSS).
4.1.3.5 Vintage Web Service
The Vintage Web service is the contact point between the technology of the VINTAGE system and its users. In addition to making the implemented models and technologies accessible to the target users through multiple channels including web and mobile interfaces, it also enables the final users to provide feedback and inputs to the VINTAGE system models, so as to improve and calibrate their outputs to adhere more closely with reality.
Being a human interface, contact with end users has been continuous during the course of the project, starting from requirement collection and validation (WP1), continuing to development of mockups leading to early prototypes (WP3), and reaching validation after usability and acceptance testing (WP5). Internal functional testing and validation (WP4) was also performed in parallel as the functionalities were put in place to ensure the a satisfactory system responsiveness.
Initial VINTAGE web service activities were carried out by CATTID, who drafter the first user requirements and system requirements for the HMI. Activities have then progressed and reached the completion stage after the entrance of MAVIGEX into the project consortium at M20.
In particular, Mavigex activities started from the interaction with the involved Partners and users to collect feedback on the previously collected user requirements, and progressed with the aim to identify the users of the system, along with their characteristics, as well as defining their requirements expressed in terms of technological expectations. The requirements analysis was accomplished starting from the identified application scenarios, and finalized by means of surveys and direct interviews to the partners involved.
The identified requirements were then used as an input for WP3 activities, focused on the design and development of the HMI and following a user centric approach and specific usability guidelines/heuristics as stated in the project DoW. In general, a heuristic is a guideline or a general principle that is conceived to drive the design activity and to assess the performed design choices.
In particular, an overall approach entailing five subsequent steps (planes) has been followed. The first two steps (strategy and scope) have been covered by WP1 activities leading to the requirement identification. Building upon these use cases and requirements, WP3 activities have then continued with the next three planes:
• Structure plane: functionalities grouping.
• Skeleton plane: low-fidelity prototypes (mock-ups) leading to the selection of a horizontal global navigation of a vertical local navigation.
• Surface plane: an early HMI prototype was shown at the March 2014 review and used to collect qualitative user feedback.
It is worthwhile noting that Structure and Skeleton plane activities were carried out focusing the interaction on one specific end-user Association (VIGNAIOLI), so as to keep the interaction times low and complete this phase in due time.
(Refer to the Section 4.1.3.5 of the pdf file for more details about VINTAGE web service).
Potential Impact:
4.1.4 The potential impact
The production of high-quality wine is one of the leading commercial enterprises in Europe, dominated mainly by SMEs. This market scenario represents the main assumption on which VINTAGE project has been conceived: “Wine is a cultural and economic asset for Europe and, therefore, a product upon which European countries have built their own fortunes”.
European vine cultivation and wine production, in fact, has a world dimension and its target wine sector leads in terms of:
✓ Production: European vineyards account for approximately 45% of the areas under vines in the world and produces, on average, 60% of world wine production.
✓ Consumption: the EU accounts for almost 60% of world consumption.
✓ Trade: the EU is both the leading world exporter and importer.
The EU has more than 2.4 million holdings producing wine, covering 3.6 million hectares, or 2 percent of EU agricultural area and wine makes a considerable contribution to the value of final agricultural output in the majority of the producer Member States (in particular, in Spain: 5.4%, Luxemburg: 7,5%, Austria: 6.1%, Italy: 9.8%, France: 14.3%, Portugal: 16.8%).
In despite of this statement, the global competition in this sector has changed to the extent that production of high-quality wine is being challenged by increasing pressure from non-European producers. Specifically, New World producers (mostly South Africa, Australasia and South America) have taken advantage of several compelling market trends in the last years, attacking the European leadership in this sector: the consumers are reported to perceive price/quality ratio as too high for European wines.
In this market context, European vine-growers have focused own interest toward the application of Precision Viticulture technologies in order to re-gain a pivotal role at international level and at this purpose, the four European Associations of wine producers involved: Vignaioli Piemontesi (Italy), Grupo De Empresas Vinícolas De Rioja (Spain), Bureau Interprofessionnel des Vins de Bourgogne (France) and Associação Nacional das Denominações de Origem Vitivinícolas (Portugal); have decided to endorse the VINTAGE project in order to support their associates for increasing their competitiveness.
In particular, in order to regain competitiveness on the global scenario, European producers must address some unquestionable key factors accounting for the recent success of New World over the Old World:
1. Wine Quality: the unreliable and too often irregular quality of Old World wine strives to compete with the very regular quality provided by the New World.
2. High fragmentation: the archaic structure of production still in place in the Old World is characterised by small family vineyards or huge cooperatives supported by government subsidies (and traditionally more preoccupied with maintaining low price rather than achieving better quality). In both cases their culture is far from the marketing orientation needed in the modern wine market. New World production is offered by few big companies with high capital and strong marketing orientation.
3. Expensive production: high fragmentation and little scale of production does make it difficult for Old World producers to be very profitable: often the costs are too high, allowing no margins to spend on promotion, market research and product development. They must compete with the large scale production of New World, always very cost effective and with large margins to invest in research and promotion.
Nowadays, the number of wineries in Europe is estimated to be 35.000 which represents the initial target market size. Indeed, the VINTAGE Consortium specifically address national markets at first early stage: marketing on a country to country basis will be carried out, targeting four countries (Italy, Spain, France and Portugal) which alone account for more than 50% of world wine production. After this initial phase, the world market will be approached through commercialization channels in USA, Australia, Chile and South Africa.
