The berry impact recording device (BIRD) is a new advanced sensor system which will help harvest and process fresh-market highbush blueberries at high-speed and with low yield loss. Automated berry processing systems often damage the fruit, which results in lower profitability for growers and marketers; a University of Georgia (UGA)-led research team is developing the BIRD to counter act this.
The BIRD is one part of a multi-faceted effort being funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA). In addition to BIRD, researchers are using the nearly $2.4 million Specialty Crop Research Initiative grant to develop high throughput phenotyping technology and a semi-mechanical harvest-aid system. They will also investigate microbial contamination points along the harvest and postharvest process.
BIRD is a wireless data logging sensor that is similar to a blueberry in shape, size, weight, and surface physical properties. BIRD is placed into the handling process where the sensor is subjected to the same mechanical stress as a real blueberry. Along the way, BIRD quantitatively measures and records all the mechanical impacts it encounters. Impact data are saved in a memory chip.
Although the team is focusing on the $1 billion-per-year blueberry industry in the United States, they know that BIRD technology is not limited to that crop. “It is the first of its kind to study small fruits,” Li said. “It can not only be used to study blueberries, but also be used for other small fruits such as cranberries, cherries, and olives. It has drawn great interest from the industry not only in the United States, but also from South America and Australia.”
Source: http://blogs.usda.gov/