AUTOMATED PEELING SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR THE TOTAL PEELING OF CITRUS FRUITS BY VISION-BASED ADAPTIVE CONTROL

Abstract

The invention relates to an automated peeling system and method for the complete peeling of citrus fruits that integrates machine vision, vacuum clamping at the fruit poles, controlled rotation, and one or more cutting elements with adaptive control. The system receives unpeeled citrus fruits from an incoming conveyor belt, acquires images to detect the fruit and obtain geometric, surface, or both types of information, orients the citrus fruit to align its poles with a predetermined axis, and transfers it to a peeling station, where it is held by suction cups arranged at opposite ends and rotated around its polar axis. During rotation, a peeling module executes controlled cutting paths to remove the peel, with adjustable parameters such as path length, cutting depth, rotation speed, or combinations thereof.A control unit processes the images to generate a representation of the surface condition, identify unpeeled areas, and modify process parameters in real time, preferably using an event-driven architecture. The cycle ends automatically when a hybrid criterion of complete peeling is met, releasing and depositing the peeled citrus fruit onto an outfeed conveyor belt.