In additional, it worth to state that based on EC Regulations applied in the European viticulture sector, wine consortia needs constant information on their status, production and quality. The EC regulations impose also vineyard growers and wine producers to keep and transmit data for certification to specific new competent control authorities according to the UNI EN CEI 45011, COUNCIL REGULATION (EC) No 491/2009 of 25th of May, 2009 amending Regulation (EC) No 1234/2007 (Es.: Italy: Siquria, Valoritalia, Ismecert, Ceviq s.r.l. etc.; in France: Certipaq, Certisud, Qualisud, etc...)
We can easily find explicit references to the more stringent controls and annual verifications carried out by the competent control authority (as referred to in Article 48 of Regulation (EC) No 479/2008) by which the wine producers are forced to respond: for instance, the Council Regulation (EC) No 491/2009 of 25th of May, 2009 amending Regulation (EC) No 234/2007 establishing a common organisation of agricultural markets and on specific provisions for certain agricultural products (Single CMO Regulation).
As a result of new European regulations for wine companies has become critical to rapidly respond to the inspection bodies by the launch of new products on the global market and increasing the quality of the final product. To this scope, food safety and supply chain management are key factors that can lead to the production sector in wine at levels avant-garde in the face of competition from new global markets. Wine companies can make better use of their manufacturing know-how through the adoption of integrated computerized systems such as decision support high value-added services offered by VINTAGE system.
To respond to these needs and to new global competitors, European wine producers must be able to monitor, detect and store the necessary information and also to make them available to the proper authorities: consumers and inspection bodies. To this regard, VINTAGE project aims at providing an IT infrastructure able to register processes and relevant information along the entire vineyard’s vegetative phase.
(Refer to the Section 4.1.4 of the pdf file for more details about the impact).
4.1.4.1 Route for the exploitation and future commercialization
As mentioned in the previous sections, the Consortium comprises four European Associations (VIGNAIOLI, GRUPO RIOJA, BIVB and ANDOVI) grouping several thousands of wine producers, and two SMEs (GAIAG and BODEGAS) representing the industrial side: the first one as service and technology provider whilst the second as actual final end user of the new management system implemented. In additional, a group of RTD Performers (LABOR, UB-CRC, ARPA, TU-WIEN and INRA), among Universities and Research Centres with specific expertise covering all the technical features required for the development of the VINTAGE platform, has complete the working team.
The overall exploitation strategy is based on previous agreements that GAIAG will act as main technology provider and system administrator of VINTAGE system for the first 2 years after the end of the project (28 February 2015), while Bodegas will act as experimental demonstrator for experiencing VINTAGE system behind the end of the project. This approach will contribute to the development of new software components compliant with end user requirements that the technology provider or system administrator will be able to integrate in future commercial software suites to be released on the EU market when technology would be mature.
To this scope, the goal of the overall exploitation strategy of VINTAGE project is to successfully exploit and commercialize the project results in Europe , respecting all the IPRs of all the involved parties, namely: AGs and SMEs, which are the only owners and licensees respectively of new technological and scientific knowledge (Foreground).
The direct target customers/users of VINTAGE products and services are mainly composed as follow (priority order):
• wine growers associated to AGs partners of Vintage
• AGs partners of Vintage
• wine growers associated to other AGs
• other AGs
• wine growers not associated to any AGs
The indirect target entities, which can influence buying decision of direct target users, consists of:
• regional and national authorities engaged in support for the wine sector
• planners/policy makers
• regulatory bodies
• training organizations
• consulting firms
In this view, the VINTAGE offering and revenue streams can be distinguish in:
1. VINTAGE services access => license to access the web service
2. wireless monitoring station selling => named “Vintage WMS” (WMS)
3. added value services selling => for example very high resolution satellite maps, drone maps integration
4. customisation services (for example integration with other ground sensors).
As system administrator of VINTAGE and on the basis of its skills, GaiaG will manage the following modules: models (phytosanitary, plant growth and soil moisture), satellite data processing and Decision Support System, whilst the other modules will be managed through the establishment or local or international partnerships defined with well-experienced services provider.
(Refer to the Section 4.1.4.1 of the pdf file for more details about the commercial exploitation strategy).
4.1.4.2 Dissemination and communication strategy
The dissemination activities were mainly carried out by the AGs and SMEs, which are deeply involved in the wine sector and, therefore, directly engaged in the promotion of the results towards their associated members as well as partners’ network. The main goal of dissemination and communication has been to raise awareness towards the selected target groups about the main activities performed as well as innovations and results achieved during the project. Indeed, the dissemination tasks have been based on full utilization of the results and findings, in order to obtain VINTAGE system’s adoption and introduction in the reference market after the end of the project. This type of activities, in fact, represent one of the main key points for a successful project as well as significant tool to pave the way to the future commercialization of the VINTAGE system implemented.
To this regard, whilst the initial period was devoted to disseminate the progress of the project, the development of the first prototype, to specialized target audience, as vine growers, technicians and producers associations, during the final phase, the strategy was focused mainly toward the market and the industrial audiences.
(Refer to the Section 4.1.4.2 of the pdf file for more details about the dissemination and communication strategy).
