According to the daily mail, a newly invented fruit robot can accurately read the temperature information to determine whether the fruit is fresh. The fruit robot adopts the 3D printing technique, which has the same shape and density as the true fruit.
Researchers at the Swiss Confederation Institute of materials science and Technology (Empa), Dupont Dov, made an artificial fruit sensor, which can detect the temperature of fruits to check whether fruits are fresh during transportation. The sensor, like true fruit, has a temperature change during transportation. If there is a problem in transit, it will provide detailed information after arriving at the destination.
In order to simulate the characteristics of various fruits, the researchers examined fruit with X rays and used computer algorithms to generate the average shape and meat quality of the fruit. They use water, carbohydrates and polystyrene to simulate fruit fleshy.
"We analyzed the sensors in the refrigerating chamber, and all the tests were successful," explained Dr. Thijs Defraeye, the project leader. "We are developing a single sensor for different types and even different varieties of fruit," he said.
The existing measuring device can only measure the surface air temperature. Dr. Defraeye said, "our sensors provide more accurate data and more reliably simulate the changes of real fruits at different temperatures." The Institute is looking for potential industrial partners to produce a fruit sensor, which sells for about 50 Swiss francs.