field notes

On your way home from work, you stop at the store to pick up some more milk. As you’re walking back to your car, reflexively your iPhone appears in your hand and you swipe through a pile of emails. A clever subject line catches your attention. But what’s this? Who could possibly read this mouse type email content?! You fumble the milk as you try to pinch the screen, almost walking into another car leaving the parking lot. Forget this! You’re at your car and delete the message before you ever had a chance to see what it said.

Just north of Silicon Valley and just south of Napa, Fruition Sciences is using real-time sensors to monitor the hydration levels of grape vines. Farmers in dryer climates like California are quickly adopting this technology to create perfectly hydrated grapes and save thousands of gallons of water per year.