RESEARCH WHIT SOCIAL SENSE
DESIGN AND DEVELOPMENT OF AN AUTOMATIC SYSTEM TO CLEAN, PRESERVE AND DISPENSING FRUITS
LINE OF INVESTIGATION
TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENT AND INNOVATION
ABSTRACT
The work team of Robotics for Science and Innovation from IE Loyola School, using collaborative work, made a searching of troubles related with food. Each team visited different places and there was a team that stood out which went to market places, vegetable shops on neighborhoods and supermarkets; they watched as a problem to investigate the contamination to which are exposed fruits; this situation was worrying because one product can be manipulated by the customers between seven and nine times before being bought. The work team made a search on different bibliographic data bases (science direct, dialnet, LexBase, etc) and they found important information about the contamination on the different markets and about the active Colombian legislation which is not being complied on many places. It was made an analysis about this problem by consulting with an electronic engineer, a bioengineer, a biologist and a researching and technology advisor, whom are supporting this investigation process.
To solve this problem, it is proposed to create a mechanism to improve the cleanness, conservation and manipulation of fruits
on market places and supermarkets, to minimizes the contamination risk and to protect the customer health.
The system has an acrylic container, to improve their environment protection, an electronic balance with serial communication to verify the food weight, an automated system to decontaminate based on ultraviolet light controlled with a Motorola microcontroller, and a graphic interface designed on LabView that permits to watch nutritional information of the product and its price.
The innovation that is proposed on the project represents an important technologic development because it stimulates the students’ creativity; it motivates them to the building of automated mechanisms as protection barriers to improve the hygienic conditions and safety of the fruits, in order to protect the health of customers.
To implement this project is important to consider the next factors: sensitize the customers about the importance of the fruits cleanness, train the salesmen about the automated process in the market places and supermarkets.
PROBLEM FORMULATION
¿Can an automated system provide a solution to the problems of cleaning, hygiene, preservation, accurate weight measurement, nutritional information and storage conditions for fruit in the stores?
JUSTIFICATION
The quality, freshness and hygiene that the product exhibits when is sold depends on the appropriate handling that is given to the fruits within the store where these are sold. This quality may be affected by various factors such as improper handling by staff of the business or consumers, by the incorrect storage and distribution, or simply by the time the fruit has been on the point of sale.
When a fruit is manipulated by different people, this fruit can accumulate human waste, toxic substances or pathogenic microbial sources on the surface, this will cause the fruit not keep clean and also can become a source potential contamination.
This is also regulated in Colombia through resolution 14712 de 1984 of the Ministry of Health which regulates matters related to production, processing, transportation, storage and marketing of vegetables and fruits, also by the Decree 3075 of 1997 issued by the President of the Republic of Colombia which regulates the procedures for cleaning and disinfection that should meet the unique needs of process and product in question.
The innovation that is proposed on the project represents an important technologic development because it stimulates the students’ creativity; it motivates them to the building of automated mechanisms as protection barriers to improve the hygienic conditions and safety of the fruits, in order to protect the health of customers.
OBJECTIVES
General:
Design and develop an automated mechanism to allow cleaning, storing, weighing and preserving fruit for marketing.
Specific:
* Build an automated mechanism to clean and preserve the fruit using ultraviolet light.
* Design and develop an airtight storage system which allows a process of weighing and a conveyor belt to carry the fruit to packaging.
* Automate the process of weighing with a gram scale for measurement of brand Nikkon with maximum capacity of 500g.
* Program a software developed in LabView to inform users of the uses and nutrients of the chosen fruit.
HYPOTHESIS FORMULATION
An automated system can perform the functions of cleaning, storage, weighting and packing of fruits, providing also product nutritional information, thus improving their quality and helping to prevent the spread of diseases.
RESEARCH IS FUNNY
FRUIT TRIP
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