To the robot RC 3075 conceived by Roberto Conterno the “Technology Innovation Award” 2025

Improving the quality of work, of the product, and respect for the environment, coping with the ever-increasing shortage of skilled labor, containing production costs: these are important goals in the wine supply chain as well. Automation, rationality and safety, both for operators and for the environment, after all, are the drivers of technological innovation for Italian viticulture, under the spotlight of the “Innovation Challenge Lucio Mastroberardino”, the themed competition signed by “Enovitis in Campo” by Unione Italiana Vini-Uiv, which will be staged in 2025 in Rosciano, Abruzzo (June 18-19), at Cantina Marramiero. And according to a technical-scientific committee made up of academics, technicians and agronomic managers from user companies, looking at the most interesting innovations and solutions for technical progress, efficiency and functionality, sustainability, practicality, environmental impact and quality of work, to win the “Technology Innovation Award” 2025, is Black Shire's Robot RC 3075, conceived by Roberto Conterno, at the helm of Giacomo Conterno, the winery that produces the legendary Barolo Monfortino Riserva, and engineer Federico Bona (and which WineNews had reported on at the time of its launch, in this article and in this video), an autonomous tool carrier capable of operating without any operator, equipped with a thermal motor capable of generating electricity and hydraulic power. It is also a particularly advanced solution on the safety side, a must-have plus given the incidence of accidents caused by farm tractor rollovers in Italy, which cause more than 100 deaths a year.
Qualifying, on the other hand, as “New Technology”, i.e., technologies, machines or products that have distinguished themselves for at least one of the evaluation parameters set out in the contest rules, a note explains, is Antonio Carraro’s Tony 8900 Trg, a tractor particularly suited for vineyard work; the Cobo driving assistance system, an on-demand robot compatible for all tractors that, with the help of artificial intelligence, integrates Gps, Lidar technology, and continuous image analysis to control machinery in the vineyard; but also Dondi’s new patented mechanical brush-clearing machine.
Also receiving a mention as “New Technology” was Manica’s Retentis, a lignin-based soil granulate aimed at improving the water balance of young vine plants. Rounding out the palmares are two defense solutions, Bayer CropScience’s Vine Moth Control Method, Vynyty Lobesia Pro Press, a pheromone-containing gel composed of biodegradable material of biological origin, and Koppert Italia’s Citripar against mealybugs, a preparation based on a parasitoid active in the natural control of grapevines.
The winners will be honored on June 18, at the opening of “Enovitis in Campo”: under the spotlight between conferences and live performances between the rows, interesting innovations and solutions from robotics to electrification, from proper soil and canopy management to organic, to agrochemicals and biostimulants.