{"id":469827,"date":"2024-03-14T06:30:00","date_gmt":"2024-03-14T05:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/innovationorigins.com\/?p=469827"},"modified":"2024-03-14T06:30:00","modified_gmt":"2024-03-14T05:30:00","slug":"ripe-or-unripe-this-microwave-scanner-has-the-answer-without-cutting-fruit","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ioplus.nl\/archive\/en\/ripe-or-unripe-this-microwave-scanner-has-the-answer-without-cutting-fruit\/","title":{"rendered":"Ripe or unripe? This microwave scanner has the answer – without cutting fruit"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Whether to quickly defrost bread or to reheat yesterday’s lasagna, your microwave oven is one of your lifesavers. Thanks to wavelengths ranging from one millimeter to one meter, microwaves are good at penetrating bodies \u2013 especially to warm up your leftovers. But there\u2019s much more that they can do than simply heating meals. These waves are widely employed in both radar and communication technologies. A Delft University of Technology (TU Delft<\/a>) spinoff is adding another use case to the list: leveraging microwaves to check fruit\u2019s internal quality. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Why this is important<\/h2>

Assessing fruit’s internal quality is key for importers and growers to guarantee the best standards for food in our markets. <\/p><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Founded in 2017, Vertigo Technologies<\/a> develops microwave and millimeter wave testing solutions. Initially born to offer solutions for the testing of electronic devices, the company now also caters to the agrifood sector, providing a non-invasive solution to test fresh fruit. \u201cWe noticed that there was a need for solutions like ours, so we started developing the first prototypes, and we\u2019re now about to launch our product line, FRESCO,\u201d says Luca Galatro, CEO of the company. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Assessing fruit\u2019s quality in a second <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Knowing fruits\u2019 internal condition is essential to understanding the ripeness, the shelf life, or the flaws of the produce. Currently, to check the condition of a batch of fruit, produce is cut, squeezed, and weighed. Decisions are made based on the acquired information; if quality is insufficient, a batch might be thrown away or end up in a secondary market. \u201cSince fruit needs to be cut, samples must be minimal; there\u2019s little room for error. Let\u2019s take a batch of mangoes; if out of ten, one is rotten, the incidence is already high,\u201d underlines Galatro. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The handheld device of the FRESCO product line (FMS-H), following the push of a button, can scan fruit and assess its internal quality. Through microwave sensing, the scanner creates an electromagnetic field inside the fruit. The generated field interacts with the fruit\u2019s pulp, and the device\u2019s sensor measures this interaction, telling the user about the internal condition of that pome.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Through the check, FMS-H can get all the information about the ripeness of a fruit. For now, the product can only assess the qualities of avocados and mangoes, but Vertigo is working to expand the range of analyzed fruits. Possibilities are being explored in pilots conducted with the Wageningen University and other Dutch and Belgian private partners. <\/p>\n\n\n

<\/a>
<\/div><\/div>
Gerard & Anton Award winner MantiSpectra: Spectral sensing for the masses<\/div>
We can all imagine how complicated it is to measure precisely how ripe a tomato is, whether the contents of a carton of milk are still good, and whether a medication’s composition is quite correct. This and much more is possible with Mantispectra’s sensor chip. The result is a measuring device for all these purposes, simply in your smartphone. So, always in your pocket!<\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n

From circuits to mangoes <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Being headquartered in Delft helps to get in touch with the players of the fruit value chain. Given the proximity to Rotterdam\u2019s harbor, many of the main European fruit importers, wholesalers, and growers operate there. Understanding the scalability potential of this use case made Vertigo pivot. Nevertheless,  the electronic devices sensing business unit allowed the spinoff to explore the fruit use case.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOur device sensing product is a cutting-edge solution,\u201d the CEO states. \u201cYet, this product line caters to a niche market, which includes companies developing next-generation telecommunication devices or research centers.\u201d Galatro pursued his Ph.D. at the TU Delft. Parallel to his work, he joined another research initiative, of which Vertigo was born. Being familiar with the world of electronic devices, the group developed a product for this specific market. Then, another university project that was exploring the possibilities of using microwave sensing for agrifood use cases was incorporated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Testing an apple – \u00a9 Vertigo Technologies <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Understanding the real needs <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

A crucial step in the way of Vertigo was taking part in YES!Delft<\/a>\u2019s validation lab. The startup incubator and ecosystem is one of the most active in the Netherlands and provides young entrepreneurs with tools to spur their company\u2019s development. For launching the device for sensing electronic devices, Galatro and his team knew the market very well, but this wasn\u2019t the case for the fruit sensing application. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis experience at YES!Delft was the first and the most impactful one. Me and my co-founder Raffaele \u2013 Raffaele Romano, CTO of the company ed. \u2013 have a technical background; we had no idea how to launch a product on a new market. Understanding the product market fit and the right approach to enter a new space is key,\u201d Galatro underscores. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

