Fruit Quality Characterization Using Electrical Impedance Spectroscopy (EIS)

Project Title: Fruit Quality Characterization Using Electrical Impedance Spectroscopy (EIS)

Project Description: The aim of this research is the development of EIS methods for the non-destructive estimation of fruit quality evolution during its on-plant and post-harvest ripening. The project focuses on three interconnected research areas:

• The development of a handheld impedance analyzer, with a focus on the size and cost reduction and on the enhancement of the portability of the system, to obtain on-field measurements comparable with the commercially available bench-top instruments.
• The development of custom-made, biocompatible and non-destructive contact electrodes using a combination of printing techniques (i.e. spray coating, screen printing, dispense printing, etc…) on flexible and stretchable substrates (PET, Kapton, PDMS, Fabric).
• The analysis of the impedance output, in terms of its general evolution, influence of the frequency range and the fitting on equivalent circuits. Furthermore, the application of machine learning algorithms for the correlation of the fruit quality parameters with the impedance data will be evaluated.

Project Collaborators:
Dr. Marco Crepaldi, Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia (IIT) - Electronic Design Laboratory
Dr. Athanassia Athanassiou, Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia (IIT) – Smart Materials Group
Dr. Ørjan G. Martinsen, Department of Physics, University of Oslo, Norway
Dr. Almudena Rivadeneyra, Department of Electronics and Computer Technology, University of Granada, Spain.

Project Funding:
The project is funded by Italian Institute of Technology (IIT).

For more information please contact Pietro Ibba.