AI Durian project launched

Project Leader Assoc. Prof. Armacheska M. Satina introduces the project staff

Durian industry leaders and government partners join the project staff on the October 10, 2023, launch

UPMin administrative and academic staff join the project meeting on October 11, 2023*

The UP Mindanao team held a launch for their project, “AI-based Non-Invasive Grading System of Durian,” or AIDurian, at the University Library on 10 October 2023. The AIDurian project will develop durian quality classification applications using Artificial Intelligence (AI). It aims to serve the booming Davao durian export industry, which is expected to earn P14.3 billion in 2023 alone. 

Project leader Assoc. Prof. Armacheska Satina said with an 11 Million Peso grant from the DOST for multispectral and infrared cameras, the team will develop desktop and mobile phone applications for fruit quality classification. 

DuDONG, an acronym for the Durian Desktop-Operated Non-Invasive Grading System, is an app in development that uses computer vision and image processing for fruit classification. Audio technology will disclose fruit quality from the sound of gentle knocking on a durian fruit. 

INDAI, an acronym for Inspection of Durian Using AI, is an app that will generate durian fruit classification on a smartphone. INDAI has farm management tools and data storage and retrieval, as well.

At the launch, industry partners from Belviz Farms, Rosario's Delicacies, and D'Farmers Market discussed some of the challenges to the local durian industry at the launch. The other industry partners are VJT Enterprises and Eng Seng Food Products. 

The AI Durian project is funded by the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) Philippine Council for Agriculture, Aquatic and Natural Resources Research and Development (PCAARRD) under the Accelerated R & D Program for Capacity Building of Research & Development Institutions and Industrial Competitiveness: Industry-Level Collaborative Research and Development to Leverage Philippine Economy (I-CRADLE). Present during the launch were Supervising Science Research Specialist Maria Teresa De Guzman and Science Research Specialist Kathleen Faith Villarma of the PCAARRD’s Agricultural Resources Management Research Division. 

Also present during the launch were representatives of government partners who pledged policy actions to support the project. These are the Department of Agriculture’s High-Value Crops unit, the Bureau of Plant Industry’s Davao National Crops Research and Development Center, the Department of Trade and Industry, the Department of Science and Technology-XI, and the Mindanao Development Authority.

The UP Mindanao interdisciplinary team is composed of Associate Professors Armacheska Satina, Vicente Calag, and Vladimer Kobayashi from the Department of Mathematics, Physics, and Computer Science and Adjunct Professor Emma Ruth Bayogan of the Department of Biological Science and Environmental Studies. They will be assisted by Mr. Jenno Fred Villarino, Mr. Marlon Maddara, Ms.  Leizel Secretaria, and Ms. Mary Jean Tuando.

The AIDurian project addresses the Sustainable Development Goals of work and economic growth, innovation, and quality education.   

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* The UP Mindanao AI DURIAN project proponents at the project launch on October 10, 2023, with their project partners. The persons holding the project title are (left-right) DOST-XI Asst. Regional Director Mirasol Domingo, DOST-PCAARRD Science Research Specialist Kathleen Faith Villarma, Supervising Science Research Specialist Maria Teresa De Guzman, UPMin Adjunct Professor Emma Ruth Bayogan, durian grower Mary Grace Belvis, UPMin Assoc. Prof. Armacheska Satina, UPMin Asst. Prof. Vic Calag, DTI-XI Asst. Regional Director Romeo Castañaga, and grower Larry Miculob of D' Farmers Market.

**In the bottom photo, seated left-right are: Assoc. Prof. Armacheska Satina, DOST-PCAARRD Science Research Specialist Kathleen Faith Villarma, Supervising Science Research Specialist Maria Teresa De Guzman, VCAA Annabelle Novero, Vic Calag, Leo Manuel Estaña. Standing behind are project staff members Marlon Maddara, Jenno Fred Villarino, and Mary Jean Tuando, UPMin Chief Accountant Zenaida Calatrava, Assoc. Prof. Vladimer Kobayashi, Adjunct Professor Emma Ruth Bayogan, Budget Officer and BAC representative Jo-An Garcia, Project Technical Specialist Leizel Secretaria, and Michael Angela J. Urquiola.