A low-cost, automatic firmness measuring instrument was developed using commercially available components such as: dial gage, dashpot lowering mechanism, weight sets and probe tips. The details of the assembly and the names of parts manufacturers are given. The instrument is an automated modification of the original P-L Meter developed by Parker and Levin at Michigan State University. The appli...

In this paper, we present a cognitive learning framework for the humanoid robot to acquire cutting skill. Our framework consists of two main modules: 1) A visual module that is trained using the deep feature to visually estimate object firmness level, and 2) A motor skill learning module that adopts reinforcement learning method to generate optimized control parameters for cutting. We propose a...

The main objective of the study was to compare the effects of halogen lamp–microwave combination baking on quality of breads with other baking methods (conventional, microwave and halogen lamp baking). It was also aimed to improve the quality of microwave baked breads by using combination oven. Weight loss, specific volume, firmness and color of the breads were measured as quality parameters. H...

Currently, blueberry bruising is evaluated by either human visual/tactile inspection or firmness measurement instruments. These methods are destructive, time-consuming, and subjective. The goal of this paper was to develop a non-destructive approach for blueberry bruising detection and quantification. Experiments were conducted on 300 samples of southern highbush blueberry (Camellia, Rebel, and...

The effect of the level of fat substitution in cakes as well as the type of fat replacer on the textural behaviour of the product was investigated by instrumental and sensory analysis. Samples, which were varying in levels (35, 65 and 100%) and types (carbohydrate or protein based) of fat substitution were subjected to a compression test and the obtained stress strain, sigmoid curves were fitte...

Melting (MF) and non melting flesh (NMF) peaches differ in their final texture and firmness. Their specific characteristics are achieved by softening process and directly dictate fruit shelf life and quality. Softening is influenced by various mechanisms including cell wall reorganization and water loss. In this work, the biomechanical properties of MF Spring Crest's and NMF Oro A's exocarp and...

Bell pepper fruits coated with edible coatings such as chitosan and Aloe vera gel along with packaging was experimented to study their quality parameters and storage life. Chitosan and Aloe vera gel coatings with bell pepper creates a semi permeable barrier that controls gases exchange, reduce water loss and there by maintain tissue firmness, reducing microbial decay and delays oxidative browni...

The postharvest quality of tomato fruit harvested at the pink stage and dipped in 3 different concentrations of CaCl2 for different dip times (30, 20 and 10 minutes) were studied. Tomato fruits dipped in 6% CaCl2 for 30 and 20 minutes retained significantly (P < 0.05) higher level of firmness, titrable acidity and vitamin C than fruits dipped in 2% CaCl2 and the control. The calcium chloride tr...