Vigneron Paul Sloan walks every vineyard that he farms once week, and he sometimes walks them 2-3 times a week depending on how critical decisions are. Those are issues like irrigation leaks, color variation, or pests like nematodes. Sloan, a winemaker and viticulturist at Small Vines Wines, still intends to walk through his vineyards, but he now aims to walk with more intention. By using a drone manufactured by 3D Robotics, Sloan can use aerial images captured by a camera mounted to the drone which pinpoint areas in his vineyard that need more attention. From looking at the images, Sloan could physically walk those targeted areas to decide what the issue is. "It's not going to prevent you from being in your vineyard," he said. "It's just going to give you a more targeted reason for being in your vineyard." For more info, read the complete story in our virtual newsroom: http://3drobotics.com/?p=1001

• published: 25 Oct 2013
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