AI App Aims to Perfect Avocado Ripeness
Key Points
- Researchers at Oregon State University and Florida State University developed an AI that predicts avocado firmness.
- The model was trained on over 1,400 iPhone photos of Hass avocados.
- It achieves more than 90% accuracy in identifying the perfect ripeness.
- Avocado waste is a major contributor to global food waste, which the AI aims to reduce.
- The prototype app runs on smartphones but is not yet publicly available.
- Traditional ripeness checks—squeeze, color, stem—remain useful until the app launches.
- The technology could later be applied to other fruits and vegetables.
Researchers at Oregon State University and Florida State University have created a smartphone‑powered AI that predicts avocado firmness with over 90% accuracy, helping consumers and retailers time the perfect moment to eat or sell the fruit and reduce waste. The app is still in development and not yet available to the public.
Innovative AI Tackles Avocado Ripeness
Avocados are prized for their taste and nutrition, yet the window between a hard, unripe fruit and an overripe mush can be as short as fifteen seconds. Missing that window leads to waste and frustration for shoppers. Researchers at Oregon State University and Florida State University have responded with a novel solution: a smartphone‑powered artificial‑intelligence system that can tell exactly when an avocado is perfectly ripe.
Using more than 1,400 iPhone photos of Hass avocados, the team trained a deep‑learning model to predict firmness, the key sign of ripeness. The AI analyzes subtle cues in texture, color, and shape that most humans would miss, achieving over 90% accuracy in its predictions. "Avocados are among the most wasted fruits globally due to overripeness," said Luyao Ma, an assistant professor at OSU, underscoring the broader impact of the technology.
Potential to Reduce Food Waste
Food waste remains a critical global issue, with nearly a third of everything grown, harvested, and produced for human consumption never reaching the table. In the United States, federal agencies have pledged to cut that loss in half by 2030, a goal that calls for innovation across the food system. The researchers view their AI tool as a direct contribution to that effort, helping both consumers and retailers make smarter decisions about when to use or sell avocados.
"Our goal was to create a tool that helps consumers and retailers make smarter decisions about when to use or sell avocados," Ma explained. "Avocados are just the beginning. This technology could be applied much more broadly, helping consumers, retailers, and distributors make smarter decisions and reduce waste."
From Lab to Consumer
The AI model is currently embedded in a prototype app that runs on smartphones, but the application is not yet available to the public. The researchers envision a future where shoppers can simply point their phone at an avocado and receive an instant ripeness rating, eliminating guesswork and reducing the likelihood of purchasing fruit that will spoil before it can be used.
In the meantime, traditional tips for judging avocado readiness—such as gently squeezing the fruit, checking the color of the peel, or inspecting the stem area—remain useful. The team hopes that, once released, the app will complement these methods and provide a more reliable, data‑driven assessment.
Looking Ahead
The project demonstrates how AI can be applied to everyday problems, turning a simple fruit‑selection task into a precise, technology‑enabled decision. As the researchers continue to refine the model and expand its capabilities, they anticipate that similar tools could soon assist with other produce items, further advancing the fight against food waste.