Automation for value added prepared vegetables – The Brussels sprout

This paper considers automation in the preparation of Brussels sprouts as a value added food item. Within the processing of Brussels sprouts several tasks already have automated solutions but these require that the sprouts be fed to them in an exact and repeatable manner. To achieve this, feeding of the machines is performed manually. This paper explores options for automating this product feed. A prototype machine is described which was tested using real products and was found to be capable of aligning 30 sprouts per minute in the desired orientation.