Postharvest Geometric Characterization of Table Olive Bruising from 3D Digitalization

Abstract

The physical properties of table olive fruit are an important factor in the design of harvesting, transport, classification, and commercialization. The visual quality of the fruits harvested is the most important factor limiting the commercialization of table olives. The mechanical damage during harvesting consists of local tissue degradation, resulting in bruising of the fruits. In recent years, several studies have been carried out to identify physical properties and to calculate indices that characterize the damage to olives. However, all of them are based on 2D techniques. The aim of this work is the determination of new geometric parameters based on a 3D analysis of the scanned olives. The 3D shape parameters have been collated with those obtained by standard 2D shape analysis methods. From the results, it is observed that the use of high-resolution, medium-cost 3D technologies allows a more precise characterization of the shape of damages observed in table olives. To carry out three-dimensional analysis, Boolean operations of the solid and parametric surfaces of the meshes obtained by a 3D scanner have been used.