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Optical fiber sensors for monitoring agricultural drone spraying operations

spraying

Spraying is a fundamental agricultural operation, used for the dispersion of both pesticides and fertilisers over trees and crops, directly affecting the volume and quality of agricultural yield; however, spraying is subjected to limitations with respect to safety regulations, water consumption and droplet cloud drift. An emerging agricultural trend is referring to drone spraying operations, offering prominent and unique advantages such as speed of operation, applicability to almost every type of ground and crops, and significant saving in water and pesticides/fertilisers.

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Optical fiber sensors for the assessment of oak barrels used in wine aging

maria konstantaki

Maria Konstantaki Aging in oak barrels, gives wine its unique mouthfeel and bouquet character due to the release of tannins and aromatic compounds. The limited availability of oak in conjunction with the demanding barrel fabrication process increases the cost of oak barrels.

Furthermore, oak barrels have a limited lifespan of use and after a number of repeated usage in wine aging they must be replaced. Currently the assessment of the condition of an oak barrel is empirical and thus subjective. A quantitate assessment method would limit cost and improve wine quality and productivity.

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