7 Reasons Why gpVision™ is Better

It’s been just over 2 years since AirJet Vision™ was brought to market with an overwhelmingly positive response from early adopters. An entirely new, proprietary optical sizing, colour and defect detection system developed entirely in-house by a team of talented software and electrical engineers who have poured literally hundreds of thousands of hours into creating the world’s best grading platform. Built on the backbone of our renowned range of AirJet^® graders, the original name given to the system was a natural on-flow from the success of the AirJet^® innovation, introduced to the world back in 2006. In 2020, our custom grading system was renamed gpVision™, to better reflect its broader capabilities and prosperous future.

Initially developed for blueberries and cherries with functionality extended to sugar plums, grapes and snack tomatoes (cherry tomatoes, grape tomatoes, mini-roma tomatoes), our development team recently expanded the system to successfully complete defect detection on nectarines and dark plums. This shift to a larger fruit diameter meant the AirJet^® system was no longer the only match for the software. Accordingly, the gpVision™ grading system has now been adapted to be integrated into our reputable larger fruit grading machines, as well as the AirJet^® grader range for smaller produce.

This ‘return-to-home’ for the development of our grading systems has resulted in the things that matter most to our customers. Correct defect detection that helps to eliminate manual sorting labour, maximised throughput to ensure daily productivity goals are achieved, and, most importantly that the investment is capitalised on quickly. The shift from our previous partner’s systems has also ensured we have been able to develop faster, push updates out to our customers more efficiently and effectively and strengthen the working relationships we have with our customers.

With real-world results now under our belt, we’ve taken some time to chat with our customers and heard their reasons why gpVision™ is the best option for your fruit grading requirements. Here’s the top 7:

1. gpVision™ Delivers Greater Accuracy for Defect Detection

Customers in Australia and Chile, particularly, are achieving exceptional results on cherries, blueberries, sugar plums and snack tomatoes with one grower commenting last season, that he had spoken with a number of local growers about how their season had been and it being abundantly clear that running gpVision™ was yielding higher production and better defect finding.

A retrofit gpVision™ system on to our larger round fruit grader helped a stone fruit grower in Swan Hill, Victoria save countless hours by automatically rejecting defected fruit right at the start of the line, thereby significantly reducing the manual sorting efforts required of the end-of-line packers.

A high-volume blueberry packhouse in Chillan, Chile, Alfaberries is so impressed with defect detection that they told us they’ve had some of their customers request to “to allow more presence of defects in the clamshells but without exceeding the maximum allowed for the specific defect.”

Add all this to the already near-perfect colour and size grading and you have a truly world-best fruit grading and sorting solution servicing your business.

2. No Annual Licence Fees & Free Software Upgrades

You’ve made a significant investment, why should you be charged, just to own it? gpVision™ has no ongoing software expense. You buy your machine. It’s all yours, software and hardware. And the software licence owner is transferrable should the need to move your machine on present. This simple feature is pure profit on your bottom line.

Technology doesn’t stop changing, and neither will gpVision™. We have a development team constantly working to make gpVision™ better and better. Our commitment to innovation and progress means you will continue to benefit from your investment in GP Graders machinery and technology. All gpVision™ installations include free upgrades for the life of the machine they’re connected with. It’s a piece of mind for you to know that you’re always running the most effective system possible.

3. Fresh Ideas Tackling Complex Problems

The extent to which technology plays into our lives today is truly astounding and this paramount shift has always been driven by people who think outside the box. People who’ve questioned the status quo.
GP Graders’ has a powerhouse team of developers and engineers using the most cutting-edge technology to overcome the challenges that are presented when working to replace human actions with computerised solutions.

Our MultiView™ camera system, for example, takes the physical limitation of how much of the fruit any top-down camera can see and opens the field of view, adding 2 new camera angles to take the visible surface area to almost 100%. This additional coverage ensures defect detection is maximised and processed more accurately.

And in a truly ground-breaking manner, we’re taking grading to the next level with artificial intelligence. It’s going to pave the way to our vision of an entirely contactless packhouse. We can’t say too much yet but stay tuned. There’s something quite remarkable on the horizon.

4. Simply Simpler

After extensive research and consultation with the operators that actually run grading machines, we’re extremely proud to present a completely new interface that has one simple goal in mind. Ease of use!
The need for contractors and skilled operators will be a thing of the past, particularly for smaller operations who previously may have had to rely on this service to achieve optimal results. Our new user interface makes tuning and tweaking the machine programs simpler than ever before, allowing you to easily adjust, depending on the fruit variety, seasonal variations and batch quality. Graphically driven with an intuitive layout, users can be up and running in a matter of hours rather than days.

5. Quality Maintenance Services & Online/Remote Support

With service agents, technical teams and spare parts available across Australia, North and South America and Europe, plus new online resources and remote support options, the support you need is never far away. With the explosive growth we’ve experienced over the last 12 months, we’ve expanded our team of operators and service people to support our local customers even better.

6. Connected Technology

gpVision™ capabilities can be extended by incorporating our connected scale manager, Exit Manager. A complete centralised management system that incorporates weigher management, data tracking and reporting plus traceability for a fully transparent packing facility. With Exit Manager, users can control and modify the settings for each individual weigher from a central command center. Furthermore, all your carton data comes together for the most accurate reporting across the entire packing shed. In the era of information, traceability has become more important than ever before. Exit Manager can be set up to track each processed batch, from delivery through the grading and packing process, and finally, connected to label printers for easy carton labeling.

7. gpVision™ is Built To Last

GP Graders have maintained a long-standing reputation for exceptional build quality.
Manufactured to the highest standards at our purpose-built factory in Melbourne, Australia, we’ve ensured that only the finest quality materials are used, a large portion of parts are produced in-house and the external suppliers we’re partnered with are leaders in their field. The most modern computers, graphics cards and processors are carefully selected to ensure maximum uptime and lifespan longevity.

To date, we’ve converted hundreds of lanes on our cherry grading machines, to gpVision™, indicating widespread support from all across the world. If you’re running older GP machinery, talk to us today about upgrading to gpVision™. If you’re ready to take your packhouse operations to the next level, GP Graders has the know-how and experience to work closely with you to provide a complete post-harvest solution.

To find out more about gpVision™, click here.