Samverkande system för saffranslökshantering för inomhusproduktion i Sverige ; Cooperative systems for saffron bulb handling for indoor production in Sweden

Currently, all commercial cultivation of saffron takes place in outdoor fields, and the work is largely carried out manually. The company BlueRedGold is a Swedish startup that aims to revolutionize commercial saffron cultivation by developing a method to grow saffron indoors year-round using fully automated processes. BlueRedGold has enlisted the help of the project group to which this thesis belongs in order to develop automated methods for preparing saffron bulbs for planting. The preparation of saffron bulbs includes peeling, sieving, and sorting, and this particular thesis aims to ensure functional requirements for these three steps of preparation. Through literature review, the thesis collects theory related to collaborative systems, food safety, and materials. This theory then serves as the basis for designing a comprehensive system for peeling, sieving, and sorting saffron bulbs. The results of the thesis are partly based on the conducted literature review, but also on interviews and observations regarding automated saffron cultivation and handling of saffron bulbs in Sweden. The results clearly indicate the requirements that are important for the system's functionality, safety, and user-friendliness, and based on this, a concept is developed where peeling is done first using the concept Borsta, followed by sieving using the concept Roller Belt Conveyor, and finally sorting using the concept The Roller. In verification tests, the final system is approved for the majority of the requirements. The results also present stainless steel, aluminum, PE, and PP as potentially suitable material choices. In the conclusions, it is stated that the most important requirements for the system are related to the machines' precision and their careful treatment of saffron bulbs. It is further concluded that these requirements are satisfactorily met by the final concept. Furthermore, it is found that this system is not dependent on complicated transport routes between the different machines, but instead, gravity can be ...