A Low-Cost Instrument for Estimating the Starch Content of Cassava Roots Based on the Measurement of RF Return Loss
- Resource Type
- Conference
- Authors
- Odedeyi, Temitope; Poole, Clive; Liu, Xinyue; Kassem, Amany; Oyebode, Gideon; Ismail, Rabbi; Darwazeh, Izzat
- Source
- 2020 IEEE International Symposium on Circuits and Systems (ISCAS) Circuits and Systems (ISCAS), 2020 IEEE International Symposium on. :1-5 Oct, 2020
- Subject
- Components, Circuits, Devices and Systems
Loss measurement
Probes
Radio frequency
Frequency measurement
Bridge circuits
Voltage measurement
Crop quality estimation
Cassava
Electrical impedance spectroscopy
Return Loss
Scalar Network Analysis
Test instrument design
- Language
- ISSN
- 2158-1525
The problem of simply and reliably estimating starch content of cassava roots in the field is addressed by the development of a low cost test instrument that measures return loss at radio frequencies using a coaxial probe. A clear relationship between starch content of cassava roots and the measured return loss of root samples at a specific frequency of 30 MHz is first verified experimentally. A prototype test instrument is then designed with goals of portability, low cost and simplicity of use. The test instrument displays starch content in 5 categories, from “low” to “high” using an array of 5 LEDs. The performance of the test instrument is experimentally verified in the field and a reliable correlation between cassava root starch content and LED indication is demonstrated.