By getting in touch with the sector\u2019s stakeholders, the users\u2019 needs get clearer for those who develop the technology. Vertigo, for instance, was initially opting for another device format, then pivoting to a handheld solution, given the ease of use. Reaching the market and taking even the tiniest details for granted makes a world of difference for a small company. <\/p>\n\n\n

<\/a>
<\/div><\/div>
Minuscule solution, big effect: this is how Vini Mini battles food allergy<\/div>
Start-up Vini Mini develops products to prevent allergies. A lot has happened since the last time we spoke to Laurie Lancee. For example, she won the FEM-START Up Award – and with it \u20ac100,000 euros from investment company Antler – and Vini Mini’s product range was expanded from three to seventeen products. IO called Lancee for an update.<\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n

Scanning all of the world\u2019s fruit <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Eyeing European and global expansion, Vertigo also joined other development programs. The TU Delft spinoff is also part of StartLife\u2019s portfolio \u2013 an agrifood accelerator program \u2013 and joined the EIT Food network \u2013 the European Institute of Technology food-tech accelerator. More knowledge and network are the main takeaways of these experiences as the company approaches the market. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOur goal is global expansion. FRESCO has the most significant impact in the growers’ segment. Given the fruits the device can now analyze, South America is one of the main targets,\u201c he explains. As more pilots are conducted and more fruits are studied, the device will find more use cases in Europe. With sales, Vertigo hopes to get the ball rolling and conquer more markets one fruit at a time. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Whether to quickly defrost bread or to reheat yesterday’s lasagna, your microwave oven is one of your lifesavers. Thanks to wavelengths ranging from one millimeter to one meter, microwaves are good at penetrating bodies \u2013 especially to warm up your leftovers. But there\u2019s much more that they can do than simply heating meals. These waves […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2084,"featured_media":506712,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"views\/single-partner.blade.php","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"advgb_blocks_editor_width":"","advgb_blocks_columns_visual_guide":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[69111],"tags":[11629,67991,25333,83718,71367],"location":[6763],"article_type":[43139],"serie":[],"archives":[],"internal_archives":[],"reboot-archive":[82795],"class_list":["post-469827","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-agrifood","tag-food-en","tag-insightful-innovators","tag-tu-delft-en","tag-vertigo-technologies","tag-yesdelft","location-netherlands","article_type-features","reboot-archive-data"],"blocksy_meta":[],"acf":{"subtitle":"Microwaves are excellent at warming up your leftovers, but they can do much more. For instance, they can also assess the fruit's internal quality.","text_display_homepage":false},"author_meta":{"display_name":"Mauro Mereu","author_link":"https:\/\/ioplus.nl\/archive\/author\/mauro-mereu\/"},"featured_img":"https:\/\/ioplus.nl\/archive\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/IMG-20240117-WA0025.jpg","coauthors":[],"tax_additional":{"categories":{"linked":["Agrifood<\/a>"],"unlinked":["Agrifood<\/span>"]},"tags":{"linked":["Food<\/a>","Insightful Innovators<\/a>","TU Delft<\/a>","Vertigo Technologies<\/a>","yes!delft<\/a>"],"unlinked":["Food<\/span>","Insightful Innovators<\/span>","TU Delft<\/span>","Vertigo Technologies<\/span>","yes!delft<\/span>"]}},"comment_count":"0","relative_dates":{"created":"Posted 2 years ago","modified":"Updated 2 years ago"},"absolute_dates":{"created":"Posted on March 14, 2024","modified":"Updated on March 14, 2024"},"absolute_dates_time":{"created":"Posted on March 14, 2024 6:30 am","modified":"Updated on March 14, 2024 6:30 am"},"featured_img_caption":"","series_order":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ioplus.nl\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/469827","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ioplus.nl\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ioplus.nl\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ioplus.nl\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2084"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ioplus.nl\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=469827"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/ioplus.nl\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/469827\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ioplus.nl\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/506712"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ioplus.nl\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=469827"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ioplus.nl\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=469827"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ioplus.nl\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=469827"},{"taxonomy":"location","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ioplus.nl\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/location?post=469827"},{"taxonomy":"article_type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ioplus.nl\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/article_type?post=469827"},{"taxonomy":"serie","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ioplus.nl\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/serie?post=469827"},{"taxonomy":"archives","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ioplus.nl\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/archives?post=469827"},{"taxonomy":"internal_archives","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ioplus.nl\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/internal_archives?post=469827"},{"taxonomy":"reboot-archive","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ioplus.nl\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/reboot-archive?post=469827"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}