🍎🤖 Building an AI-Based Fruit Grading & Sorting Prototype | e-Yantra
One of the most exciting experiences of my year was participating in e-Yantra, an international-level robotics competition, as part of a team of four.
With Agriculture as the theme, we worked on a problem that caught our attention:
How can fruit grading and sorting be made more accessible, portable, and affordable?
Our team proposed a portable, low-cost fruit grading and sorting system that combines computer vision, machine learning, and an automated sorting mechanism.
🔧 Our prototype included:
• Raspberry Pi as the main processing unit
• Camera module for fruit image acquisition
• IR sensor for fruit/object detection
• Conveyor belt system for fruit movement
• Rotating platform for multiple-angle image capture
• Image processing and an AI/ML-based grading model
• Servo motor-based sorting mechanism
• Separate bins for Grade A, B, and C fruits
The overall workflow was:
🍎 Fruit Input → Detection → Image Capture → Image Processing → ML Classification → Grade Identification → Servo Control → Automated Sorting
The Raspberry Pi acted as the central controller, processing the captured image and generating the grading decision. Based on the classification, control signals were sent to the servo-based mechanism to direct the fruit towards the appropriate sorting bin.
Our journey through e-Yantra was also a major learning experience. As a team, we successfully cleared 3 evaluation sprints before being eliminated at the Pre-Regional Finals.
Although we didn't make it to the regional finals, the competition gave us valuable hands-on experience in machine learning, computer vision, Raspberry Pi, embedded systems, mechanical prototyping, problem-solving, and team collaboration.
More importantly, it taught me how challenging it can be to take an idea from a problem statement to a working physical prototype — and how much can be learned through each iteration. 🚀
Grateful to my teammates for the experience and the countless hours spent designing, building, testing, and improving our prototype.
#eYantra #Agriculture #AgriTech #MachineLearning #ComputerVision #RaspberryPi #Robotics #EmbeddedSystems #AI #Automation #Teamwork #Innovation #LearningByBuilding
14 August 2026 Ă 18h30
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