The Australian Wine Research Institute

Development of web and mobile based extension tools

Project summary

Technology is constantly evolving, and is changing the way producers seek information, communicate, learn and apply knowledge in practice. Learning technologies are becoming social, collaborative and virtual. Web applications, ‘connected devices’ and smart phones are central to the digital future. This project will develop new technology platforms for dissemination of research outputs from the AWRI and other organisations, including:

• Mobile device apps as decision-support systems to support winery and vineyard operations;
• Cloud-based web applications;
• Email and web-based communications optimised for mobile device access;
• e-Learning tools consisting of 3D visualisation and interaction to connect and engage; and
• Collaborative learning via webinars and social media tools.

One area of interest will be the use of web-based tools such as The Wine Cloud to provide centralised data capture, storage and remote access for key viticultural and winemaking parameters, including analytical data (such as that captured through the AWRI grape and wine portal) and other data such as photos of disease assessment. This element of the project would aim to integrate with existing, commercially available data management systems to direct vineyard and winery management decisions towards the pursuit of grapes and wines with target composition.