Coffee Beans Drying Process Using IoT and AI

Traditional, trial and error practices. No system of collecting and monitoring data for further utilization. The important variable that affect the drying stage are temperature and humidity of the drying house. The quality of coffee beans at stake in the drying process is related to how long the coffee beans are dried. What is desired is a process of moisture reduction that is not extreme, with stable and consistent conditions. 

CeriTech collect temperature, humidity, and light intensity inside and outside of the coffee drying house. Then the data could be the basis for further treatment and/or practices to improve coffee beans quality. With IoT, this can be overcome by the process of monitoring and access data from sensor networks. We try to implement the Internet of Things (IoT) technology able to monitor every day on drying coffee beans. The duration of monitoring can be set as well as data the monitoring results are also directly connected and actually recorded on database. 

Indonesia is the world’s fourth-largest coffee producer and exporter. Arabica coffee beans market is the promising market in future, especially when talking about specialty coffee. Low quality coffee benchmarked by C prices, while specialty coffee are vague but many argue it strongly linked to the sheer quality. Poor price caused by poor quality. Poor quality affected by many factors, one of the most important is processing. Coffee production consist of several phase. In general there are harvesting or picking, processing, and miling. Processing, if done perfectly, could be an important value added activity to improve coffee quality and so the price. Poor processing caused by traditional, trial and error practices. No up to date technology or data utilization. Processing has various types, each of which can be distinguished from one to another based on the stage and type of treatment. But in the end, all types of processes have the same important stage, which is the drying stage. Drying stage is usually done in greenhouse-alike (drying house) to optimize the process The drying process demands more attention and caution, as if the desired variables were not met, it could lead to a various degraded product.

Our long term aim is to achieve sustainability goals by contributing in a stage of coffee supply chain. Total smallholders estates area estimated at 1.204.883 Ha, with smallholder farmers number are in the range of 600.000 – 800.000 farmers. Total coffee plantation that owned by government estimated at 23.634 Ha, with various government body and corporate as the cultivator. Total private estates estimated at 23.186 Ha. Various foreign company are strongly affiliated with locals company who act as cultivator. Various programs to enhance better coffee farming by international standards are commonly held, with the main target is the smallholder farmers around their plantation (plasma agriculture system).

CeriTech collect temperature, humidity, and light intensity inside and outside of the coffee drying house. Then the data could be the basis for further treatment and/or practices to improve coffee beans quality. With IoT, this can be overcome by the process of monitoring and access data from sensor networks.

We try to implement the Internet of Things (IoT) technology able to monitor every day on drying coffee beans. The duration of monitoring can be set as well as data the monitoring results are also directly connected and actually recorded on database. So we hope this IoT technology can update information of drying process of their coffee beans. What is the subject of discussion in this project is how applying sensor technology through IoT to monitor physical quantities affect the quality of coffee beans, what is the relationship between environmental condition inside green house and outside green house be modeled by statistical analysis, how it influences climate can affect the price and quality of coffee beans.

As monitoring tools

Ceri could provide reliable real time data to the processor to monitor the drying stage of coffee beans. The goals is to improve the quality by reducing the risk of undesirable condition. The data could be used by the processor to plan and maintain necessary treatment to ensure the desired conditions are met.

As micro climate data collector

Ceri could act as a data collector for a micro climate condition and prediction in the future. By combining the data from various location, the processed data could be use in wide variations of use, such as other plantation optimization and also risk and logistic calculation.

CeriTech collect temperature, humidity, and light intensity inside and outside of the coffee drying house. Then the data could be the basis for further treatment and/or practices to improve coffee beans quality. With IoT, this can be overcome by the process of monitoring and access data from sensor networks.

As monitoring tools

Ceri could provide reliable real time data to the processor to monitor the drying stage of coffee beans. The goals is to improve the quality by reducing the risk of undesirable condition. The data could be used by the processor to plan and maintain necessary treatment to ensure the desired conditions are met.

As micro climate data collector

Ceri could act as a data collector for a micro climate condition and prediction in the future. By combining the data from various location, the processed data could be use in wide variations of use, such as other plantation optimization and also risk and logistic calculation.

Low quality coffee benchmarked by C prices, while specialty coffee are vague but many argue it strongly linked to the sheer quality. Poor price caused by poor quality. Poor quality affected by many factors, one of the most important is processing. Coffee production consist of several phase. In general there are harvesting or picking, processing, and miling. Processing, if done perfectly, could be an important value added activity to improve coffee quality and so the price. Poor processing caused by traditional, trial and error practices. No up to date technology or data utilization. Processing has various types, each of which can be distinguished from one to another based on the stage and type of treatment. But in the end, all types of processes have the same important stage, which is the drying stage. Drying stage is usually done in greenhouse-alike (drying house) to optimize the process The drying process demands more attention and caution, as if the desired variables were not met, it could lead to a various degraded product.

We start to target Government that will act as buyers, influencers and also users. As a first step to enter the market and expose our product, we will target West Java Provincial Government and its subsidiary division as a buyer to support their programme, especially in maintaining the conservation and developing rural areas through coffee farming.

1. Promote cherry products and their benefits to entrepreneurs
   coffee, with the hope of expanding the use of cherries in coffee bean producing areas.
2. Products can be mass produced, with a selling price
   cheap so that it can be used by small farmers so they can improve the quality of coffee beans, which means also the selling value increases. With the intention of improve the welfare of farmers.

Focusing on pilot system in our farm located in the North of Bandung. After pilot system tested and successfully implemented, we will try to approach the Provincial Government of West Java. We need capital, knowledge and technological support to fund the development of the product. Capital resource will be used for developing the system, including the infrastructure and also the manufacturing of IoT. Knowledge and technological support will be needed to get insight about the system from one of the best provider company in the nation.

1. Improve hardware design and build and use the software infrastructure itself (at this time still wearing free Cayenne service).
2. Automation optimization of dryinghouse (with the goal is to keep the variable fixed in that range desired).

• Ahmad Radhy, Master Student in Physics Department, Institut Teknologi Bandung, is Internet of Things Developer and Hardware Engineer. This product was initiated in early 2018, made by Ahmad Radhy to examine the effect of temperature and humidity on the growth of chilli plants. Radhy is a post-graduate student in physics who is also an activist and researcher in IoT technology. In his journey, Ahmad Radhy then met with Aldi Raharja who had the idea to implement the technology solution to monitor the coffee processing.

• Aldi Raharja, Master Student in Industrial Engineering, Institut Teknologi Bandung, is Business Manager. Aldi, a graduate student in management and industrial engineering, is also an actor in the coffee industry. His involvement in the industry makes communication and interaction with coffee farmers upstream an routine activity. As an academic, Aldi also establishes communication with Kang Yadi, an academic, agronomist, who is also a processor at Kopi Florist, a company engaged in coffee commodity sales.

• Azmi Ansori is a Software Engineer. Besides us (Radhy and Aldi who are members of Ebengkel). Ebengkel collaborates with Kartala (softwarehouse) for the development of CeriTech. We plan to set up an application and server platform dedicated to CeriTech products.