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Topic Name: Wireless solutions for precision agriculture
Category: Mechanical
Research persons:
Location: 6195 Etcheverry Hall # 1740 ,University of California Berkeley, CA 94720-1740
510/642-1338 ,Fax 510/642-6163 , United States
Details
AgLinx Solutions is a
group of engineers and designers committed to developing wireless solutions for
precision agriculture in the wine industry.
This research
focus is to enable forms of vineyard monitoring for agricultural researchers and
growers by developing novel tools and information infrastructure. Currently we
are working on the AgLinx System, an integrated hardware and software solution
for environmental monitoring in a vineyard which will enable:
management of limited
water resources,
optimized use and timing
of fertilizer application,
early warning for frost
and excessive heat,
prediction of the
potential for disease and/or pest outbreaks,
anticipation of mold and
mildew formation, and
aggregated climatology
data for planning of planting, harvesting, and locating of crops.
The original VinePod was
the culmination of what our original team produced for a UC Berkeley and
California College of Arts (CCA) course called "Managing the New Product
Development Process." The course combined MBA students from Berkeley's Haas
School, graduate students from the College of Engineering, and industrial design
students from CCA.
Our project goal was to
dramatically improve frost protection for wine-grape growers in California by
developing a new set of monitoring and data-logging tools. The original team
consisted of Trey, Alex, Brian, Joe, and MBA 2005 student Martin White. We
showcased our working prototype and design ideas at the class tradeshow in
December 2005, and used it as a launching pad to eventually obtain grant funding
from the National Collegiate Inventors and Innovators Alliance.
About the Researcher &
group:
AgLinx Solutions is a
group of engineers and designers committed to developing wireless solutions for
precision agriculture in the wine industry. We envision a future where grape
growers combine traditional, hands-on farming practices with powerful analysis
of information pertaining to the health of every vine in the field. Vineyards
are not uniformly ideal environments - they are a living, breathing ecosystem of
vines, plants, soil, weather, microorganisms and animals which changes
dynamically. By finely monitoring these changing conditions and analyzing the
data, wine growers will be able to maintain high levels of quality without
wasting precious resources such as water, fertilizer, and sulfur. We are
committed to making this dream a reality.
Trey
Ph.D. Student, Mechanical Engineering,
UC Berkeley
Thomas Cauley graduated
the Iowa State University Mechanical Engineering Department in May of 2003 and
has worked at the Combustion Research Facility and the Chemical and Radiation
Detection Laboratory at Sandia National Laboratories in Livermore, CA.
Currently, he is a graduate student in the Mechanical Engineering Department
working with Prof. Albert P. Pisano (Mechanical Engineering), Prof. Hiroshi
Nikaido (Molecular Cell Biology), and Prof. Mary Wildermuth (Plant and Molecular
Biology) on an artificial membrane system for sample preparation and sensing
technologies in MEMS. His research interests include sustainable development and
design, rationally designed and applied biotechnology, and wireless sensor
technologies for the reduction of resource consumption.
Alex
Project Coordinator, Center for
Environmental Design Research, UC Berkeley
Alex Do is currently managing
a demand response electricity research project at the UC Berkeley Center for
Environmental Design Research which is funded by California Public Interest
Energy Research (PIER). Mr. Do received his M.S. degree from the Dept. of
Mechanical Engineering at UC Berkeley in December 2005, where he focused his
Master's research on processes and technologies enhancing the design process for
consumer products: rapid prototyping, injection mold design, and concurrent
engineering. Mr. Do also holds an A.B. degree in Physics from Occidental
College, received May 2001.
Brian
Ph.D. Student, Mechanical Engineering, UC Berkeley
Brian Sosnowchik received his
B.S. degrees in Engineering Science & Mechanics, Mechanical Engineering, and
International Studies in May of 2003 from the Pennsylvania State University -
University Park, Pa, and Masters of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering
from the University of California at Berkeley in May of 2005. He is currently
working towards a Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering from UC Berkeley under the
guidance of Dr. Liwei Lin. He has previously worked in 2002 and 2003 at Sandia
National Laboratories, Albuquerque, NM, in the MEMS Device Technology
organization focusing on the design and characterization of novel micropumping
systems. Currently, his main research interests are in developing novel methods
for low-temperature bonding of silicon MEMS sensors to steel and other
materials, while identifying new ways to utilize inductive heating for MEMS
packaging and nanotechnology.
Funding:
The Big Ideas @ Berkeley program, in
conjunction with the ASUC student government, is again offering its Bears
Breaking Bound-aries contest, with $138,000 up for grabs this year. The
competition sponsors creative, high-impact student research and ideas in 10
different categories, including bio-inspired innovation, global poverty
reduction, synthetic biology and improving student life, to name a few. There’s
also an “open” category for additional proposals.
Last year, 29 student teams received funds,
including several engineers. ME graduate students Alex Do, Thomas “Trey” Cauley
and Brian Sosnowchik received $7,500 for their project called AgLinx. (Read
about their research on the Engineering News website.
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