At the terminal of the fully-automated intelligent sorting production line of the enterprise, only 6 unmanned forklifts are working, continuously emitting warning sounds.

 

According to the pre-set transportation route, unmanned forklifts systematically and accurately transport navel oranges to the designated location. 

 

 

“Unmanned forklifts are equipped with sensing systems, and before operation, we mark the storage location for them. This means that any type of navel oranges can be accurately placed in the designated storage location. It is like a human brain, which is capable of intelligent recognition,” said a staff, adding that unmanned forklifts have been put into use since 2022, and one unmanned forklift can cope with the workload equivalent to that of three workers. 

 

 

As the largest navel orange production enterprise in Yizhang County, Chenzhou Zhanxiang Green Agriculture attaches great importance to the application of intelligent equipment. It has invested more than 10 million yuan in a fully automatic intelligent sorting production line with six channels. The production line can sort navel oranges according to color, size, weight, surface defects, etc., with a sorting capacity of 30 tons per hour.  

 

 

“This production line works 9 to 10 hours per day, with a daily sorting capacity of 300 tons. This workload may require about one thousand people to complete.” Huang Chengyou, an executive of the company’s intelligent fruit sorting production line, said that the company is now busy implementing commercial sorting of navel oranges with this intelligent fruit selection equipment. The production line can not only meet the company’s needs for sorting navel oranges from its own fruit bases of more than 20,000 mu (about 1,333 hectares), but also help some nearby fruit farmers sort navel oranges. It greatly reduces human and material costs, improves the quality of fruit selection, and helps increase farmers’ income.