Date of Award

6-15-2017

Document Type

Thesis - SCU Access Only

Publisher

Santa Clara : Santa Clara University, 2017.

Departments

Computer Engineering; Mechanical Engineering

First Advisor

Daniel W. Lewis

Second Advisor

Timothy Hight

Abstract

Vinifera is an interdisciplinary senior engineering capstone project for four undergraduates at Santa Clara University. The goal of the project is to further automate the winemaking process by creating a hand-held device to analyze the health of grapes throughout their life cycle. Through working with viticulturists, two key measurements were identified: sugar content, measured in Brix, and acidity, measured in pH. The team has created a device where the user inputs a bunch of grapes, crushes the cluster, inputs the type of grape and the row-column location within the vineyard, and presses a button. The rest of the process is then automated until the grape skins and stems are to be removed. There are products available to help with the testing process but our device simplifies a number of tedious processes into one simple process, allowing the farmer to accurately record data digitally, uploading it to a database on a server which can be accessed through a web interface. Digital storage also allows the farmer to have access to historical data, which allows for them to optimize their processes over the years. The device allows them to do all of this with an accuracy of ±0:1 pH and ±0:6 Brix.

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