RFID and wireless sensors help produce organic wine in California
A California farm is using passive RFID tags, active wireless sensors and geographic information systems (GIS) to improve the quality of its grapes, as well as to reduce the crop’s environmental impact on the surrounding countryside and make its operations more efficient. The mission of Ceago Vinegarden, located 133 miles north of San Francisco, is to “craft small lots of wine made from estate grown organic and biodynamic grapes using the best of old and new world winemaking techniques.”
In addition to the naturalistic practices, however, is a host of high-tech methods, including handheld RFID readers equipped with GPS functionality linked to Google Earth (a satellite imaging application); wireless battery-powered sensor pods that measure air temperature, humidity, solar radiation, soil moisture and temperature; and a variety of software applications that help perform a number of functions, such as calculating the grapes’ ripeness. The technology behind the vineyard’s sensor pods, developed by SensorWare Systems, sprang from the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory.
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