Electronic cherry for impact detection in postharvest operations

The design and construction of a synthetic, electronic cherry (eCherry) used for detecting impacts during postharvest operations is described.
The eCherry is a 34-mm diameter sphere molded with silicone rubber or similar material and contains a microcontroller, a static memory, a three axis accelerometer and a battery.
The development of the eCherry consisted of an initial stage where the electronics were built into a sphere similar in size to an apple, and a second stage where modified circuits where molded into the final cherry size device.
The accelerations measured with the eCherry were found to have very close agreement with theoretical values determined when the device was mounted in a centrifuge.
The impacts from drops onto steel or sponge rubber were found to differ mainly in the duration of the impact, as opposed to the magnitude of the inital impact.
The eCherry has been found to detect low magnitude accelerations that might cause damage during transport and processing.

VII International Cherry Symposium

P.B. Bro, I. Rojas

Prunus avium, postharvest damage, bruise, accelerations

https://doi.org/10.17660/ActaHortic.2017.1161.83