Jose Tuanama-Aguilar

Mr. Jose Tuanama-Aguilar

orcid

Research Focus & Metrics

Academic Career Length

2Years (2025-Present)

(Calculated once Scilit publication data is synced: current year − year of first publication + 1)

Representative Publications

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28 February 2025 in Sensors
Verified
Journal Article
Open access
PDF file
JTJose Tuanama-Aguilar
Jose Tuanama-Aguilar
CRCarlos Ríos-López
Carlos Ríos-López
JPJosé Luis Pasquel-Reátegui
José Luis Pasquel-Reátegui
CGCarlos Rodriguez Grandez
Carlos Rodriguez Grandez
JSJohn C. Santa-Maria
John C. Santa-Maria
FFFelix-Armando Fermin-Perez
Felix-Armando Fermin-Perez
Cacao producers often obtain low-quality beans due to the poor manual drying process. This study proposes the construction of an automated prototype robot for the removal during natural drying of cacao beans at Cooperativa Agraria Allima Cacao Ltd., Peru, and evaluates its effectiveness on bean quality. The robot comprises three modules (control, displacement, and removal) and motion sensors. Four 400 kg batches were analyzed, obtaining moisture contents of 6.71, 8.59, 7.74, and 6.80% with the robot, compared to 7.86, 7.94, 6.60, and 7.54% with the manual method. The standard deviations in the grains treated with the robot were lower, evidencing a more uniform drying. In addition, the total phenol content was higher in the robot-dried beans, indicating better preservation of bioactive compounds. Although the robot did not reduce the drying time, we conclude that its sustainable and economically accessible design contributed to obtaining higher-quality beans compared to the conventional method, with more homogeneous drying and better preservation of phenols, key aspects for producing high-quality cacao.