Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
All fruit data are accumulated in a traceability database with linkage to other pro-
duction data. In case any fruit data are required to be checked at the distribution or
consumption stage, it is possible to trace all the accumulated data back to the produc-
tion stage by typing the Product ID and the fruit position in the box. It is obvious that
farming operations have much relation with fruit grading data, and that the data can be
used as farming guidance to achieve precision agriculture, if the data are accumulated
in the database every year. This means that the database is usable for both consum-
ers and producers. This system can make more precise measurement possible than the
Keyboard type or Roller Pin type conveyor system because the data of each fruit are
kept even after fruit packing (Kondo, 2006). The grading robot design has evolved and
now carries fewer cameras and has a suction pad system that serially makes fruit inspec-
tion with movement online recently and are practically used in many grading facilities
in Asian countries.
14.3.4 S
ORTING
O
PERATION
Sorting operation of orange fruits is conducted by RP or PK conveyor flipping down
to drop fruits down to other belt conveyors. The conveyors bring the fruits into
cardboard boxes, where they are packed in determined grade and measured size.
However, some fruits sometimes get mixed up in a different grade line, because
machine vision inspection ability is limited, which makes it difficult to detect defects
on fruit surfaces. A few operators pick these fruits from higher grade conveyors and
place them on lower grade lines for final check. They do not move fruits from lower
grade to upper grade lines, because human operators cannot understand internal
quality, although they can detect external defects on the fruit surface.
14.3.5 P
ACKING
AND
P
ALLETIZING
O
PERATION
Orange fruits are usually packed in boxes on weight sensor to measure 10 or 5 kg. As
for peaches, apples, and pears, Cartesian coordinate manipulators often pick fruits
in carriers on sorting lines and pack them into a box with a potholed board. An ink-
jet printer can print the grade, size, and other information on the surface of the box
on the line, and the box is sealed. Then, all boxes are stored in a storage room for a
while and they are eventually palletized by an articulated robot for shipping.
14.4 SENSORS OF INSPECTION SYSTEMS
In the grading systems, imaging technologies and NIR technologies are essential in
performing external and internal inspection. In this section, color, monochrome, and
x-ray imaging examples and the NIR spectroscopy are described.
14.4.1 I
MAGES
FROM
M
ACHINE
V
ISION
S
YSTEMS
Machine vision is a common technology used to inspect appearance in many research
fields. Generally speaking, any machine vision system requires good illumination, image
acquisition hardware (lens, TV camera, image capture board, PC, and cables between