List of Websites:
4.1.5 The address of the project public website, if applicable as well as relevant contact details.
The VINTAGE web site represents one of the main project asset for the communication as well as the most efficient “window” towards the project stakeholders, end-users and other groups of audience (both academic and industrial) operating in the specific domain of the precision viticulture and, therefore, interested in the technical solutions proposed. Indeed, one of the goal during its design phase was the definition of the “key messages” to be disseminated and the “way” to communicate them towards a well target set of external audience.
In particular, the Consortium devoted particular attention on the “receiving” (end users perspective), what they need to know about the project and how the messages should be communicated in order to assure a relevant level of impact among the targeted groups of interest identified and, therefore, to reach a satisfying quality’s level of results.
The VINTAGE project web page was designed through the RIOJA’s coordination with the contributions and periodic updates provided by all the other partners and related to the project’s purposes and objectives, its innovations and main benefits ass well as the most relevant news and findings, events and other communications activities. The domain was registered at the following web-address: www.vintage-project.eu.
(Refer to the Section 4.1.5 of the pdf file for more details about the project web site).
The main goal of VINTAGE project is to fine tune wine production within the vineyard, abating seasonal variability issues with the application of information technologies, maximizing the oenological potential of the vineyards and providing the vine-growers with continuous up-to-date information through user friendly web and mobile interfaces and an advanced solution for the decisional support (DSS).
The VINTAGE DSS is a decision support system designed and implemented to satisfy vineyard monitoring and management needs of vine growers associations, allowing each user to benefit from timely and accurate information and suggestions, without disrupting the historically consolidated agronomical traditions and practices. To this scope, the system run data collected by local wireless monitoring stations (WMS), remote sensing data, field data provided by users, and weather forecasts.
In this context, mathematical modelling plays a central role in the VINTAGE system and regards mainly solar radiation, temperature and precipitation data interpolation over complex terrain, plant development and growth, soil moisture status, grape quality assessment and disease risk. Data and models output are then used by an artificial intelligence component to derive specific advice to growers. Indeed, the VINTAGE system is interactively accessed by means of a fully geographical web interface and a lighter mobile one.
The VINTAGE system was designed and implemented by a European consortium including researchers and engineers from Italy (Labor, Arpa, Mavigex), France (Université de Bourgogne, Inra) and Austria (TU Wien). Moreover, four pilot areas were set up during the project, in cooperation with the local vine growers associations involved: in Italy (Vignaioli Piemontesi), France (BIVB), Spain (Rioja) and Portugal (Andovi). In these pilots area, WMS were installed and tested, and local field data were collected to calibrate and test the different version of VINTAGE system prototypes implemented.
The users requirements and needs were collected and analysed with specific interviews to base on them system and interface design, whilst prototypes were successively proposed for usability test and analysis, before the implementation of the final VINTAGE HMI (human machine interface).
The VINTAGE HMI shows for each pilot area the geographical representation of vineyards, location and data from the WMS, three-days local weather forecasts and includes a large number of products from models and DSS. It also allows users to draw, characterize and save new vineyards, and to fill the field book, providing important feedback to the VINTAGE system. Indeed, the mobile interface allows the users to load data from the field taking advantage of the mobile GPS for localization.
Products available from the web VINTAGE HMI can be grouped in the following categories: localized prescriptions from the DSS, weather data and forecasts, remote sensing data (surface moisture and vegetation index), soil conditions (moisture profile and temperature), and vine status variables (phenology, leaf area and grape growth), disease risk from WMS and models (powdry and downy mildew), system configuration and management tools.
In 2015 the system entered its operational phase, managed by the mentioned associations together with Gaiag, an Italian start-up company charged with running the system and expanding the market use of VINTAGE.
Project Context and Objectives:
4.1.2.1 Project Context
The VINTAGE project was conceived on the assumption that “Wine is a cultural and economic asset for Europe and, therefore, a product upon which European countries have built their own fortunes”. However, in recent years, New World producers (mostly South Africa, Australia and South America) had been taking advantage of several compelling market trends, attacking the European leadership in this sector: the consumers are reported to perceive price/quality ratio as too high for European wines. Hence, European vine-growers need increasing support from technology to face the challenges from the global market and, therefore, have focused their interest towards the application of precision viticulture technologies in order to re-gain a pivotal role at international level.
Not only global market competition but also global climate change is currently putting a strain on wine production in Europe. Climate change in the Euro-Mediterranean region, where most of European wine is produced, manifests itself not only with rising temperatures and lower summer precipitation, but also through an enhanced variability of weather patterns that puts many traditional management concepts on hold. Plant phenology and growth, grape quality and sugar content, harvest management and timing, disease risk, all these aspects are changing fast and traditional calendars are more and more being challenged.
In this context, precision viticulture is one of the systems to be adopted to adapt European agriculture, and more specifically viticulture, to these new constraints and challenges. Local monitoring with automated and wireless stations and sensors, remote sensing from space and drones, crop phenology and growth modelling, interactive web tools, geographical information systems are examples of technologies to be implemented to face the new wine growing situation. Of course users should not be bothered with excessive technicalities, and difficult interfaces, so a deep understanding of their needs is essential to design and implement simple but powerful support tools like the one envisaged and carried out with the VINTAGE project.
