Real-Time Classification of Ochratoxin a Contamination in Grapes Using AI-Enhanced IoT

Ochratoxin A (OTA) contamination presents significant risks in viticulture, affecting the safety and quality of wine and grape-derived products. This study introduces a groundbreaking method for early detection and management of OTA, leveraging environmental data such as temperature and humidity. A function derived from chemical analysis was developed to estimate OTA concentrations and used to label a synthetic dataset, establishing safe thresholds. Two AI models were trained: one for the detecting of OTA presence and the other for classifying the concentration range. These models were deployed on a M5Stick C+, a microcontroller designed for real-time data processing. The inference process is optimized for rapid response, requiring minimal time to deliver results. Additionally, the low power consumption of the M5Stick C+ ensures that the device can operate throughout the harvest period on a single charge. The system is able to transmit inference data via MQTT for real-time analysis. This comprehensive approach offers a scalable, cost-effective, on-site solution that is autonomous, eliminating the need for domain experts and extensive resources. The robustness of the system was demonstrated through its consistent performance across multiple test sets, providing an effective enhancement to food safety in grape and wine production. The study also details the system architecture, describes the function used for data labeling, outlines the training and deployment processes of the models, and finally, assesses the testing of the overall system.