In the fresh agricultural product processing industry, strawberry sorting has long been recognized as a "double dilemma" scenario: production lines demand high throughput (e.g., thousands of strawberries per hour) for efficiency, yet the delicate fruit flesh is prone to bruising or splitting if gripped with improper force—leading to quality loss. Traditional sorting tools either damage strawberries due to rigid structures or slow down production with sluggish response times, struggling to balance "speed" and "quality" consistently.
Today, targeting these core pain points in strawberry sorting, SRT’s R&D team has undergone multiple rounds of material optimization and gripping testing to launch the updated MVG. Built on soft materials and integrated with precise force control and high-efficiency actuation design, it achieves the dual breakthrough in strawberry sorting: "high-speed sorting without damage" and "gentle handling without inefficiency"—solving critical sorting challenges for fresh produce processors.

The Pain Points Plaguing Strawberry Processors

Strawberries are inherently vulnerable: even slight pressure or friction can leave visible blemishes, accelerate spoilage, or render entire batches unsellable. Traditional processing methods—whether manual or dependent on rigid machinery—consistently fall short in three critical areas:

1. Damage Risks: Rigid grippers or manual handling often cause bruising, scratches, or pulp softening, resulting in an average of 15-20% product waste.

2. Speed vs. Quality Trade-Off: Processors struggle to meet typical throughput requirements (60 pieces per minute) without compromising fruit integrity. Slow, meticulous handling reduces waste but misses production targets, while faster lines increase the risk of damage.

3. Cost and Reliability: Many “affordable” automated systems lack flexibility, require frequent maintenance, or fail to deliver consistent results—forcing processors to choose between short-term cost savings and long-term losses.

For brands aiming to supply major retailers or comply with strict food safety regulations, these challenges are not merely operational—they pose threats to brand reputation and market share.

SRT’s Solution: Precision Engineering Meets Gentle Handling

SRT’s strawberry processing ecosystem is built on a core principle: protect what matters most. By integrating advanced robotics, biomimetic design, and food-grade materials, the solution covers every critical stage of strawberry processing—from cleaning to final packaging—while minimizing waste and inefficiency.

1. End-to-End Automated Processing: From Farm Fresh to Shelf Ready

SRT’s system seamlessly integrates into existing production lines or operates as a turnkey solution, with key stages tailored to the unique needs of strawberries:

• Preprocessing & Cleaning: Strawberries are first gently washed using bubble or spray systems, with optional UV or ozone sanitization to meet global food safety standards (e.g., FDA, EU 178/2002). Early sorting removes visibly rotten or damaged fruit to prevent cross-contamination.

• Multi-Dimensional Grading: Machine vision technology scans each strawberry for size, color, shape, and surface imperfections, while X-ray imaging assesses internal quality (e.g., sugar content). Dynamic checkweighers or SRT’s integrated weighing modules ensure accurate weight-based categorization—essential for retail-ready portioning.

• Gentle Handling with Biomimetic Grippers: The centerpiece of SRT’s solution is its proprietary flexible gripper. Crafted from SRT’s self-developed, food-grade silicone, the gripper features thin, webbed fingers with striped or mesh folds. This biomimetic design mimics the gentle pressure of human fingers, wrapping around strawberries without leaving marks or crushing pulp.

• Automated Box Filling & Sealing: Collaborative robots (Delta or SCARA models) work in tandem with SRT’s grippers to place graded strawberries into pre-opened boxes, aligning each fruit in custom cavities to prevent shifting during handling. Sealing is adapted to packaging materials (e.g., snap-on lids, film wrapping), and automatic labeling applies batch codes, harvest dates, and blockchain-enabled traceability tags—ensuring full transparency from farm to shelf.

• Final Packing & Quality Control: Finished boxes are packed into cartons with honeycomb cushioning (for shipping protection), while defective items are automatically diverted via pneumatic valves—eliminating the need for manual intervention.

2. Core Advantages: Why SRT

It lies in the seamless combination of gentleness, speed, and adaptability—directly addressing all three of the industry’s most pressing pain points:

Join the Strawberry Processing Revolution

Whether you are a small-scale grower or a global distributor, SRT’s team collaborates with you to tailor solutions to your specific needs—from initial design to post-installation support. Contact us today to schedule a demo or learn how our solutions can reduce waste, boost efficiency, and protect your most valuable product！