With this context in mind, four relevant European Associations of wine producers - Vignaioli Piemontesi (Italy), Grupo De Empresas Vinícolas De Rioja (Spain), Bureau Interprofessionnel des Vins de Bourgogne (France) and Associacao Nacional das Denominações de Origem Vitivinícolas (Portugal) - have decided to endorse the VINTAGE project in order to support their associates for increasing their competitiveness. In fact, the project aims at providing final users with a low cost and easy to use web based integrated management solution in order to support wine producers throughout the vineyard life cycle (from planting to harvesting), to improve their productivity as well as to optimise the use of resources (irrigation water, fertilizers, pesticides, manpower).
4.1.2.2 Project Objectives
In this vision, VINTAGE project makes available to the Associations and SMEs involved an innovative management platform (including both SW and HW components) able to provide novel precision viticulture services to their associated members and to new customers.
In order to fulfil the application needs expressed by the users, the VINTAGE system was conceived and developed on the basis of the following modules:
1. Local monitoring
An accurate, precise and continuous monitoring of the grape environment is an issue in precision viticulture. This implies the identification of the most important forcing variables, as well as the design of a reliable and affordable monitoring system.
Weather and soil are the most relevant environmental factors affecting grape development and growth. In particular, air temperature and radiation controls the phenology and the photosynthesis, respectively; knowing humidity and leaf wetness is essential for the risk of diseases; wind intensity affects evapotranspiration; precipitation represents the main water input in the soil, and soil humidity is the major water reservoir for the plant.
These environmental variables could be used as they are in a Decision Support System, but mainly they should feed agrometeorological simulation models. A sufficiently dense network is needed to monitor these variables outside and inside the vineyards. The aim of this monitoring network (WMSs network) is to reproduce the weather, soil spatial and temporal variability. In each pilot area, a specific network was deployed, taking into account the land characteristics.
2. Real time vineyard modelling and state assessment
Vineyards are typically located in hilly areas, characterised by a complex topography that deeply influences the spatial variability of weather variables. Therefore, a detailed spatialization of these variables is required to a reliable computation of the grapevine growth and development, soil water availability and disease risks. Several algorithms are available to take into account the topography of the area (elevation, slope, aspect, shadowing) in the spatialization of key variables as solar irradiance, air temperature and relative humidity. Using a high resolution Digital Elevation Model (DEM), as the new NASA SRTM at 1-arc second resolution, very detailed output maps could be produced.
Also the soil-water model has to provide high resolution information on the soil moisture and water availability; therefore, we used Criteria3D model, that solves the equations of water transport on surface and within the soil in a 3D domain and is fully coupled with the plant transpiration and soil evaporation. The phenology model has to compute the plant development during both dormancy and growing season, while the plant growth model has to estimate the biomass accumulation, the water uptake, the wine yield and berry sugar content. Plant growth in VINTAGE is computed by simulating the photosynthetic process at hourly time step, specifically the carbon assimilation is determined through the Farquhar photosynthesis model, with a procedure which computes stomatal conductance too. The plant growth and soil-water models have to be able to change their state in case of field operations carried out by users and recorded in the VINTAGE field book, as irrigations, green pruning or cluster thinning.
A new model for assessing the berry sugar content from cumulated heat units and assimilated solar radiation has been developed; its calibration was possible thanks to the availability of the high resolution maps of air temperature and solar irradiance. Finally, the risk related to the main grapevine diseases (downy and powdery mildew) has to be estimated with great accuracy both in time and space, in order to optimize the phytosanitary operations. This is achieved by using state-of-the-art pest models, forced by high resolution weather maps.
3. Geographical access to information and data
Presenting data in visual format is much more direct and effective with respect to numerical format. Being ease-of-use and providing a satisfactory experience to no-expert users, two objectives of the VINTAGE system, having a geographic representation of information and data was a straightforward choice for the VINTAGE system and HMI. This was realized through the insertion into the system architecture of a Geographic Information System (GIS) server, able to process and store geographic data in an optimized fashion.
4. HMI design and implementation based on user needs
The Human Machine Interface (HMI) is the VINTAGE system component that allows the users to interact with all system sub-modules. It is thus of primary importance to present the users with an easy-to-use, custom interface that is specifically tailored to their usage needs.
Users have been at the center of the whole design process of the VINTAGE HMI, starting from usage scenario identification and requirement collection and analysis. Design and development followed a user centric approach and specific usability guidelines/heuristics.
In general, a heuristic is a guideline or a general principle that is conceived to drive the design activity and to assess the performed design choices. In particular, an overall approach entailing five subsequent steps (planes) has been followed, continuously and progressively involving all system stakeholders through both questionnaires and hands-on sessions with early and advanced HMI prototypes.
With specific references to dedicated user sessions, the physical sessions have been carried out with specific focus on usability and acceptance in France, Italy, and Spain pilots, with users belonging to the SME associations participating to the VINTAGE project. In this context, the user acceptance was evaluated as a confirmation that the results of the VINTAGE project activities are both relevant and on-target with the users’ needs, paving the way for the following industrialization and the future commercial exploitation of the system.
5. Feedback from the growers
User feedback on the performed vineyard interventions and actions is of primary importance to ensure that the output of agro-weather models and the decision support system are aligned to the actual current status of the vineyard.
The VINTAGE HMI provides a specific insertion form for the users in order to input the type of performed action and its magnitude. A wide number of actions can be inserted relevant to the different phonological phases of plants.
The diary of the past inserted actions is visualized in a specific section of the interface, allowing the users to easily keep track of the performed interventions.
