Sunkist Research and Technical Services unveils new citrus fruit sorter

The sorting and grading of citrus fruit took a step forward with the introduction of a fully automated Sunsortai machine, a new machine from Sunkist Research and Technical Services, according to a news release.

The sorter uses Google artificial intelligence technology to assess the inherent quality of each piece it processes, including any potential defects. After proving successful in Sunkist packing houses, the Sunsortai sorter is now available to any citrus packing facility, the company said.

The Sunsortai's has a proprietary imaging system that identifies fruit characteristics such as size, shape, weight, blemishes, and even decay, the release said.

Sunsortaisorters can be trained to recognize fruit blemishes and defects, including the presence of citrus greening, oleocellosis, or citrus cankers.

"Bringing AI to the fruit sorting process allows our packhouses to dramatically increase the speed, accuracy, and efficiency of their sorting operations," Aaron Gorsky, general manager of research and technical services, said in the release. "Sunsortai equipment can conduct a comprehensive fruit assessment and sort the piece accordingly, all in one pass. This offers substantial operational efficiencies and improvements."

Sunsortai machines can be customized to serve each facility's needs and it can readily adapt to existing conveying systems.

"One of this AI sorter's greatest features is its ability to learn," Gorsky said in the release. "Through repetition, the sorter learns to distinguish a defect's appearance from normal anomalous features like blossoms and stems. This happens in one pass, so it eliminates the need for special lines, manned by separate sorting specialists, who focus on specific blemishes. It's a huge time saver."

More information about the Sunsortai is available here.