June 20-21 2005 1

Sensor Networks and The Food Industry

Fergus O’Reilly, Cork Institute of TechnologyMartin Connolly, Sykoinia Limited

REALWSN'05 - Workshop on Real-World Wireless Sensor

Networks, Stockholm, Sweden

June 20-21 2005 2

Overview

The Food Industry & its Scandals

Software in the Food Industry

Sensor Networks for Food Processing

Sensor Networks for Growers

Self Inflicted Barriers to Entry

The Sykoinia Solution

June 20-21 2005 3

The Food Industry and its Scandals

Several scandals have shaken consumer confidence.

Worldwide problem – Japan, China, EU and USA all affected in recent years.

Affects all sectors of the industry from production to retail and distribution.

June 20-21 2005 4

The Headlines

“Shellfish company devastated by 'bug' report”, Irish Examiner, 26th March 2002

“U.S. to block EU poultry, pork due to dioxin scare”, CNN 3rd June 1999

“Premier Foods faces £100m bill for Sudan 1”, The London Times 26th February 2005

“One Sweet Mess”, Time Magazine, 21st July 2002

June 20-21 2005 5

The Oyster Farm

In 2002, a Hong Kong restaurant suffered an outbreak of the ‘Winter Vomiting Bug’.

Traced back to oysters bred in Ireland.

Oysters fed on waste from a hospital…

…suffering from an outbreak… …transmitted to the food chain.

June 20-21 2005 6

The 1999 Belgian Dioxin Scandal

Cancer causing dioxins found in animal feed for pigs and chickens.

High economic,legal and political cost.

Ban on Belgian food exports to several countries.

EU Legal action against Belgian government.

Ousting of outgoing government in national elections.

June 20-21 2005 7

Can these incidents be prevented?

Many incidences of negligence and even fraud… …but more are due to error and sheer

misfortune Wireless Sensor Networks can potentially help to

alleviate these incidents. Can be used for monitoring production

conditions, detecting presence of agents etc.

June 20-21 2005 8

Software in the Food Industry

Software in the Food Industry is mainly ERP systems.

Microsoft technology prevalent. Used for record keeping. Rarely plays a role in the production process. Some use of 802.11 and RFID but at a very early

stage of adoption.

June 20-21 2005 9

Smart Sensors & Food Processing (1)

Precedent for Smart Sensors application…

…detecting biological and chemical agents.

Applicability to the Food Industry

Could be used for detecting unwanted agents in food.

June 20-21 2005 10

Smart Sensors & Food Processing (2)

Constancy in environmental conditions critical for many foodstuffs

E.g. raw meat, chill chain etc. Manual Sample of metrics such as

temperature currently taken. Smart Sensors could be deployed

throughout the food chain. A better standard of monitoring

than is currently available.

June 20-21 2005 11

Smart Sensors for Growers

Vineyards in California and Australia have used smart sensors.

Monitor attributes such as temperature and soil moisture.

Can give vine growers better information about their crop.

Can also be used to anticipate problems such as the presence of pests.

Less expensive than traditional climate sensors. Can also be used for other crops – commercial

apple growing, wheat production etc.

June 20-21 2005 12

Case Study: The Wine Industry (1)

Sensor Network used to monitor vineyard by Pickberry in California.

Used to monitor environmental conditions.

Soil moisture, rainfall, wind velocity and direction, and air and soil temperature all monitored

Sensor Networks can play a critical role in vineyard cost management.

Loss of a crop could cost Pickberry US$4,000-10,000 a ton.

June 20-21 2005 13

Case Study: The Wine Industry (2)

Most focus is on vine growing but this is only one stage of the wine production process.

Use Smart sensors to monitor temperature during vinification (the conversion of grape juice into wine).

June 20-21 2005 14

Case Study: The Wine Industry (3)

The addition of Sulphur Dioxide during fermentation must be strictly controlled.

Can also be used to detect the presence of acids and tannins.

Can also be used during storage. Cellars must be kept at a strict

temperature and humidity.

June 20-21 2005 15

Case Study: The Chill Chain (1)

Temperature of frozen foods must be maintained at a constant level from initial processing to final display by a retailer.

Applies particularly to meat and poultry.

Known as the ‘Chill Chain’. 2 main steps…

June 20-21 2005 16

Case Study: The Chill Chain (2)

Primary chilling relates to removing the heat from the carcass before it can be further processed or shipped.

Once a previously chilled produced has been cut, minced, wrapped or cooked secondary chilling must take place.

Vital for ensuring that a product remains at a constant temperature during transportation.

June 20-21 2005 17

Case Study: The Chill Chain (3)

Mistakes & errors prevalent. Shelf life being reduced to a

quarter of its potential. Opportunity for sensor

networks in primary and secondary chilling…

…not only to monitor temperature but also to monitor airflow.

June 20-21 2005 18

Barriers for use in the Food Industry (1)

Potential for using Sensor Networks in the Food Industry.

Unlikely to be deployed on a widespread basis given the current state of operation.

Reliability problems – 65% of sensors deployed in redwood forests in California never returned data (UC Berkeley).

June 20-21 2005 19

Barriers for use in the Food Industry (2)

Difficult to deploy and use. Data interpretation and

analysis tools are limited. Difficult to cluster the

networks. Even IT Professionals in the

Food Industry will encounter difficulties.

Hampers adoption of the technology.

June 20-21 2005 20

The Sykoinia Solution (1)

SenSure system.

Data gathered by the SenSure portal.

Measurements stored and analysed by the system.

June 20-21 2005 21

The Sykoinia Solution (2) Information

Can be viewed through a .NET GUI, WWW Interface and Report Tools.

Easy to use and easy to deploy.

Enables Network Clustering.

June 20-21 2005 22

The Sykoinia Solution (3)

Battery and transmission failures reported.

Tested using standard MICA2 Motes…

…but platform and architecture independent.

June 20-21 2005 23

Conclusion

Serious challenges for food industry

Quality and consumer confidence issues.

Smart Sensor Networks can play a role in the food production chain…

…but not with the current state of operation.

Sykoinia’s SenSure system aims to address this issue.