Machine determines fate of cucumber: to speciality shop or in tzatziki
A machine that inspects and sorts fruit and vegetables itself. It sounds like something invented by Gyro Gearloose, but Gearbox Innovations from Maasdijk has actually built this futuristic device.
Fred Vermeer 11-03-19, 15:03 Last update: 16:09
In two variants, in fact. There is the GearVision Sorter, which sorts fruit and vegetables by quality class. The Gear Vision Inspector goes one step further, as it can even perform an in-depth quality analysis. This allows for very detailed inspections and comprehensive reports, so that the products can be grown even better.
"The digitisation of the inspection process is an important step towards fully automated packaging of fruit and vegetables," says Simone Keijzer, co-founder of Gearbox alongside Johan Kreeft. The company has only been in existence for two years and is growing rapidly. Ten employees are already working on research and development on a daily basis.
The sorting variant of the GearVision is already in operation and running at full speed at Piccolo Minikomkommers BV in De Lier. There, the mini cucumbers literally go in all directions on the conveyor belt before finally ending up in the right box. Every spot, tear, deformation or colour difference is detected and recorded with pinpoint accuracy. The best cucumbers are sold individually, the lesser ones go into salads, and if they are too discoloured or damaged, they disappear into shampoo or tzatziki, the famous Greek sauce.
"The inspection of fruit and vegetables is largely done by hand," says Keijzer. "Manual inspection is not only labour-intensive, but also prone to errors. Buyers, such as supermarkets, are setting increasingly high quality standards, while growers and packers are struggling with high staff turnover. Capacity issues mean that they can only carry out random checks."
If there are inferior products among them, customers will naturally be dissatisfied. "High quality allows growers to distinguish themselves from others," says Keijzer. "If you have that high quality, it is very valuable."
Worldwide
More growers and even breeders are aware of this, as Gearbox already has a number of orders from leading companies. Keijzer cannot say which ones, as these companies do not want to give their competitors any advantage. But it does say something about the rapid growth Gearbox is currently experiencing.
Gearbox's smart automation solution is an important step for the entire horticultural sector chain. Liduina Hammer, Uniiq
Investment fund Uniiq is also extremely interested in Gearbox's activities and has pledged £300,000 to further develop GearVision, so that the devices can be used for more crops and products. The intention is also to roll out the product worldwide. "Gearbox's smart automation solution is an important step for the entire horticultural sector," says fund manager Liduina Hammer of Uniiq.
Gearbox's research and development facility is located on a small road lined with market gardens near the Geerbos in Maasdijk, where the company also receives visitors. However, production takes place at De Vierde Hoeve in Maasdijk. "That's where we assemble all our products," says Keijzer. And there will only be more of them in the near future. The secret of Gearbox? "We use the Lego method," Keijzer reveals. "With our 'building blocks', we can make any machine that meets the customer's requirements." With Lego, you can build almost anything you want, so that's promising.