6. DSS and Prescriptions
By using the knowledge of fully-experienced experts, coded in form of a set of rules, an ontology-based artificial intelligence subsystem (DSS Engine) is in charge of integrating indices and estimations computed starting from satellite data, models and data coming from Wireless Monitoring Stations (WMS) in order to help users to take decisions. Indeed, hints and suggestions based on a large set of data, evidences, observations and best practice are provided to domain experts (e.g. agronomists) and final users (e.g. grape growers, winemakers, etc.). To his scope, three kind of key-information are generated:
✓ what is suggested/recommended to do;
✓ list of facts that justify the suggestion (data, observations etc.);
✓ knowledge rules involved.
The Decision Support System (DSS) as a whole provides all the information needed by the user, such as weather forecast, vegetative status, infection risks. The DSS-Engine has been studied for offering even something more: to take the right decision, the farmer should be a true expert and, what is worst, should spend a lot of time analyzing every day almost all the DSS's data. However, the DSS-Engine has been conceived to accomplish exactly this role (and even something more) for the farmer, providing him/her with its "pills of wise" every day, simple but powerful targeted advices.
During its development, the DSS has been assessed by users, whose feedbacks have been used for the identification of the improvements and re-design activities needed to realise the final system.
Many DSS exist in grapevine and wine industry for vineyard management. The specificities of VINTAGE, which, to our knowledge, are innovative features not provided so far in agriculture, lie in the integration of the following services related to the DSS:
• A wide set of recommendations, covering almost all of the major aspects of vineyard yearly management, i.e.: plant disease management, winter and summer pruning, irrigation, soil management, yield management, grape ripening follow up and harvest date.
• Decision support is provided at the subplot spatial level, which allows the grape-grower to apply a differential management of each plot. Traditionally, most of the grapevine management operations are performed at the same period considering the vineyard as a whole. VINTAGE offers the possibility to limit interventions only where they are needed, providing therefore time, financial and environmental benefits
• The VINTAGE system models integrate the feedback of each interventions performed by the grape-growers and the accounts therefore for the past actions prior to further advices. In addition, the field diary facilitates a differential management of each plot for the grape-grower, as a track of each operation is kept within the system and remains available through the VINTAGE HMI.
The development of precision viticulture is made difficult because of the complexity brought by the separation of field intervention in space and time within the vineyard. VINTAGE, by integrating precise advices, field interventions feedback and a vineyard management diary, responds to this major challenge, and aims at allowing a more precise and relevant vineyard management.
Project Results:
4.1.3.1 Project pilots
The VINTAGE system required an operational testing in commercial vineyards to both provide a demonstration to grape-growers of the whole set of features available in the system, through the Human Machine Interface, and to assess the relevance of the VINTAGE system as a whole for integrated vineyard management via its decision support system. This testing was led in four commercial vineyards called “pilots”, with the aim to:
➢ evaluate different deployment efforts and the relative efficiency of VINTAGE hardware, software and their integration though “real-world” test-drives;
➢ assess the quality of VINTAGE plant and soil models, by comparing their spatialized outputs over the pilots area to UAV, satellite and field observations;
➢ test the relevance of the DSS recommendations to end-users, via ex-post comparisons of VINTAGE simulated actions to grape-growers actual vineyard operations;
➢ offer demonstrations to local grape-growers and consultants of the VINTAGE system.
The major interests of the grape-growers (or other potential end users) in VINTAGE features are likely to differ depending on the soil, climate and socio-economical context of the region. Therefore, four pilots were selected in remote grape growing regions, with different environment and productions modes, as well as equipped with Weather Monitoring Stations, geographic and agronomic data (Digital Terrain Model, vineyard geodatabase, agronomical characteristics) and monitored (field observation and grape growers survey) in Italy, France, Spain and Portugal.
(Refer to the Section 4.1.3.1 of the pdf file for more details about the project pilots).
4.1.3.2 Wireless Monitoring Stations
Overview and main achievements
The technical activities concerning WMS (Wireless Monitoring Stations) have been carried out focusing on modularity and smartness criteria, in order to make possible to use a single electronics (VUB – Vintage Universal Board) as well as single mechanical methods for every pilot.
The electronic core is the VUB, namely a PCB (Printed Circuit Board) conceived and designed in order to fulfill the several needs, first of all the possibility to manage the different configuration options (Main and Local stations). Each typology allows to interface a set of sensors, therefore different circuital parts, such as integrated circuits and custom blocks, devoted to special measurements. Here are some among the most notable VUB’s features, developed and implemented throughout the project lifetime:
✓ Sensors interface
✓ RTC sync, on-board battery
✓ Remote reprogramming
✓ EEprom storage
✓ USB connection
✓ Smart remote reset
✓ Web service data interface
The WMSs are agro-weather stations. They, relying on a flexible setup, can assume several shapes, according to the local measurement needs. It is an important achievement for the agro-weather field, because final users, by means of such architecture, are now able to optimize costs as well as overall system’s reliability. In fact, it is possible to use a single electronic board for all the expected typologies, simply mounting the needed components and leaving empty the remaining footprints. Also the firmware is modular, since a single programming packet is needed for every station: users can remotely assign the station typology, so that the station automatically runs the portion of code related to the wanted typology.
