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. 2022 Dec 7:6:100412.
doi: 10.1016/j.crfs.2022.100412. eCollection 2023.

Microwave imaging for watermelon maturity determination

Joe Garvin  1 , Feras Abushakra  1 , Zachary Choffin  1 , Bayley Shiver  1 , Yu Gan  2 , Lingyan Kong  3 , Nathan Jeong  1
Affiliations

Microwave imaging for watermelon maturity determination

Joe Garvin et al. Curr Res Food Sci. .

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.

Keywords: Food quality; Maturity; Microwave imaging; Ripeness; Vivaldi antenna; Watermelon.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare the following financial interests/personal relationships which may be considered as potential competing interests: Nathan Jeong reports financial support was provided by 10.13039/100000199USDA and Alabama Department of Agriculture. Yu Gan reports financial support was provided by US Department of Agriculture.

Figures

Image 1
Graphical abstract
Fig. 1
Fig. 1
(a) Simulated and (b) fabricated Coplanar Vivaldi antenna.
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Coplanar Vivaldi antenna radiation patterns at different frequencies.
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
VSWR of Coplanar Vivaldi antenna.
Fig. 4
Fig. 4
Simplified block diagram of automated microwave imaging system.
Fig. 5
Fig. 5
Watermelon samples (a) 1, (b) 2, (c) 3, (d) 4, (e) 5, (f) 6, (g) 7, and (h) 8within the circular antenna array.
Fig. 6
Fig. 6
Camera photograph and microwave images for watermelon samples. (a) Sample 1,(b) Sample 2, (c) Sample 3, (d) Sample 4, (e) Sample 5, (f) Sample 6, (g) Sample 7, (h) Sample 8. Note that sample 8 camera photograph is not able to be taken due to on-going measurement.
Fig. 7
Fig. 7
Sample 3 (a) measurement process and (b) interpolated sugar concentration map.
Fig. 8
Fig. 8
Sample 5 (a) measurement process and (b) interpolated sugar concentration map.
Fig. 9
Fig. 9
Watermelon maturity for eight watermelon samples. X and y axis are the mean and standard deviation of the normalized microwave images.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

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