Need A Good Avocado? OSU Has An App For That

Research from Oregon State University says they could help reduce food waste.  Assistant Professor Luyao Ma used artificial intelligence to determine when avocados are ripe, based on their outside appearance.

"Texture features of the avocado and it was more of those features together that AI can make a high accuracy, or very accurate, prediction of the avocado ripeness stage," she said.

Ma said they put 1,400 images into the program and it correctly judged firmness 92% of the time, and internal quality with 84% accuracy.  She added it could eventually be used to determine ripeness of other produce, as well.

"I hope our research can help the consumers and help the food industry to reduce the food waste."

Ma said they plan to create a smartphone app, so you could use it in the grocery store.  The technology could also be used by producers to determine when and where avocados should be shipped, so they don't over-ripen.

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