Scientists at the Valencian Institute of Agrarian Research (IVIA) have created a new way of using artificial vision to separate the good from the bad – fruit, that is.
Testing out its prototype on citrus fruits, the researchers at IVIA use computer vision to identify the quality of oranges. The technology is able to sort out which fruits are rotten and which are not. An additional machine sorts the surviving fruit by color, quality, and exterior damage at a rate of up to 20 oranges per second, classifying it as excellent or acceptable in quality. This, in turn, helps determine the markets the fruit will be sent to and the prices it will demand. A third and final machine works in the field, assisting fruit pickers in establishing which fruit is ripe and ready to be harvested.
Image courtesy of IVIA
Currently, the greatest obstacle standing in the way of this technology becoming mainstream is the cost.
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