Authors: Manickavasagan, A.; Jayas, D.S.

Source: Stewart Postharvest Review, Volume 3, Number 5, October 2007 , pp. 1-8(8)

Publisher: Stewart Postharvest Solutions

Abstract:

Purpose of the review: In thermal imaging, the surface temperature of an object is mapped into a high resolution two-dimensional image. Thermal imaging has been used widely in various fields such as the military, medicine, and electrical and mechanical engineering. In recent years, this method has become increasingly popular for many applications in the agricultural and food sector due to the portability of the equipment involved and the simplicity of the operational procedures. This article reviews the fundamentals of infrared thermal imaging and its applications in agricultural and food processing, and discusses future research directions for commercial applications.

Limitations/implications: Environmental factors such as wind, sun, fog and rain affect the performance of thermographic surveys in outdoor applications. For quantitative temperature measurement using thermal imaging, the emissivity of the objects must be high and known.

Directions for future research: Most of the postharvest applications that use this method need pre-treatments (heating or cooling) before imaging to obtain the desired thermal information and the type of pre-treatment varies for different applications. The success of this method for classification or quality determination in real-time applications depends mainly on the development of a robust pretreatment method and test procedures for various applications.

Keywords: THERMAL IMAGING; ON-FARM OPERATIONS; POSTHARVEST OPERATIONS; FOOD PROCESSING

Document Type: Research article

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.2212/spr.2007.5.4

Publication date: 2007-10-01

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