Alongside this, the mechanical mounting solutions are modular and easy to implement: we have constantly taken into account ease of installation, under both a mechanical and electronic point of view. We have two fundamental kinds of WMS, in turn composed of further sub-types of stations.
Main stations: a landmark for agro-weather variables, supplying data for model calculations:
• Main Meteo: air temperature and humidity, wind speed and direction, atmospheric pressure, solar radiation, precipitation (Fontanafredda, Rioja).
• Main Agro: soil profile, involving three or more volumetric sensors: soil water content (to be calculated through apparent dielectric permittivity), soil temperature, soil salinity (to be calculated through electrical conductivity).
• Main Meteo-Agro: an integration of the previous two Main stations (Burgundy, Vinho Verde).
Local stations: several stations placed in selected spots over the area, supplying data for interpolations:
• Local Meteo: air temperature and humidity (Fontanafredda).
• Local Agro: canopy temperature and humidity, leaf wetness, soil water content/temperature/salinity, precipitation (never installed).
• Local Meteo-Agro: an integration of the previous Local stations (Fontanafredda, Burgundy, Rioja, Vinho Verde).
(Refer to the Section 4.1.3.2 of the pdf file for more details about WMSs).
4.1.3.3 Models and Remote Sensing
Agro-meteorological models
One of the main components of the VINTAGE Decision Support System is the agro-meteorological models chain that is daily executed. The modeling chain (see figure) starts from the input of data stored in the database, in more detail the observed hourly data from WMS, the field observations recorded by the users in the field book and the previous state variables (needed to restart the models). Weather data are interpolated at hourly time step on the whole domain area, by using spatialization algorithms specifically designed for each variable. For instance, the solar radiation model takes into account information as sun position and topography of the area (slope, aspect, shadowing). The resulting hourly weather maps are input for the other models.
The grapevine model computes the plant development during both dormancy and growing season, while the plant growth model estimates the biomass accumulation, the berry sugar content and the water uptake. In order to establish the best harvest time a new model which computes sugar concentration starting at veraison was developed (Bois et al., 2014).
The soil-water model is based on Criteria3D (Bittelli et al., 2010) that solves the equations of water transport on surface and within the soil in a discrete 3D domain with an integrated finite difference scheme. The water model is fully coupled with plant transpiration and soil evaporation.
Finally, the phytosanitary models provide pest risk information for downy mildew, powdery mildew and botrytis risk at harvesting. At the end of the daily cycle, model output and state variables are stored in the VINTAGE database.
Remote Sensing Data for Viticulture
Data from sensors mounted on satellites, airplanes and Unmanned Areal Vehicles (UAVs) can be used to retrieve geophysical variables and parameters over winegrowing areas. They provide valuable information about the status of the vine plants and grapes, the soil, and the weather conditions in a consistent manner and covering the whole vineyard area.
Optical remote sensing
Two scales were considered: the decametric scale corresponding to LANDSAT8 or the future Sentinel data. And the decimetric scale corresponding to UAV imagery.
(Refer to the Section 4.1.3.3 of the pdf file for more details about models and remote sensing).
4.1.3.4 Decision support system
DSS-Engine
The Decision Support System (DSS) provide all the information needed by the user such weather forecast, vegetative status, infection risks. The DSS-Engine has been studied for offer even something more: to take the right decision, the farmer she should be a true expert and, what is worst, should spend lot of time analyzing every day almost all the DSS’s data but the DSS-Engine does exactly this (and even something more) for the farmer and offers to him/her every day its “pills of wise”, simple but powerful targeted advices.
The VINTAGE DSS has the aim of automatically suggesting advices, and generate notifications and alerts along different phenological phases of the grapevine cycle. Vintage is able to provide, by a rule based engine, the same kind of suggestions that a team of expert specialists in precision viticulture could supply in almost any single situation. The next figure shows the simplified structure of the DSS, by which it is possible to identify the following main modules:
• Wireless Monitoring Systems (WMSs) collect data, which are then used as an input within both DSS and models.
• The Models elaborate data and provide the results to the DSS.
• The Weather Forecast plug-in collects weather web service information and elaborates weather advices disclosed to the DSS system.
• The DSS generates advices throughout the year, which are made available on the HMI that displays information to the final user.
• The HMI shows to the user the information required, the advices, allowed to manage the configuration and collect the users’ feedbacks.
(Refer to the Section 4.1.3.4 of the pdf file for more details about the DSS).
4.1.3.5 Vintage Web Service
The Vintage Web service is the contact point between the technology of the VINTAGE system and its users. In addition to making the implemented models and technologies accessible to the target users through multiple channels including web and mobile interfaces, it also enables the final users to provide feedback and inputs to the VINTAGE system models, so as to improve and calibrate their outputs to adhere more closely with reality.
Being a human interface, contact with end users has been continuous during the course of the project, starting from requirement collection and validation (WP1), continuing to development of mockups leading to early prototypes (WP3), and reaching validation after usability and acceptance testing (WP5). Internal functional testing and validation (WP4) was also performed in parallel as the functionalities were put in place to ensure the a satisfactory system responsiveness.
Initial VINTAGE web service activities were carried out by CATTID, who drafter the first user requirements and system requirements for the HMI. Activities have then progressed and reached the completion stage after the entrance of MAVIGEX into the project consortium at M20.
