AI-Driven Machine Vision and IoT Systems for Quality Control and Waste Reduction in Food Processing Manufacturing

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Project period: 06 October 2025   To: 31 March 2028

Project details

Project Overview This project develops an integrated Artificial Intelligence (AI), Machine Vision, and Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) platform to transform food safety and quality assurance systems in Malawi. The research is led by the Department of Physics and Electronics at the University of Malawi, under the supervision of Dr. Dackson Masiyano. Food contamination—particularly aflatoxin in staple crops such as groundnuts and maize—remains a critical public health and economic challenge in Malawi and across Sub-Saharan Africa. Current detection methods are often expensive, laboratory-bound, and inaccessible to smallholder farmers and local processors. This project addresses this gap by designing low-cost, real-time, and field-deployable sensing systems. Core Innovation The project combines: Machine Vision for visual and spectral analysis of food products AI Algorithms for automated detection and classification of contamination IoT Infrastructure for real-time monitoring, data collection, and remote decision support Embedded Systems for portable and scalable deployment in rural and industrial settings Together, these technologies enable rapid, non-destructive, and scalable food inspection systems that can operate outside traditional laboratory environments.