When NZ based fruit tech innovator, Hectre, launched their early fruit sizing tool Spectre to the apple industry in 2020, little did they know the volume of use cases fruit growers and packers would identify.
Now, less than a year later, more than 20 million pieces of fruit (and counting) have been detected and sized by Spectre – Hectre’s simple to use computer vision fruit sizing tool that operates on an iPad or iPhone.
“Major apple warehouses in Washington are using Spectre to gain early and reliable size data, to support packing planning and reduce costly packing line stoppages. Citrus packers in South Africa are using Spectre to gain huge increases in their sample size, improving information for sales decisions. We’ve got apple growers in Italy using Spectre to gain their own size data before sending their fruit to the co-op. Packers in Canada are using Spectre to strengthen their QA processes,” advises Hectre CEO and Co-founder, Matty Blomfield.
“And soon, Spectre for Cherries will be available for cherry growers and packers around the world, delivering early size data to support faster sales of their premium fruit,” adds Blomfield.
Spectre uses computer vision AI to detect fruit on the top layer of a full bin or bucket of fruit. Growers and packers using Spectre simply take a photo of a bin or bucket, and Spectre will size each piece of detected fruit, serving up a sizing estimation graph to the user’s device, all within seconds. The tool provides massive samples, reduces QC labour costs, and delivers critical data for important decision making.
On average, 120 pieces of fruit per bin are detected and sized by Spectre.
The tool was initially developed with growers in mind to assist with QC in the field, providing reliable sizing data in real time during harvest. However, it soon became clear that fruit packers also had extensive needs. After decades of time consuming and inaccurate size sampling using calipers and sizing rings, and having to rely on minute samples to make decisions regarding storage, packing line planning and sales, Spectre is a game changer.
Spectre models are being finalised for pears and avocados, and final testing of the Spectre for Cherries model is now underway.
Another Hectre innovation – Truck Top Vision – which sees Spectre hooked up to a video camera under which open top fruit trucks pass, will see a further increase in use with the app being able to detect more than 5,000 pieces of fruit from one single truck pass.
The company’s commitment to ease of use, or as Hectre refers to it, “clever simplicity”, has been a cornerstone in the company’s success, and underpinned their recent win at the global AgTech Breakthrough Awards.
Hectre’s Orchard Management and Fruit Sizing App is now in use in 11 countries.
