Sapota Sapodilla Smart Capacitive Sensing System

Sweetness is one of the crucial qualities desired in fruits. However, one could only determine the sweetness after consuming the fruit. This research focused on predicting the sweetness level of sapota sapodilla or also known as ‘ciku’, prior consuming. The relationship of capacitance in sapota sapodilla with its soluble solid content (SSC) and moisture content (m.c%) is studied. This capacitive sensing technique is non-destructive consist of a parallel plate capacitor. The range of capacitance is obtained at frequencies of 10MHz, 15MHz, 20MHz and 25MHz, respectively. The findings from this non-destructive technique are then related to the destructive technique using a refractometer to measure the °Brix, which indicates the sweetness level. It is found that as capacitance increases, the soluble solid content value decreases. But it is different for the moisture content. As the capacitance increases, the moisture content also increases. The best frequency for the determination of soluble solid content and moisture content is at 10MHz. A graphical user interface is also successfully developed to predict the moisture content and soluble solid content.