PROJECT PR FESR-From the Roots to the Heart of the Vine-Plant: researching innovative solutions for the automation of future vine-plants sorting

iOSirisVine: this is the name of the joint project wanted by Electrozeta and Vivai Cooperativi Rauscedo and funded by the Autonomous Region of Friuli-Venezia-Giulia within the PR-FESR call for research and experimental development activities.

This collaborative project focuses on the search for innovative solutions for the automation of vine-plants sorting of the future.

The process of selecting the rooted vines, known as sorting, is one of the most important and costly activities carried out at Vivai Cooperativi Rauscedo: it has a significant impact on the final quality of the plants and on production costs. Several critical issues combine to make this activity increasingly burdensome, starting with the time constraints imposed by the digging, the processing of the vine-plants, and the difficulty of finding qualified personnel, with the consequent continuous training required as a result of the constant turnover that characterizes this sector. The sorting process, at every stage, until a few years ago was handled almost entirely manually and unfortunately not always with the logic of productivity and efficiency that the high production numbers would impose in this context.

ELECTROZETA gradually entered, in the early 1990s initiating a collaboration with VCR for the improvement and optimization of work processes within sorting. The contribution of significant expertise and professionalism in the field of automation, gained by ELECTROZETA over the years, has enabled the introduction of innovative systems and technologies to automate various manual operations and rationalize work, increasing productivity and reducing costs. However, problems in the industry require further research and solutions in order to fully automate this important work process, limiting the subjectivity determined by the operator.

The iOsirisVine project aims to develop an artificial intelligence system based on a neural network capable of identifying, recognizing and qualifying the morphological and anatomical peculiarities of the rooted vines, based on data acquired through state-of-the-art technologies.

The initial goal is to identify and test technologically innovative sensor systems capable of digitally and intelligently acquiring and analyzing "relevant data" characterizing the plants, for automatic reprocessing and management of the same.

The ultimate intent of the project will be to find applicability within a broader vine-nursery selection and sorting system, with the ambition of future, complete and innovative automation of a work process that, in addition to being the most delicate, is also the one that requires the greatest use of specialized labor in a very short time frame.

449 2023-04-06