Story of the Project
Initial trials combining machine learning algorithms with sensors for volatile organic compounds were carried out at the Umwelt-Campus Birkenfeld. The project showed that coupling simple, commercially available sensors with artificial intelligence significantly expanded their spectrum of use. Genie Enterprise then demonstrated the great potential of this research in several application areas.
The realisation of this approach in winemaking was considered at the same time ambitious and promising. The suite of expertise required for this endeavor was supplemented by additional partners, resulting in a consortium founded in 2019 to include Weincampus DLR Neustadt, Fraunhofer Institute for Integrated Circuits, Wille Engineering, Lergenmüller winery, and Vineyard Cloud. Once ideas for the project were refined, a suitable source of funding was found in the BMEL, and in 2021 the PINOT project was launched.
Project Partners
DLR Rheinpfalz/Weincampus Neustadt
(Consortium leader)
The Weincampus contributes expertise in viticulture and enology to the PINOT project. Fields of specialization include chemical and sensory analysis of wine aroma.
Contact: Prof. Dr. Dominik Durner
Fraunhofer Institute for Integrated Circuits IIS
The department of “Sensory Perception and Analytics” at Fraunhofer IIS is concerned with AI-supported digitalization of human senses and emotions. For PINOT project, Fraunhofer is primarily responsible for the selection, evaluation and development of suitable (gas) sensor technology using artificial intelligence.
Contact: Sebastian Hettenkofer
Genie Enterprise
Genie Enterprise handles the processing and analysis of data, the exploration of AI methods and the training of AI models.
Contact: Thomas Keßler
Umwelt-Campus Birkenfeld, Trier University of Applied Sciences
Umwelt-Campus Birkenfeld is developing tools in the fields of microcontroller programming and AI evaluation and is designing them in a way that anyone can use them.
Contact: Levin Czenkusch
Vineyard Cloud
The startup Vineyard Cloud handles the validation and commercialization of research prototypes. Their aim is to open new markets by developing concepts into a fully-fledged, market-ready products with integrated services in the fields of agriculture and wine marketing.
Contact: Marcel Sambale-Lergenmüller
Weingut Lergenmüller
As the largest privately run winery in Germany, Weingut Lergenmüller is providing testing environments and winemaking expertise for the calibration of the “artificial nose” in order to be able to introduce and develop AI into the future of viticulture and its further development.
Contact: Laurenz Lergenmüller
Wille Engineering
Wille Engineering is an expert in product conceptualization and development in the research environment. In PINOT, various prototypes must be realised for wine production and retail environments, thus Wille is focused is on practical benefits, simple handling, and cost-effective manufacturing.
Contact: Sebastian Wille
