AI also powers the new TOMRA Neon, to pre-grade blueberries. Automated
blueberry harvesting is faster and less costly than manual harvesting but
brings challenges in the form of unwanted debris and fruit clusters to fresh
fruit processing and packing lines. To address these challenges, TOMRA Neon
accepts and rejects fruit before transferring it directly onto TOMRA’s KATO260 optical sorter and grader. It is by using AI that TOMRA Neon is able to identify,
differentiate, and remove unwanted clusters, undersize fruit, and unripe fruit.
This optimizes optical grader efficiency
by removing more than 95% of clusters
and more than 90% of unwanted green
and red berries.
Reasons for optimism
AI’s valuable capabilities in food
processing will become even more
important in the near future because
of the increasing challenges presented
by global food scarcity and disruptive
weather events – and because there’s
commercial pressure to provide the
highest-quality ingredients and products
even when input product quality is
variable.
AI can also help processors and
packhouses deal with other challenges,
such as striving to provide products and
services at the lowest cost; meeting
customers’ product specifications
without over- or under-delivering; and
reducing or removing the problems
associated with recruiting, training, and
retaining skilled labor.
The headaches associated with finding
enough people to do seasonal work, and
the ongoing challenges of managing a workforce, can be addressed by
automating tasks previously done
manually. It’s no secret that sorting,
grading, and packing machines are faster,
more accurate, consistent, reliable,
and ultimately more cost-efficient than
humans.
This brings us back to the
controversial subject of AI replacing
jobs. It’s worth remembering that
many processing plants, especially
those not near large population
centers, struggle to employ all the
people they need – so rather than
performing tasks previously done
manually, automation often does
what otherwise could not be done.
Automation often handles tasks
people don’t want to do because they
are boring, repetitive, or strenuous.
This is undoubtedly true of manual
sorting and grading – and if workers
are displaced from these roles,
often they are redeployed to other
tasks on the line, which are less
monotonous and add more value.
As we’ve seen here, however, reducing
labor dependence is just one of many
ways AI-driven automation benefits
processors and packhouses. AI is set
to play an increasingly important role in
meeting the needs and desires of food
consumers as the world’s growing middle
classes increase the demand for healthy
food. And most importantly of all, AI will
help meet the challenge of feeding the
world’s vast and growing population,
which will require more food production
and less food waste.
