Blue Pearl has small footprint, is easy to transport and delivers high speeds and accuracy, company said
California-based sorting and grading company Pearl Sort has launched an AI-driven portable blueberry category sorter. The company said the mobile unit, which has a small footprint, can be easily transported and delivers high speeds and advanced sorting capabilities, is designed to fill a void in the industry.
“The Blue Pearl combines the highest AI technology, time-tested knowledge, solution-seeking designs, accurate manufacturing, and a service team that can help on-site and remotely,” the company said.
“It has undergone five years of development and two years of testing. The team behind it has a combined experience of 40 years in the agricultural industry, with numerous patented designs and groundbreaking achievements that are bringing agriculture into the 21st century.”
According to Pearl Sort, the new machines only requires one operator and can sort up to 8,000 lbs of blueberries per hour with speed, accuracy and quality.
Sales director Jonathan Reed commented: “I believe that the company’s innovative solutions will revolutionise the industry and provide tangible benefits for customers. Additionally, the AI software ADAM has shown an impressive 95 per cent accuracy rate in sorting cherries, and we are eager to integrate it into the blueberry market”.
Sakuma Brothers and Washington State University collaborated with Pearl Sort to test and prove the Blue Pearl in the summer of 2023. They said the benefits were “greater than expected and easy to see since it was running alongside the competition, achieving outstanding results in size, speed, and accuracy”.
Reed said: “We are immensely grateful to the team at Sakuma Brothers for embarking on this journey with us. Their invaluable time and expertise have significantly contributed to the development of the Blue Pearl, enabling us to enter the market confidently”.
Sakuma Brothers president and CEO Danny Weeden said: “Pearl Sort’s expertise and profound understanding of blueberries, coupled with the sorter’s unique design encompassing a compact footprint, impressive speed, innovative detection, handling, and sorting capabilities, perfectly align with our requirements for an ideal fresh market blueberry sorter. The trial at Sakuma showcased the sorter’s tremendous potential”.
