Telefónica Smart Agro
Intelligent Agriculture applied to the monitoring and modelling of a vineyard’s harvest.
Goals
Develop pioneering precision farming technologies to help optimize vineyard production, estimate the quantity of the next harvest and improve efficiency in future seasons. The key technologies used are:
- Robotization, to obtain accurate information in an automated way.
- Telefónica’s 5G network, capable of transmitting data volume with high quality.
- Edge Computing, for near cloud processing through advanced analytics, instead of on-premise solutions.
- AI, which is used to implement predictive models for the cultivation, harvesting and vegetative development of the vines.
The project is developed in collaboration with the ecological estate Bodegas y Viñedos Casa del Valle, and is fully aligned with the Sustainable Development Goals of the 2030 Agenda.
Results
In collaboration with the Polytechnic University of Madrid, a mobile and autonomous 5G robotic platform has been developed, equipped with an articulated arm that, by means of a multispectral camera and a LIDAR, makes it possible to accurately capture parameters related to the vegetative state of the vines (quantity of leaves, quantity of grapes, etc.). Multiple sensors have also been installed in the study area to collect information on the water status of the soil, complemented by meteorological information collected by a specific sensor. All this information is sent through the rural 5G network (700Mhz) to a server deployed in the Edge Computing, where it is analyzed in real time by an AI specially designed to predict the vegetative development of the plants, and the quantity and quality of the grape harvest. Edge Computing allows this type of solution without the need for an on-premise installation, which is much more complicated in rural areas. These remote areas may sometimes require a reinforcement of mobile coverage, which would be solved with LEO and GEO satellite connectivity solutions, which have also been tested in the scope of the innovation project.
Interest links
Testimonials
The participation of Bodegas y Viñedos Casa del Valle in the SmartAgro project together with Telefónica and the Polytechnic University of Madrid is a firm commitment by the Bodegas Olarra Group to precision viticulture and quality. The combined use of robotics, the collection of a large amount of data through the use of multiple sensors, the transmission of these data through the 5G network and the development of models for their correct interpretation will allow multiple objectives to be achieved in the future, such as improving crop management by anticipating certain agricultural tasks, reducing treatments and increasing their effectiveness, predicting the amount of harvest and the continuous monitoring of ripening and all stages of vine development, as well as determining the optimum quality of the grapes. Furthermore, for us, it is a further step in other developing areas such as sustainability and corporate social responsibility.
