Microwave imaging for watermelon maturity determination: Fruit maturity determination

Joe Garvin, Feras Abushakra, Zachary Choffin, Bayley Shiver, Yu Gan, Lingyan Kong, Nathan Jeong

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

9 Scopus citations

Abstract

Microwave imaging technology is a useful method often applied in medical diagnosis and can be used by the food industry to ensure food safety and quality. For fruit, ripeness is the primary characteristic which determines quality for the consumer. This paper proposes a novel microwave imaging system to determine the ripeness of watermelon as a proof of concept. The design employs a circular array with 10 Coplanar Vivaldi antennas offering wide bandwidth, high gain, and high efficiency. S-parameters between antennas are collected quickly via automated channel switching for fast image generation. Eight different watermelon samples of varying ripeness, type, dimensions, and origin are scanned and imaged. Comparisons with sample cross-sections show distinct differences in image characteristics based on watermelon maturity. Sugar concentration of unripe and ripe watermelon is also measured and plotted for further validation of the imaging technique.

Original languageEnglish
Article number100412
JournalCurrent Research in Food Science
Volume6
DOIs
StatePublished - Jan 2023

Keywords

  • Food quality
  • Maturity
  • Microwave imaging
  • Ripeness
  • Vivaldi antenna
  • Watermelon

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Microwave imaging for watermelon maturity determination: Fruit maturity determination'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this