AI and robotics to automate fresh produce sorting and packing

MAF RODA Group will attend Fruit Attraction 2026 with a technology offering focused on the design of smart fresh produce packing houses, developed to address the new challenges of efficiency, traceability, quality and automation facing the sector. The company will highlight the progressive integration of artificial intelligence and robotics throughout the entire production process in postharvest facilities, from fruit sorting to packing and end-of-line operations.

In a context shaped by the growing demands of retailers and end consumers, quality sorting has become one of the most strategic and complex processes within any fresh produce packing house. Ensuring consistent quality, batch after batch, requires technologies capable of analysing each piece of fruit accurately, providing objective selection criteria and supporting faster, more consistent decision-making.

Artificial intelligence and robotics at the service of postharvest operations

To respond to this market evolution, MAF RODA Group has developed electronic quality systems incorporating artificial intelligence, with Globalscan 7 AI as one of its key technological solutions. This platform enhances fruit analysis capabilities and is complemented by specific software solutions such as the Smart range for citrus fruit and avocado, as well as QS software for cherries, blueberries and stone fruit. In addition to integrating AI into selection criteria, these solutions add a further layer of improvement to the user experience, simplifying equipment operation and making quality management in the packing house more accessible.

Within this approach, Berryscan G7 stands out as an advanced electronic sorting system for blueberries. Equipped with multispectral cameras, 360º fruit rotation and AI-based technology, it can analyse parameters such as colour, diameter, morphology and external quality, while also detecting defects with greater precision. Its integration with BerryQS, the quality software developed for this segment, enhances system autonomy and enables more intuitive and precise operation tailored to the actual needs of each packing house.

The latest evolution of BerryQS also incorporates features designed to assess attributes linked to the consumer experience. Visitors will be able to discover this functionality at the company’s stand during the next edition of Fruit Attraction. With this development, MAF RODA Group is moving towards a more comprehensive approach to blueberry sorting, combining appearance, external condition and organoleptic perception criteria to promote greater consistency in the final product and help marketers respond to one of today’s most relevant market demands: offering fruit that is consistent, attractive and aligned with consumer expectations.

Another major innovation that MAF RODA Group will present at this edition of Fruit Attraction is Fast Pack AI Lemon, a solution representing a significant step forward in the automation of citrus packing. The packing stage, traditionally labour-intensive and particularly sensitive to changes in format, fruit size or order specifications, is thus moving decisively towards a more flexible, intelligent and autonomous model. In this area, Fast Pack AI Lemon combines artificial intelligence, machine vision, robotics and advanced automation to respond more quickly and accurately to the requirements of packing houses and their commercial customers.

The system can be configured using basic information about the package, the fruit and its size. Based on these data, the machine automatically maps the format using machine vision and determines the appropriate position of each lemon within the package. This ability to read, interpret and place the fruit makes Fast Pack AI Lemon particularly relevant for reducing dependence on manual adjustments, speeding up changeovers and improving the consistency of the final result on lines handling a high variety of formats.

Beyond automating the physical packing operation, the innovation lies in the equipment’s ability to bring intelligence to the process. Fast Pack AI Lemon does not simply perform a repetitive task: it interprets the product, adapts fruit placement to the required position and enables a more agile production response to changing orders. For fresh produce packing houses, this means moving towards more stable packing lines, with lower operational complexity, greater process control and an improved ability to meet increasingly demanding commercial specifications.

Its connectivity adds another dimension to the smart packing house concept: the machine can be monitored and controlled from a mobile application anywhere within the facility, strengthening real-time management, improving the response capacity of the plant team and contributing to more flexible, traceable and connected operations.

Within end-of-line automation, Strauss, a subsidiary of the MAF RODA Group, will also present an automatic bagging, sealing and weighing unit for apples. The solution integrates fruit loading into polyethylene bags, sealing and weight control into a single process, while incorporating information such as variety and EAN code to strengthen traceability and optimise packing operations.

Fruit Attraction, an international showcase for the smart packing house

With this offering, MAF RODA Group reinforces its position as an international reference in technological solutions for the postharvest sector, integrating artificial intelligence, robotics, machine vision and advanced automation into a packing house model designed to improve productivity, reduce operational complexity and raise quality standards across the fresh produce industry.

The trade fair will provide the setting for the company to demonstrate how these technologies are transforming every stage of the production process, from fruit reception through to dispatch. This comprehensive approach places digitalisation, automation and applied intelligence at the heart of the evolution of fresh produce packing houses.

All these solutions will be on display on 6, 7 and 8 October at Fruit Attraction 2026, Hall 10, Stand 10D21.