High Tech Worldwide

Currently working on effect of low frequency vibrations on firmness measurement of

small soft fruits :

Our R&D is currently working on the effect of low frequency sound for texture analyzis. This first study gives very good results We have searched the best sound frequency to characterize Cherry tomatoes We have used a piezo system placed under the sample, and a high sensitivity microphone placed on the other side of the sample, and pressing according to a calibrated force (Using a calibrated weight) Some specific parts have been designed in order to protect the microphone from extrenal sounds, and a stand has been made to maintain the piezoelectric disc. Those parts have been 3D printed on a Zortrax M200 Plus We have first made a firmware that scanned all audible frequencies, providing a sound level value for each of them (With cherry tomato placed on the piezoelectric disc) Then we have selected the frequency which was the more related to tomato firmness, using a batch of cherry tomatoes separated in 3 groups : Hardest, Intermediate and Softest We think we can design an instrument using those results - This instrument shall be suitable for small berries like blueberries, we have to test it on raspberry, blackcurrant, gooseberry and blackberry - It will be a non-destructive firmness tester The 16th of September, 2019, we have tested a batch of blueberries with very good success So we are going to improve our testing prototype, and we will soon propose a very accurate non-destructive tester for blueberries The 18th of September, 2019 : We have mounted the stand that will apply a constant pressure on fruit (According to the weight of the mobile tray) Using this stand in order to keep a constant distance between piezo disc and microphone, we have tested the repeatibility of our system for frequencies starting at 50 Hz till 2450 Hz, pitch of 100 Hz The results we have obtained are in the chart hereafter We obtain an average repeatibility of 99.5 %

Our R&D is currently working on..

Currently working on BANANA maturity checking / Automatic banana ripeness analyzer :

The banana maturity is highly correllated to color - So we are currently designing the “BANANA BOX” that will determine banana maturity stage using a wide angle camera and a powerful image analyzis software We are implementing some artificial intelligence for this The soft will provide the levels of green and yellow, as well as the darkness. The maturity stage will be finely analyzed

We are trying to find the best lighting in order to obtain the most accurate color on the screen, for future color analyzis. We are currently trying with a black matte background, and a white translucent sheet on the top of the device (In order to use the natural lighting of the room) The first picture is above - The green color does not make it perfectly Our first prototype is on the picture above In November 2019 : Second version of Agrosta Vision Box (Banana Box) and first results with software programmed using the C# language with Aforge library - Future software will manage the full banana :

Our Box mid november 2019, launched under the trade mark KLOTZ VISION We obtain now the perfect image for the product placed inside : No reflection, no shadow

STAY

UPDATED

March 2020 : We design a very fast machine for testing the firmness of 10 apples or citrus

within less than 1 minute

This machine will measure the firmness of apples or citrus within less than one minute, can be used as penetrometer or for deflection measurement

(firmtech type). Made by Agrosta engineering team, using a double core processor - It will be ready within one month / Compared to wonderful machine,

it does not provide color nor size, but is much faster and uses a double core processor. The software comes with a light version of excel, you don’t need

to buy Microsoft Office

September 2020 : A new platform for our portable

devices

We have decided to use a new microcontroller for our portable devices - All devices will be

upgraded before the end of the year

We will now use the double core ESP32 microcontroller, that comes with embed wifi and bluetooth - In first time, bluetooth and wifi won’t be activated, but the double core will be used, as well as the increased memory We will use a touchscreen as well : It is a resistive touchscreen of very high quality - We wtart to deply with the 100 Field

November 2020 : The Agrosta 100 Field will become the main quality assistant for our

clients - We want it to store all the quality

parameters of the batch on its SD card,

using its touchscreen interface

The interface of the Agrosta 100 field is currently modified in order to allow

the user to enter many parameters like sugar content, taste, size, variety

This data will be written at the end of the csv (Excel compatible file) strored on the micro SD of the device So the client will have all quality data about the batch stored inside the same instrument

November / December 2020 & January 2021

I work on Neural networks and Artificial Intelligence, we use those technologies applied on a colorimeter / spectrophotometer that will be dedicated to

food and fruits. You can teach the colorimeter, that will be able to categorize the fruits or food

The device will be sold with 2 softwares : The first software will be for teaching the colorimeter, it will generate a neural file - and the second will be for the user, it will use the neural file generated

January / February 2021

Working on an instrument that will determine the firmness of avocado, kiwi or mango using surface measurement - Electronics is ready, we will now

perform tests on fruits

April / May 2021

Working on android app for all our instruments and machines

June / July 2021

We work on a new version of the soil penetrometer, and we will soon launch a wide range of instruments for agriculture

Still working with our partner Copains in Argentina for Soil consistency meters

August 2021

We are designing a new colorimeter based on an innovative principle : We use optical fiber in order to enlight the sample, and we collect the color

information via a second optical fiber..

This seems to give excellent results, and an improved accuracy.. and allows the use of a very small sensor head We are improving the Roxanne software, it provides now the RGB as well

September / October 2021

We are working on a new portable texture analyzer, powered by a battery, and communicating via bluetooth with a smartphone or tablet

The first version will work according to firmtech for fruits, and will be dedicated to the fruit market for individual firmtech testing in the fields

October / November 2021

We have restarted to work on the medicine sector

We just received a combined order from Australia, from Tim Brown, surgeon and the University of Queensland We are redesigning our firmness tester for human skin and organs : Stomach, muscles, breasts It is a bluetooth device, communicating with a PC, with a sophisticated software for Windows

January 2022

Agrosta exposed at the national french museum for sciences (Cité des sciences) to illustrate texture analyzis

February 2022

Currently working on proposing a very simple solution for acoustic texture analyzis : Agrosta®Lyra Texture analyzer : The low vibrations emitted by a

loudspeaker are crossing the fruit. Depending on the fruit texture (Here an avocado), the echo varies. It is a non destructive firmness tester

July to September 2022

Melvin, our young engineer is currently working on a fluid cooler and dispenser for laboratories

October to November 2022

We are designing our texture analyzer Agrosta Belle with a touchscreen and bluetooth

Agrosta Belle Touch will be available in January 2023 It can be used either as versatile texture analyzer or as fruit texture analyzer

Early 2023

We are implementing all our devices with bluetooth capabilities

In order to have the opportunity to link them to any phone or computer We have updated our FruitLab : Fruit texture analyzer able to provide size and weight as well We work to improve the consumption of our bluetooth devices, a new project engineer is dedicated to this Our devices will switch to deep sleep after a few minutes of inactivity, and will be reactivated using a tactile button

First semester 2024

We use now plastic PLA + micro carbon fiber for the body of our machines and instruments

It makes the brown color on the picture on the right We are currently designing a new software for Windows : A software for global tree farm management. It will collect all harvest, clients and quality data

October 2024

Thomas is working on a quadcopter drone dedicated to research in agriculture

This drone will be dedicated to taking samples for analysis. The aim is to take samples of fruit, leaves or branches from remote, high or inaccessible locations. The researcher or farmer will be able to analyse the ripeness of fruit or a disease developing at the top of trees, for example (or in the middle of a field of wheat). The drone will be equipped with pruning shears and prehensile tweezers. It will be equipped with a camera and controlled by a smartphone or tablet It will take the sample back to the operator Drone for taking samples in orchards

© Made by Agrosta 2024 lak@agrosta.org

ABOUT

Currently working on..