Auxiliary smart gas sensor prototype plugged in a rfid active tag for ripening evaluation

Currently real time monitoring infrastructure of perishable goods, provides only temperature, humidity and CO2 information or different gas sensing devices are integrated as auxiliary sensors in RFID reader, but perhaps, nobody realizes a advanced gas sensor board with internal data elaboration able to extract the useful information for ripening evaluation. Starting from preliminary work in which first versions of infrastructure and devices have been developed to study algorithm and mathematical model, we have realized an innovative auxiliary smart sensor for freshness evaluation with the capability to be connected to an active RFID with power management policy. Final version of prototype is able to communicate with RF/ICT network of logistic platform and gives in real time, during transport, a quality indicator (ripening parameter) of the vegetable products by making a linear regression of differential measurements of temperature, humidity, VOC and ethylene level (olfactive footprint). Hardware and firmware design allows to easily modify gas sensor type, acquisition and conditioning parameters to adapt device to many olfactive scenarios. Laboratory tests have been performed simulating some of the typical failure conditions in a vegetable transport. Work in progress deals to optimize power consumption and mathematical model with onsite experimentation.