Innovative AI-Based Post-Harvest Food Quality and Safety Monitor

This proposal responds to the USDA's Topic 8.5 - Food Science and Nutrition, Subtopic f. Nutrition Security, Food Safety, and Quality Data Tools. Our proposal addresses integration of next generation, innovative, printed toxic gas sensors developed at Interlink Electronics with data fusion and smart analytics to develop an Innovative AI-Based Post-Harvest Food Quality and Safety Monitor. Today the food industry is a $2 trillion activity in the USA alone, and >US$9T worldwide, with an annual growth of ~6-10%! Food and agriculture are fundamentally important to a thriving society. Packaged foods alone account for >$1T in business in the US today. It is estimated that globally around 15% of the world's food is lost after harvesting and before reaching the retail level, including through on-farm activities, storage, and transportation. The losses are highest for fruits and vegetables at all points in the food supply chain. The proposed work will provide advanced processing and material measurements [low-cost sensor nodes] that will have enormous impacts by improving the food industry efficacy and safety for widespread societal benefit. This proposed research will develop a low, cost, extremely low power sensor, alarm and controller for agricultural manufacturing - processing, storage and transport.The proposed work, if successful, will develop a sensor platform for monitoring and control of processes within the food chain. These sensors provide a tool to eliminate much of the billions lost each year in the agricultural produce food supply chain. Starting with these post-harvest quality sensors, the resulting technology platform can be expanded to additional applications improving cost effectiveness and time efficiency in other areas of food and agriculture as well as other manufacturing industries. Similar large networks of low-cost sensors are needed for process control and leak detection in areas such as the energy sector (hydrocarbons, hydrogen and ammonia.