A new standard for food safety and quality

Información del proyecto

ImpactVision

Identificador del acuerdo de subvención: 836886

DOI

10.3030/836886

Proyecto cerrado

Fecha de la firma de la CE 21 Diciembre 2018

Fecha de inicio 1 Enero 2019

Fecha de finalización 30 Junio 2019

Financiado con arreglo a

• INDUSTRIAL LEADERSHIP - Innovation In SMEs

Coste total

€ 71 429,00

Aportación de la UE

€ 50 000,00

Coordinado por

IMPACTVISION UK LTD
United Kingdom

Periodic Reporting for period 1 - ImpactVision (A new standard for food safety and quality)

Período documentado: 2019-01-01 hasta 2019-06-30

Resumen del contexto y de los objetivos generales del proyecto

Almost half of all fruit and vegetables produced are wasted; that’s the equivalent of 7 million apples and 2 million bags of potatoes every single second. Food supply chains are mechanised, but not information-enabled. ImpactVision was founded with an awareness of the stark challenges facing the global food system today —food waste, food fraud, inefficiency— and the knowledge of advancements in technology that could make an impact.

Using hyperspectral imaging and machine learning, ImpactVision helps food companies learn about the quality of their food products such as freshness of fish, dry matter of avocados or presence of foreign objects non-invasively and in real-time. This in turns leads to more effective decision-making that increases efficiency while reducing waste.

Our goal is to build ImpactVision into a global reference for quality in food supply chains, with the largest spectral database that translates hyperspectral images into insights on food quality. We are focused on developing hardware-agnostic software, which will allow us to integrate with any hyperspectral camera, including a smartphone sensor, and be deployed at scale.

Trabajo realizado desde el comienzo del proyecto hasta el final del período abarcado por el informe y los principales resultados hasta la fecha

During Phase 1, we have undertaken a feasibility study: to develop an international business plan, initially assessing our market expansion into Europe.

We have analyzed our technical, commercial, and operational feasibility.

Our primary activities included conducting a pilot for foreign object detection for a UK-headquartered company and undertaking activities to analyze the market: digital marketing, attending industry events, and outreach.

In speaking with European food companies, we verified interest in our solution and understand that key benefits to them include: (a) lowering risk of product recalls; (b) reduced waste and cost due to more efficient sorting, and (c) improving consistency of product and therefore customer satisfaction. Market outreach in Europe has also validated our hypothesis of the long sales cycle within the industry. The food industry is reticent to new technologies, so adoption will require education. Catalysts to adoption include building strategic alliances with influencers in the food industry such as retailers and food standards bodies. We have established relationships with a number of these strategic stakeholders during phase 1.

Avances que van más allá del estado de la técnica e impacto potencial esperado (incluida la repercusión socioeconómica y las implicaciones sociales más amplias del proyecto hasta la fecha)

In speaking with European food companies, we verified interest in our solution and understand that key benefits to them include:
(a) lowering risk of product recalls;
(b) reduced waste and cost due to more efficient sorting, and
(c) improving consistency of product and therefore customer satisfaction. Market outreach in Europe has also validated our hypothesis of the long sales cycle within the industry.

The food industry is reticent to new technologies, so adoption will require education. Catalysts to adoption include building strategic alliances with influencers in the food industry such as retailers and food standards bodies. We have established relationships with a number of these strategic stakeholders during phase 1.

Given the positive traction we have seen on both market and product development during phase 1, we will continue to pursue the project in line with our goals.

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