Collection of ENEA technology and expertise
mm-wave device for quality assessment in the agri-food field
Radiation in the millimeter wave region is able to penetrate dielectric materials and at the same time has a high sensitivity to the presence of water. This allows the detection of water not directly visible on the surface of opaque objects.
Application sectors
Problem to solve
In the agri-food sector, product quality is often linked to water content. This parameter is almost impossible to determine if the sample has a shell. Therefore, there is a need for a system that allows such a measurement to be made through the shell. A similar problem arises in the field of cultural heritage, where damage from water and biological infestants is often not evident on the surface of a work (frescoes, mosaics, painted walls, styrutture...), but it is necessary to reveal it under the surface.
Description
The technology makes use of millimetre radiation in the region between 20 and 40 GHz to determine the transmission of the sample. Using an artificial intelligence system it is possible to obtain information on the amount of water contained in the sample.
Innovative aspects and advantages
- Avoids manually opering the sample for measurements
- Non-invasive, non-destructive
- Potentially applicable to the total production, and not just to a sampling
- Subsurface analysis, not available with other technologies
Technological Maturity 3-4
Strengths
- Cost
- Social/economic relevance
- Legal/regulatory content
- Efficiency/productivity/performance
- Innovation
- Lack of technology/solution for the specific task
- Scalability
- Ease of use
- Transferability/mobility
Admissible applications
- Determination of hazelnut quality without shelling
- Determining the amount of water in generic samples, with application in the fields of cultural heritage and industry.
- Determining the amount of water inside seeds or nuts.
Research group involved
Revision date
03-06-2025
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