Quoin, Inc Presentation

AG Báscula

Antonio Gallardo

December 17, 2020

Understanding the Problems

During the weighing process some data may be corrupted due to human error while manipulating this information; this leads to inconsistencies between the different weighing stations.

Very weak or lack of internet connection in the farm.

Lack of scales with modern interfaces in the local market.

Understanding the Problems

During the weighing process some data may be corrupted due to human error while manipulating this information; this leads to inconsistencies between the different weighing stations.

Very weak or lack of internet connection in the farm.

Lack of scales with modern interfaces in the local market.

Project Objective

To eliminate human error, we proposed the implementation of a Bluetooth scale that has the ability to connect to a smart device (phone or tablet) in order to be able to capture and store the weighings digitally and to export them directly to a spreadsheet even when there is virtually no network infrastructure on site.

In addition, the ability to carry out this process with any mobile device means that it is easy to reproduce this solution in any other place that has little computer infrastructure and limited internet access, as is the case in most of the country's agricultural operations.

Local Hardware Options

We tried several ways to make the hardware with which we could implement the project.

1. Enhancement of an existing scale in the farm operation. However, due to propieconnection incompatibility, this option was not feasible. (We did not find the technical manuals to connect to them).

2. Buy in the local market a scale that already had a modern connection interface and that could be easily adapted to the solution. We only found scales with a serial RS-232 interface, which is obsolete for our project.

Hardware Design - Structure

The structure of the scale was designed for using "Bar Type" load cells and a weighing plate size of 60cm x 45cm.

Overview

For Nicaraguans, the idea of implementing new technological solutions for small and mid sized agro-operations is still far from being a reality; this is mainly due to the high cost that this would mean for these businesses to modernize their work equipment.

For this project, we centered around an agricultural operating business that is dedicated to the production and export of dragon fruit.

The client came to us in search of a solution for a problem they’ve been experiencing with weighing their products. During the control of the operation, there has been a constant problem with weight traceability in the processing areas. Currently, weighings are carried out manually on a scale that indicates the weight of the product on a display; the data (weight, type, and batch number) is then written on a logbook by hand. At the end of the day, a person has to enter the collected data in the computer.

Bluetooth Capability