May 2023 - 14

TECHNOLOGY
THE NEW AI TOOL
Early size data now available to the pear industry
BY FGN STAFF
T
he U.S. is one of the top three
pear producers globally, and
work is under way in many
areas of the supply chain to ensure
more pears make it to market.
From rootstock research and
modifications, growing structures,
disease prevention and treatment,
all the way through to controlled
atmosphere developments.
And then there's artificial
intelligence (AI), which is bringing
solutions to fruit growers and
packers that many would have
considered nearly impossible 10
years ago. One of the newest AI
innovations provides growers and
packers access to pear size data.
The information arrives earlier
than ever before - as soon as the
first bin of pears has been picked.
Ag tech company Hectre
recently released the Spectre for
Pears app. The app enables users
to gain massive size samples from
a photo taken on a standard iPad.
Applying AI technologies and a
lot of gymnastics in the cloud, the
app returns pear size data within
seconds, and with no touch on
the fruit.
Significant amounts of time
are lost in packinghouses due
to unnecessary line stoppages,
equating to costs in both labor and
missed opportunities. Often, these
stoppages are caused by the wrong
size fruit entering the line, a sign
that storage and production teams
lack reliable size data at the very
start of receiving.
Traditional manual early size
sampling is time-consuming
and produces such minimal size
samples that don't reflect the
14 | MAY 2023
Spectre for Pears, an AI tool, sizes up bins of Bartlett pears, delivering
large size samples in seconds to pear growers and packers. Photo: Hectre
fruit in the bin. Plus, because it's
at that early stage, teams must
make decisions around market fit,
storage placement and duration.
That same unreliable size data is
provided to sales teams who are
required to commit to orders for
fruit they think they have, but when
it comes time to run the pack, they
discover the size profile is wrong.
With AI tools like Spectre for
Pears, more than 80 pears per bin
can be detected and sized almost
instantly. With the app's speed and
high detection rates, in just a few
minutes growers could be looking at
a sample size of 800 pears. This is
touchless technology, which can be
used right out in the orchard, or in
the cool store or packinghouse, and
operates in any weather conditions.
With large size samples,
decisions for market fit, sales
|and storage become much
stronger. Add in benefits for the
packing line, and this level of
early size data access can be
a game- changer.
Sage Fruit, Yakima,Washington,
has used Hectre's Spectre for
Apples AI app since 2021.
" Having accurate size profile
information ensures we don't end
up with a reduction in throughput
and means the packing line can
run at full speed, " said Shane
McKinley, director of quality
control at Sage Fruit.
Now with the tech available to
the pear industry, similar benefits
could be gained and more pears
could make it to market.
May 2023

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of May 2023