In particular, Mavigex activities started from the interaction with the involved Partners and users to collect feedback on the previously collected user requirements, and progressed with the aim to identify the users of the system, along with their characteristics, as well as defining their requirements expressed in terms of technological expectations. The requirements analysis was accomplished starting from the identified application scenarios, and finalized by means of surveys and direct interviews to the partners involved.
The identified requirements were then used as an input for WP3 activities, focused on the design and development of the HMI and following a user centric approach and specific usability guidelines/heuristics as stated in the project DoW. In general, a heuristic is a guideline or a general principle that is conceived to drive the design activity and to assess the performed design choices.
In particular, an overall approach entailing five subsequent steps (planes) has been followed. The first two steps (strategy and scope) have been covered by WP1 activities leading to the requirement identification. Building upon these use cases and requirements, WP3 activities have then continued with the next three planes:
• Structure plane: functionalities grouping.
• Skeleton plane: low-fidelity prototypes (mock-ups) leading to the selection of a horizontal global navigation of a vertical local navigation.
• Surface plane: an early HMI prototype was shown at the March 2014 review and used to collect qualitative user feedback.
It is worthwhile noting that Structure and Skeleton plane activities were carried out focusing the interaction on one specific end-user Association (VIGNAIOLI), so as to keep the interaction times low and complete this phase in due time.
(Refer to the Section 4.1.3.5 of the pdf file for more details about VINTAGE web service).
Potential Impact:
4.1.4 The potential impact
The production of high-quality wine is one of the leading commercial enterprises in Europe, dominated mainly by SMEs. This market scenario represents the main assumption on which VINTAGE project has been conceived: “Wine is a cultural and economic asset for Europe and, therefore, a product upon which European countries have built their own fortunes”.
European vine cultivation and wine production, in fact, has a world dimension and its target wine sector leads in terms of:
✓ Production: European vineyards account for approximately 45% of the areas under vines in the world and produces, on average, 60% of world wine production.
✓ Consumption: the EU accounts for almost 60% of world consumption.
✓ Trade: the EU is both the leading world exporter and importer.
The EU has more than 2.4 million holdings producing wine, covering 3.6 million hectares, or 2 percent of EU agricultural area and wine makes a considerable contribution to the value of final agricultural output in the majority of the producer Member States (in particular, in Spain: 5.4%, Luxemburg: 7,5%, Austria: 6.1%, Italy: 9.8%, France: 14.3%, Portugal: 16.8%).
In despite of this statement, the global competition in this sector has changed to the extent that production of high-quality wine is being challenged by increasing pressure from non-European producers. Specifically, New World producers (mostly South Africa, Australasia and South America) have taken advantage of several compelling market trends in the last years, attacking the European leadership in this sector: the consumers are reported to perceive price/quality ratio as too high for European wines.
In this market context, European vine-growers have focused own interest toward the application of Precision Viticulture technologies in order to re-gain a pivotal role at international level and at this purpose, the four European Associations of wine producers involved: Vignaioli Piemontesi (Italy), Grupo De Empresas Vinícolas De Rioja (Spain), Bureau Interprofessionnel des Vins de Bourgogne (France) and Associação Nacional das Denominações de Origem Vitivinícolas (Portugal); have decided to endorse the VINTAGE project in order to support their associates for increasing their competitiveness.
In particular, in order to regain competitiveness on the global scenario, European producers must address some unquestionable key factors accounting for the recent success of New World over the Old World:
1. Wine Quality: the unreliable and too often irregular quality of Old World wine strives to compete with the very regular quality provided by the New World.
2. High fragmentation: the archaic structure of production still in place in the Old World is characterised by small family vineyards or huge cooperatives supported by government subsidies (and traditionally more preoccupied with maintaining low price rather than achieving better quality). In both cases their culture is far from the marketing orientation needed in the modern wine market. New World production is offered by few big companies with high capital and strong marketing orientation.
3. Expensive production: high fragmentation and little scale of production does make it difficult for Old World producers to be very profitable: often the costs are too high, allowing no margins to spend on promotion, market research and product development. They must compete with the large scale production of New World, always very cost effective and with large margins to invest in research and promotion.
Nowadays, the number of wineries in Europe is estimated to be 35.000 which represents the initial target market size. Indeed, the VINTAGE Consortium specifically address national markets at first early stage: marketing on a country to country basis will be carried out, targeting four countries (Italy, Spain, France and Portugal) which alone account for more than 50% of world wine production. After this initial phase, the world market will be approached through commercialization channels in USA, Australia, Chile and South Africa.
In additional, it worth to state that based on EC Regulations applied in the European viticulture sector, wine consortia needs constant information on their status, production and quality. The EC regulations impose also vineyard growers and wine producers to keep and transmit data for certification to specific new competent control authorities according to the UNI EN CEI 45011, COUNCIL REGULATION (EC) No 491/2009 of 25th of May, 2009 amending Regulation (EC) No 1234/2007 (Es.: Italy: Siquria, Valoritalia, Ismecert, Ceviq s.r.l. etc.; in France: Certipaq, Certisud, Qualisud, etc...)
We can easily find explicit references to the more stringent controls and annual verifications carried out by the competent control authority (as referred to in Article 48 of Regulation (EC) No 479/2008) by which the wine producers are forced to respond: for instance, the Council Regulation (EC) No 491/2009 of 25th of May, 2009 amending Regulation (EC) No 234/2007 establishing a common organisation of agricultural markets and on specific provisions for certain agricultural products (Single CMO Regulation).
