- It iscost-effective and highly sensitive tactile pressure sensor
- There is a need for a sensitive tactile sensor integrated into a robotic system
- The technology has the potential to revolutionize the way in which high-value fruits are sorted today
JODHPUR: Indian Institute of Technology Jodhpur researcherhas successfully created and demonstrated a cost-effective and highly sensitive tactile pressure sensor for detecting fruit ripeness. The sensor utilizes nanoneedle textured PDMS (polydimethylsiloxane) as the dielectric layer and is lithography-free, allowing for flexible and large-scale fabrication. The team characterized the sensitivity and hysterics response of the capacitive tactile sensor and examined its transient response.
By measuring the elastic modulus and capacitance, the researchers were able to demonstrate ripeness assessment for different types of tomatoes.Dr.Ajay Agarwal, Professor & Head, Department of Electrical Engineering, IIT Jodhpur along with the researchers from IIT Delhi, and CSIR-CEERI, Pilani have published this paper on IEEE Sensor Journals (https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/9911182/).
In horticulture, monitoring fruit ripeness is essential to maintain their freshness and quality. Various microsensors have been developed for fruit sorting and ripeness detection. For instance, some devices rely on chemical analysis of sugar and starch content, while others use electrochemical sensing, image processing, electronics noise, and tactile sensing methods. However, chemical analysis is destructive and not applicable at all stages of ripeness, while electrochemical sensing requires expensive equipment. Image processing for ripeness detection is limited to specific fruit families, and changes in colour are not reliable indicators of ripeness for some fruits such as kiwis, mangoes, and blueberries.
On the other hand, measuring firmness has been a dependable and automated method for assessing ripeness. Therefore, there is a need for a sensitive tactile sensor integrated into a robotic system, capable of providing pressure, mechanical stiffness, and firmness information for a sufficiently large number of fruits during harvesting and transportation.
The uniqueness of this research are as follows:
- Novel low-cost process development for the sensor fabrication;
- Suitable for ripeness estimation of various kind of fruits;
- Highly sensitive capacitive sensor.
Talking about the significance of the research, Dr. Ajay Agarwal, Professor & Head, Department of Electrical Engineering, IIT Jodhpur, said, “The development of the highly sensitive tactile pressure sensor and its integration with a robotic system has the potential to revolutionize the way in which high-value fruits are sorted today. This innovative technology offers a cost-effective solution for accurate and reliable fruit ripeness detection during harvesting and transportation, enabling high-throughput sorting of fruits based on their quality and ripeness. The implementation of this system can have a significant impact on the fruit industry, improving efficiency, reducing waste, and increasing the shelf life and overall quality of exported fruits.”
The developed sensor is capable of sorting fruits as per their ripeness and hence, by integrating the newly developed sensor with a robotic arm, it will be possible to create a high-throughput system that can effectively sort fruits based on their ripeness and quality during the plucking or transportation stages. This cost-effective system will be particularly useful for exporting high-value fruits over long distances.
About IIT Jodhpur
The Indian Institute of Technology Jodhpur was established in 2008, to foster technology education and research in India. The institute is committed to technological thought and action to benefit the economic development of India. Scholarship in teaching and learning; scholarship in research and creative accomplishments; and relevance to industry are three driving forces for us at IIT Jodhpur.
IIT Jodhpur functions from its sprawling residential Permanent Campus of 852 acres on National Highway 65, North-Northwest of Jodhpur towards Nagaur. This campus is meticulously planned and envisioned to stand as a symbol of academics. A large parcel of the Permanent Campus (of about 182 acres) is set aside for the development of a Technology Park to strengthen institute-industry interactions.
The institute is committed to a multidisciplinary approach of technology development. Hence, it has established state-of-the-art laboratories for basic research and has organized its academic degree activities through Departments and its coordinated research through Centres for Technologies.