NZ: Kiwifruit packer bolsters industry capability

An automated kiwifruit packing system developed at Massey University means buyers will receive exactly the grade of kiwfruit they require at the right stage of ripeness.

The system, designed by Dr Rory Flemmer of the School of Engineering and Technology, has been developed with kiwifruit marketing organisation Zespri, after recognition that a lack of labour to pick and pack kiwifruit was impacting upon the industry. Predictions earlier this week suggest that off-shore fruit loss has accounted for a $19 million reduction in returns to growers and service companies.

Dr Flemmer says the new machine can grade to within 0.1 gram, use artificial vision to grade to Zespri standards, including blemishing, determine soft spots, label and pick and pack complex orders.



“The robot will not only reduce packing costs but will inspect and pack more consistently for 24 hours every day. It will also collect data that will enable coolstore operators to decide which fruit to market and at what time.”

Information gathered can be used to provide custom-packed fruit for each market, and also to provide data on the kiwifruit as picked. “For example we will know how many fruits are coming in too large or small, too ripe or too blemished,” Dr Flemmer says.

Dr Flemmer and students from the School custom-designed and built the machine, drawing from Dr Flemmer’s international experience automating production at companies including Bausch & Lomb, Nissan and GM. One lane is being used at present, although the plant can run up to four lanes in each machine, packing 250 to 400 trays per hour. The next step is production of an automated robot, which will be able to pick the kiwifruit, Dr Flemmer says.

“We expect to have the picker robot running in a couple of months. It will be able to follow instruction to which part of the orchard to pick and will also store data – adding a whole new dimension to the traceability trend we are seeing. We also hope to use that robot for pollinating in the future, ensuring the robot is fully occupied in the different picking and pollinating seasons, and of course in different hemispheres as demand grows.”

The kiwifruit packer is adaptable to pack almost any type of fruit or vegetables, Dr Flemmer says, and will be operated by about 1.5 staff each shift. He believes that a return to the ‘number eight wire’ attitude in building tools to suit the environment may enable New Zealand to better compete and perhaps stem the flow of manufacturing plants heading offshore.

“Automation can substantially reduce labour costs to the point where New Zealand manufacturers can outperform Chinese manufacturers in terms of quality and cost and beat them at their own game. However bringing in automation consultants or buying off-the-shelf machines are at best stop-gap measures – everyone can benefit from the advantages offered by systems freely available.

“The solution is to develop in-house capability to build intelligent machines with highly sophisticated vision systems working in conjunction with robots that can perform complex tasks very accurately and reliably. By increasing the technical level of a company, it will just keep winning.”

Source: massey.ac.nz

Publication date: 11/8/2007

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