Fruit ripening detection plays a crucial role in agriculture, storage, and supply chain management. Conventional methods such as visual inspection and chemical analysis are often subjective, time-consuming, and destructive. This research presents the development of an Electronic Nose (E-Nose) system for non-destructive and real-time detection of fruit ripening stages. The system utilizes gas sensors such as MQ-135, MQ-3, and a VOC sensor to detect volatile organic compounds (VOCs) like ammonia, ethanol, and ethylene released during fruit ripening. The sensor data is processed using an Arduino Uno microcontroller and displayed on a 16×2 LCD screen. The system classifies fruits into unripe, ripe, and overripe categories based on predefined thresholds. Experimental results demonstrate that the proposed system provides accurate, fast, and cost-effective ripeness detection. This technology can significantly reduce post-harvest losses and improve decision-making in agriculture and food industries.
Garde et al. (2026) studied this question.