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in charge of the Mas Numérique at the Domaine du Chapitre (in Villeneuve-Lès-Maguelone, Hérault), Thomas Crestey is in full perspective. “I present our project for 2023-2025 to digital service companies and their potential customers, such as cooperative wineries”.
Always supported by the Agro Institute and patronage, the third cycle of Mas Numérique will continue to serve as a showcase for a domain in production and to share its feedback with the entire wine sector. “This showcase is our cornerstone and allows us to give an overview of the use of digital tools in the vineyard and in the cellar in two hours”.
If he doesn’t want to miss a breakthrough in the industry, Thomas Crestey remains pragmatic. “We must avoid euphoria. We envision digital as something magical and easy to implement, while solutions can take time to industrialize. We see it for example on drones or robotics “ illustrates.
Contextualizing the use of solutions on the market or under development, its teams will be able to define new skills to be included in the students’ training path.
From next year, the technical committee and the industry committee will be meeting to promote exchanges between developers and end users. “Pellenc, Vivelys, our historical partners, Smag, Bayer, ICV, IFV … and all those who want to make their solutions available to us will benefit from the feedback of companies such as Grands Chais de France, Gérard Bertrand, Hennessy, Euralis … and all those who contact us by November to participate in the adventure, in exchange for a ticket ranging from 1,000 to 5,000 euros per year depending on the size “. In addition to one or two plenary meetings per year, the partners will be able to integrate different working groups.
An incubation and evaluation site
Thomas Crestey wants to make the digital Mas an incubation place for companies wishing to innovate. “The idea is to get them started quickly by presenting them with an overview of the already established players and the needs of farms”. Le Mas Numérique also undertakes to present to each winery an amazement report on the interoperability, use or ease of management of its solutions by winemakers.
Also in the Mas V3 program, focus on weeding management. “We are currently in talks with Pellenc, Topcon, Aptimiz and Samsys” reveals the manager, who also wants to work on quality and yield assessment with partners such as Permagro or Scanopy.
Another new feature: the launch of a shared evaluation site. “Beyond the commercial cards, there is a real need to produce knowledge on the technical characteristics of the solutions” explains Thomas Crestey, who initially intends to compare characterization solutions for missing screws via on-board sensor, pedestrian, satellite, drone or plane, evaluating the cost, the flow per hectare, the accuracy or even the delivery times of the maps.
“We will do this for free at the request of the companies offering the service in exchange for the ability to share our data with the industry. The goal is not to put them in competition but to know how to guide wineries towards the solution that suits them best. On the missing ones, for example, they will not have the same requirements if they have to plant, with a strong need for precision, or simply if they want to evaluate the land value of their vineyard or give priority to uprooting..
High-low tech development
Le Mas Numérique also aims to become a pilot site for the development and sharing of high-low tech, self-building of electronic equipment by winemakers. “We are designing several prototypes, such as the” boost “system that allows you to turn your irrigation pump on or off via SMS, sending 0 or 1” says Thomas Crestey.
Once presented in technical committees, improved and validated, the Mas will put online assembly tutorials with easy-to-follow parts lists and videos.
