Effect of Impacting Mass on Firmness Sensing of Fruits

There has been an increased interest in using impact techniques for sensing firmness of fruits and vegetables. When an impactor is used to strike a fruit, the impacting mass is an important parameter which affects both the impact signal and fruit damage. Results of theoretical analyses and tests conducted on two varieties of pears indicate that lowering the impacting mass results in amplifying the measured signal, reducing sensing errors, and minimizing damage to the fruit.