INDUSTRY
AGRICULTURE, FOOD & BEVERAGE
Maintaining product quality from farm to plate
Product development in todays world, is a mix of many by-products and sub-systems and, traceability, be it in any industry, is especially essential in the food & beverage industry. To cater to customer concerns & identify the source of the problem quickly, it is important to track and trace individual products, suppliers etc. Product traceability in the food and beverage industry is a legal requirement in many European countries too.
Automating the entire process from identifying the right raw materials, tagging it, supplier (location, supplier, farm etc.), nutrition (protein, minerals, fat, moisture etc.) to tracking and maintaining and recording the entire production & distribution is critical for brands and their products. Manufacturers and suppliers are able to quickly act to trace, rectify, recall and replace as the need be, and continue enjoying the trust of their distributors, retailers and end customers.
Automation in the field of agriculture has grown over the last decade or more and continues to grow at a rapid pace. Some of the areas where IT and Automation can be implemented in the field of agriculture are as follows:​
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Soil fertility and moisture at every plant level especially in Organic farming and produce.
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Monitoring of Green houses for optimum temperature, fertility or soil, moisture and general wellness for plant/crop growth.
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Vision and AI based harvesting solutions - selection by readiness of color and size.
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Vision and AI based product sorting and packing - based on color, size, shape and weight.
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Process Automation - processing of raw material at the plant, from treating, cleaning, sorting etc. of the entire raw material to the final packaging or bottling of the end product.
Continuous sampling of input raw materials in industries like Agriculture, Food & Beverage etc. involves many iterations due to distributed sourcing, throughout the entire process, which are automated using a range of Vision based (cameras etc.) systems, Polytec NIR Spectrometers (nutrient level, composition, adulteration etc.) and Machine vision systems for packaging and forwarding. Polytec NIR Spectrometers with their range of distance and contact sensor heads, for real-time and sustained sampling of raw material on the field, during harvesting or on the conveyor belt based on your production and process needs helps quick interventions during the process to save costs.
Process analytics can be used throughout the entire production chain: when inspecting incoming goods, during production (either online in the form of automatic sampling while bypassing process control, or inline in the form of automatic sampling directly during the process) and during final production.
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Improving the production process to ensure consistent product quality is a continuous effort. The objective is to produce the best product, using the best raw material, thereby reducing wastage, reducing costs, increasing efficiency and increasing profitability.