With a nomination for the 'Robotisation and data-driven horticulture' theme prize of the 2022 Horticultural Entrepreneurship Award, Gearbox has the wind in its sails. "This nomination is, of course, a wonderful recognition of the innovations we work hard on every day as a team. It motivates us even more to continue searching for new solutions for our customers. Our goal is to enable our customers to do their work a little smarter every day," says Ab van Staalduinen of Gearbox.
We asked him about the innovations we can expect from the Maasdijk-based scale-up in the near future. "This year, we will mainly be launching the different variants of the GearStation. A GearStation provides in-line quality inspection and sorting of vegetables, fruit and flowers, both loose, in punnets and in final packaging. We also take the empty packaging with us."
Container Inspector
In a few weeks, Fruit Logistica will be held in Berlin, where Gearbox will be putting the GearStation in the spotlight. "The basis for this product is not really new; for quite some time now, the GearStation has been assessing empty containers, for example."
The GearStation's container variant accurately and consistently assesses the quality of reusable containers 24/7 for residual organic material, stickers, damage, etc. This makes the product highly versatile. "We assess vegetable crates in various colours and sizes, but auction buckets are also familiar to us. This can be done upon arrival at the nursery before it enters the greenhouse, after a crate washer or at the sorting machine," says Van Staalduinen.
The data from the GearStation provides reliable insight into the quality of the container pool, and removing dirty containers results in a cleaner container pool. "This reduces the risk of spreading viruses and, moreover, broken containers cause damage to the product and malfunctions in other automation systems. We are counteracting this with the use of the Container Inspector."
GearStation and its variants
“By listening carefully to our customers and observing market developments, we were able to significantly expand the use of this quality controller last year, and we will be demonstrating this in Berlin.”
Issues surrounding objective assessment and 100% quality control are playing an increasingly important role throughout the entire chain. "Quality assessment now requires employees to use their thinking skills and knowledge during the processing process. Although everyone does their utmost, people make mistakes," says Van Staalduinen.
The GearStation, based on the latest camera technology and artificial intelligence, offers a solution. "Assessing fruit and vegetables in punnets heading for the flow packer, the 5-kilogram boxes from the greenhouse and loose produce on the conveyor belt, as well as empty containers, can be assessed very effectively for the characteristics that employees currently check. These include detecting damage, colour and shape deviations, mould or pest damage. All inspections are immediately displayed in clear dashboards and reports in the Gearbox Cloud environment. With this high-throughput quality inspection, the GearStation saves labour costs and claims right from the start, ensuring a short payback period."
Gearbox will be exhibiting the GearStation at Fruit Logistica in Berlin. From 5 to 7 April 2022, they can be found in hall 4.1, stand C06.
Source: AGF
