Connected Vineyard is a system designed to improve, integrate, automate and simplify the vineyard management process, from collecting images for mapping the field to the actual working process, offering the farmer a single management tool that integrates and connects today's consolidated technologies, such as:

• Drones: for gathering georeferenced images of the field while in flight;
• Software tools: to generate vigour maps based on the images collected by the drone and therefore prescription maps determining how much material the machinery should apply according to the working area;
• Weather stations: to plan the work in the field and make decisions based on weather forecasts;
• Sensors: such as insect traps with built-in cameras;
• ISOBUS machines: to operate the machinery directly from the tractor's on-board computer (Virtual Terminal) and to automatically operate the parts of the machinery with variable rate control on the basis of the prescription map preloaded onto the tractor's computer;
• Telematic modules: to be able to connect the devices distributed in the field to a data network.

Until now, the main limitation of all of these mature technical features available today has been the lack of a contact point that allows them to share information between them. This implies the need for specific software tools that can, manage single stages or part of stages of the entire process. Furthermore, the different software solutions' poor compatibility makes using them complex, which hinders their diffusion.

Connected Vineyard takes the different technology solutions and connects and integrates them, providing farmers with a single software tool that they can interact with at all stages of the vineyard management process.

In particular, Connected Vineyard is a cloud-based platform to which all the intelligent devices in the vineyard are connected: the drone, the weather stations, the distributed sensors and the operational machinery, the tractor and the implement. The platform data exchange is continuous and two-directional. The intelligent platform achieves a higher level of abstraction than the individual technologies, providing a unique and integrated software tool that allows the user to manage all the stages of the process remotely.

Connected Vineyard is not aimed at replacing the farmer or agronomist's experience but, on the contrary, its objective is to put them in control, allowing them to make objective and immediate decisions.

Specifically, the different stages of the process in the vineyard supported by Connected Vineyard are:

Flight manager:  in the absence of up-to-date vigour maps of the field being worked, Connected Vineyard allows you, first and foremost, to plan the flight of the drone over the field. The flight plan is then automatically transferred to the drone, which, equipped with sensors, such as multispectral cameras, collects georeferenced images while in flight. When complete, the gathered images are loaded onto the platform, which processes them. The application allows you to monitor the drone throughout the entire flight.

Map manager:  using the acquired processed images, the platform creates a vigour map of the field, which is made available to the farmer or agronomist so that they can, on the basis of this and their own experience, determine how much material is necessary in the various identified areas of the field. Having determined these quantities, the system then creates the prescription map.

Fleet manager: once the prescription map is available, the farmer selects the most suitable machine for working the field, on the basis of the individual machine loads and the relative planning. Connected Vineyard then transfers the prescription map to the selected machine. The operator on board the machine is notified when the map is received and proceeds to work the field. Thanks to ISOBUS technology on board the implement, the operator only has to drive the tractor, without having to worry about managing the machine  itself. The prescription map received by the machine allows for automatic variable rate control of the tool, which is then commanded to apply a certain quantity of material depending on the area of the field it is working in. While it is working, the tractor collects a series of data that allows the creation of automatic reports, which are then made available to the vineyard manager at the end of the working day. It is possible to remotely monitor the machine's  position and activity throughout the whole working process.

Weather forecast: All the work plans and decisions made by the farmer are constantly supported by a weather forecast system which suggests when will be the best moment to carry out the work itself.

Archive: all data, reports, maps and images are saved and made available for consultation or to be reused at any time.

The Connected Vineyard system offers, therefore, a higher level of integration between fields and vineyard managers, providing them with a single management environment that allows them to run the entire process remotely. Another important advantage is that there is a single point of reference for users who need support.

The platform also offers ample flexibility for the development and integration of other solutions, making Connected Vineyard a system that can be scaled according to the user's needs. With a system produced  in this way, the  benefits from intrinsic compatibility with the different technologies involved largely simplifies their overall use, making farmers' lives easier.