As a result of new European regulations for wine companies has become critical to rapidly respond to the inspection bodies by the launch of new products on the global market and increasing the quality of the final product. To this scope, food safety and supply chain management are key factors that can lead to the production sector in wine at levels avant-garde in the face of competition from new global markets. Wine companies can make better use of their manufacturing know-how through the adoption of integrated computerized systems such as decision support high value-added services offered by VINTAGE system.
To respond to these needs and to new global competitors, European wine producers must be able to monitor, detect and store the necessary information and also to make them available to the proper authorities: consumers and inspection bodies. To this regard, VINTAGE project aims at providing an IT infrastructure able to register processes and relevant information along the entire vineyard’s vegetative phase.
(Refer to the Section 4.1.4 of the pdf file for more details about the impact).
4.1.4.1 Route for the exploitation and future commercialization
As mentioned in the previous sections, the Consortium comprises four European Associations (VIGNAIOLI, GRUPO RIOJA, BIVB and ANDOVI) grouping several thousands of wine producers, and two SMEs (GAIAG and BODEGAS) representing the industrial side: the first one as service and technology provider whilst the second as actual final end user of the new management system implemented. In additional, a group of RTD Performers (LABOR, UB-CRC, ARPA, TU-WIEN and INRA), among Universities and Research Centres with specific expertise covering all the technical features required for the development of the VINTAGE platform, has complete the working team.
The overall exploitation strategy is based on previous agreements that GAIAG will act as main technology provider and system administrator of VINTAGE system for the first 2 years after the end of the project (28 February 2015), while Bodegas will act as experimental demonstrator for experiencing VINTAGE system behind the end of the project. This approach will contribute to the development of new software components compliant with end user requirements that the technology provider or system administrator will be able to integrate in future commercial software suites to be released on the EU market when technology would be mature.
To this scope, the goal of the overall exploitation strategy of VINTAGE project is to successfully exploit and commercialize the project results in Europe , respecting all the IPRs of all the involved parties, namely: AGs and SMEs, which are the only owners and licensees respectively of new technological and scientific knowledge (Foreground).
The direct target customers/users of VINTAGE products and services are mainly composed as follow (priority order):
• wine growers associated to AGs partners of Vintage
• AGs partners of Vintage
• wine growers associated to other AGs
• other AGs
• wine growers not associated to any AGs
The indirect target entities, which can influence buying decision of direct target users, consists of:
• regional and national authorities engaged in support for the wine sector
• planners/policy makers
• regulatory bodies
• training organizations
• consulting firms
In this view, the VINTAGE offering and revenue streams can be distinguish in:
1. VINTAGE services access => license to access the web service
2. wireless monitoring station selling => named “Vintage WMS” (WMS)
3. added value services selling => for example very high resolution satellite maps, drone maps integration
4. customisation services (for example integration with other ground sensors).
As system administrator of VINTAGE and on the basis of its skills, GaiaG will manage the following modules: models (phytosanitary, plant growth and soil moisture), satellite data processing and Decision Support System, whilst the other modules will be managed through the establishment or local or international partnerships defined with well-experienced services provider.
(Refer to the Section 4.1.4.1 of the pdf file for more details about the commercial exploitation strategy).
4.1.4.2 Dissemination and communication strategy
The dissemination activities were mainly carried out by the AGs and SMEs, which are deeply involved in the wine sector and, therefore, directly engaged in the promotion of the results towards their associated members as well as partners’ network. The main goal of dissemination and communication has been to raise awareness towards the selected target groups about the main activities performed as well as innovations and results achieved during the project. Indeed, the dissemination tasks have been based on full utilization of the results and findings, in order to obtain VINTAGE system’s adoption and introduction in the reference market after the end of the project. This type of activities, in fact, represent one of the main key points for a successful project as well as significant tool to pave the way to the future commercialization of the VINTAGE system implemented.
To this regard, whilst the initial period was devoted to disseminate the progress of the project, the development of the first prototype, to specialized target audience, as vine growers, technicians and producers associations, during the final phase, the strategy was focused mainly toward the market and the industrial audiences.
(Refer to the Section 4.1.4.2 of the pdf file for more details about the dissemination and communication strategy).
List of Websites:
4.1.5 The address of the project public website, if applicable as well as relevant contact details.
The VINTAGE web site represents one of the main project asset for the communication as well as the most efficient “window” towards the project stakeholders, end-users and other groups of audience (both academic and industrial) operating in the specific domain of the precision viticulture and, therefore, interested in the technical solutions proposed. Indeed, one of the goal during its design phase was the definition of the “key messages” to be disseminated and the “way” to communicate them towards a well target set of external audience.
In particular, the Consortium devoted particular attention on the “receiving” (end users perspective), what they need to know about the project and how the messages should be communicated in order to assure a relevant level of impact among the targeted groups of interest identified and, therefore, to reach a satisfying quality’s level of results.
The VINTAGE project web page was designed through the RIOJA’s coordination with the contributions and periodic updates provided by all the other partners and related to the project’s purposes and objectives, its innovations and main benefits ass well as the most relevant news and findings, events and other communications activities. The domain was registered at the following web-address: www.vintage-project.eu.
(Refer to the Section 4.1.5 of the pdf file for more details about the project web site).
