RipenAI

Wine is Britain’s fastest growing agricultural sector. But harvesting grapes is extremely time sensitive.

Prof Lei Su and Dr Xuechun Wang, scientists at Queen Mary University of London, have invented a portable optical sensor which uses machine learning to give winemakers instant, accurate ripeness data, removing the need for manual sampling and slow destructive testing.

RipenAI is a pre-spinout, currently running a pilot of the technology with vineyards, agritech companies, and fruit orchards.

Known as RipenAI, the sensor could be handheld, allowing grape pickers to instantly check ripeness before harvesting, or installed across a vineyard to monitor grapes continuously for ripeness and crop health. The team are even working on integrating the technology into a robotic grape picker in a related project with Extend Robotics, Saffron Grange Vineyard, and other scientists at Queen Mary University of London.

RipenAI provides non-destructive, real-time insight into grape ripeness across the vineyard. RipenAI delivers instant results, significantly reducing the labour and time required for sampling, testing, and analysis.

The ability to repeatedly assess the same bunches throughout the ripening period will deliver a clearer picture of ripeness progression than traditional destructive sampling.

Harvesting grapes at precisely the right time minimises the need for interventions such as de-acidification and chaptalisation, supporting the production of higher-quality wines.