HIGH-SPEED LASER-BASED FRUIT AND VEGETABLE MATURITY MEASURING SYSTEM

AT THE PRESENT TIME, ALL MATURITY SORTING OF FRUITS AND VEGETABLES, SUCH AS APPLES, PEACHES ANDTOMATOES, IS ACCOMPLISHED EITHER BY HAND, BY COLOR OR BY THE USE OF THE MAGNESS-TAYLOR . EACH OF THESE TECHNIQUES HAVE MAJOR DISADVANTAGES IN THE HIGH-SPEED MATURITY GRADING OF FRUITS AND VEGETABLES. THE ANNUAL VALUE OF THE THREE NAMED FOOD CROPS ALONE IS IN EXCESS OF ONE BILLION DOLLARS, AND THE OPPORTUNITY TO INCREASE THE YIELD OF THESE CROPS CAN RETURN SIGNIFICANT VALUE TO THE ECONOMY, AND TO THE HEALTH OF THE CITIZENRY BY THE INCREASED CONSUMPTION OF THESE FOOD PRODUCTS. THE OBJECTIVES OF THE PROJECT INCLUDE THE DETERMINATION OF THE FEASIBILITY OF THE PROPOSED MATURITY SYSTEM AND THE DEVELOPMENT OF KNOWLEDGE THAT WILL PROVIDE A FOUNDATION FOR A PHASE II DEVELOPMENT EFFORT. THE PROJECT WILL ENCOMPASS THE BUILDING OF A FEASIBILITY EVALUATION TEST MODEL, THE CREATION OF A MATHEMATICAL MODEL FOR THE DYNAMIC CHARACTERISTICS FOR THE OVERALL MATURITY SENSING SYSTEM, AND THE PERFORMING OF DESIGNED EXPERIMENTS TO ASSESS THE FEASIBILITY OF THE PROPOSED APPROACH.