Overview

Truffix is an autonomous tool designed for locating and detecting truffle mushrooms, conceived during our academic studies as part of a collaborative exercise in autonomous tools. Our team, consisting of Hen Braunstein, Yuval Shargil, and myself (Elad Achi), embarked on this project with a comprehensive approach.

Our task involved conducting market research to understand the size of the market, existing products, and the need for our innovation. We delved into understanding the tool's potential use, the response it provides, and the feasibility of implementation through technological research. Additionally, we conducted field verification to comprehend existing problems and validate our solution.

The Problem

In industrial settings, truffle mushrooms are cultivated in designated plantations, where the growing process spans several years. These plantations maintain a density of 350 trees per acre, as truffle mushrooms grow underground on tree roots.

Currently, fungal identification relies on animals, but this method has limitations. Animals lack the ability to discern the ripeness of mushrooms, leading to the risk of prematurely harvesting immature mushrooms. This may damage the fungi during testing.

Moreover, searching large areas with animals is time-consuming and can last several days. Factors such as training time, distractions, field conditions, reward mechanisms, thoroughness, and memory must be considered. The duration of each search session ranges between 40-60 minutes, with a 60-minute rest between sessions, and the daily search range depends on the work rate of 4 hours.

Additionally, if immature mushrooms are discovered, it requires revisiting the field route to locate them again after they mature. Timely extraction of mushrooms from the soil is essential to maintain product quality. Therefore, any delay in locating and picking ripe mushrooms may compromise the quality of the product.

The Solution

Truffix was designed to autonomously operate within plantations, utilizing an "artificial nose" to discern the maturity level of mushrooms and accurately mark their locations. This optimization streamlines farmers' work in the plantation, ensuring high-quality output without compromising product integrity.

The robot is engineered to sustain continuous operation for 4 hours before requiring a 2-hour recharge using bespoke electronic components.

This capability facilitates round-the-clock work, maximizing farmers' productivity.

Additionally, to navigate changing ground conditions, the robot features specially designed wheels capable of traversing obstacles on unstable terrain.