sensors

Article
Design of a Smart IoT-Based Control System for Remotely
Managing Cold Storage Facilities
Maged Mohammed 1,2, * , Khaled Riad 3,4 and Nashi Alqahtani 1,5

1 Date Palm Research Center of Excellence, King Faisal University, Al-Ahsa 31982, Saudi Arabia;
[email protected]
2 Department of Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering, Faculty of Agriculture, Menoufia University,
Shebin El Koum 32514, Egypt
3 Department of Computer Science, College of Computer Sciences and Information Technology,
King Faisal University, Al-Ahsa 31982, Saudi Arabia; [email protected]
4 Department of Mathematics, Faculty of Science, Zagazig University, Zagazig 44519, Egypt
5 Department of Food and Nutrition Sciences, College of Agricultural and Food Sciences,
King Faisal University, P.O. Box 420, Al-Ahsa 31982, Saudi Arabia
* Correspondence: [email protected]

Abstract: Cold storage is deemed one of the main elements in food safety management to maintain
food quality. The temperature, relative humidity (RH), and air quality in cold storage rooms (CSRs)
should be carefully controlled to ensure food quality and safety during cold storage. In addition, the
components of CSR are exposed to risks caused by the electric current, high temperature surrounding
the compressor of the condensing unit, snow and ice accumulation on the evaporator coils, and
refrigerant gas leakage. These parameters affect the stored product quality, and the real-time sending
of warnings is very important for early preemptive actionability against the risks that may cause dam-
age to the components of the cold storage rooms. The IoT-based control (IoT-BC) with multipurpose
sensors in food technologies presents solutions for postharvest quality management of fruits during
cold storage. Therefore, this study aimed to design and evaluate a IoT-BC system to remotely control,
risk alert, and monitor the microclimate parameters, i.e., RH, temperature, CO2 , C2 H4 , and light
Citation: Mohammed, M.; Riad, K.;
Alqahtani, N. Design of a Smart
and some operating parameters, i.e., the temperature of the refrigeration compressor, the electrical
IoT-Based Control System for current, and the energy consumption for a modified CSR (MCSR). In addition, the impacts of the
Remotely Managing Cold Storage designed IoT-BC system on date fruit quality during cold storage were investigated compared with a
Facilities. Sensors 2022, 22, 4680. traditional CSR (TCSR) as a case study. The results showed that the designed IoT-BC system precisely
https://doi.org/10.3390/s22134680 controlled the MCSR, provided reliable data about the interior microclimate atmosphere, applied
electrical current and energy consumption of the MCSR, and sent the necessary alerts in case of an
Academic Editor: Raffaele Bruno
emergency based on real-time data analytics. There was no significant effect of the storage time on
Received: 17 May 2022 the most important quality attributes for stored date fruit in the MCSR compared with the TCSR.
Accepted: 20 June 2022 As a result, the MCSR maintained high-quality attributes of date fruits during cold storage. Based
Published: 21 June 2022
on the positive impact of the designed IoT-BC system on the MCSR and stored fruit quality, this
Publisher’s Note: MDPI stays neutral modification seems quite suitable for remotely managing cold storage facilities.
with regard to jurisdictional claims in
published maps and institutional affil- Keywords: internet of things (IoT); sensors; microcontroller; monitoring; micro-climate; control;
iations. ThingSpeak; ESP8266; Arduino; date fruit quality; food preservation; energy; electrical power

Copyright: © 2022 by the authors.

1. Introduction
Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.
This article is an open access article
Date fruit (Phoenix dactylifera L.) is cultivated on a 1.25 million hectares area of the
distributed under the terms and world with an annual production of 9.61 Mt, whereas in Saudi Arabia, its cultivated area
conditions of the Creative Commons is 0.15 million hectares producing a 1.54 Mt yield [1]. Most fruits of date palm cultivars
Attribution (CC BY) license (https:// are consumed at the fully ripen stage, known as the Tamr stage [2,3]. The stored fruit
creativecommons.org/licenses/by/ products are usually accompanied by respiration, evaporation, and physiological changes
4.0/). due to moisture losses, which could induce heavy losses reaching up to 40%. Therefore,

Sensors 2022, 22, 4680. https://doi.org/10.3390/s22134680 https://www.mdpi.com/journal/sensors

Sensors 2022, 22, 4680 2 of 29

suitable storage facilities are essential for extending the shelf life of date fruits [4]. On the
other hand, cold storage systems maintain the quality of agricultural products by reducing
moisture loss and slowing physiological changes [5]. Therefore, cold storage techniques are
used widely for perishable commodities such as fruits and vegetables to retain their shelf
life after harvest [6,7]. In addition, it prevents the growth of contaminating microorganisms
and reduces the rate of biochemical changes in fresh produce [8,9]. The increased use of
cold storage facilities is due to the year-round availability of fresh produce in the market.
Moreover, the surfeit supply of fruits and vegetables in the market has a negative impact
on the income of the growers. Therefore, surplus fruits and vegetables are stored to control
price fluctuations and maintain the commodity’s availability in the market [10]. Food type,
general appearance, including any cosmetic damage, bruises, or microbial contamination,
the maturity stage, and the storage room temperature and RH are all factors that influence
the shelf life of fresh fruits in cold storage [11,12].
In the storage of fresh fruits, the temperature is closely correlated to respirational
rates. The respirational rates can be reduced by reducing the temperature to a particular
limit depending on the stored products. The lower respiration rates decrease the kinetics
of biochemical responses including those related to product quality [13]. In addition, the
temperature is an important parameter that affects the life of the food product by directly
impacting the rates of biochemical activities [14]. Through the process of respiration
and microbial degradation, the nutrients of the product are broken down into simpler
compounds which often cause the quantity and quality reduction in the foods [5]. All these
mentioned processes are highly dependent upon the storage temperature.
Fruits are stored at non-freezing temperatures to preserve tissue cells and prevent
cell structure disintegration and postharvest damage [15]. Therefore, fruits of the date
palm harvested at the Tamer stage are normally kept in non-freezing storage chambers
to prolong their shelf-life [16]. Refrigeration or cold storage is the most common method
used to increase the shelf life of dates [17]. Fruit weight loss and microbial degradation,
such as yeast and bacterial fermentation and postharvest fungal infections, are the most
significant factors restricting date fruit storage [18]. Therefore, temperature and RH should
be carefully considered when storing date palm fruits to extend their postharvest life and
commercialization period [9]. Low-temperature storage also protects non-aesthetic quality
characteristics of fruits, such as texture, nutrition, aroma, and flavor [19]. Date fruits need
to be kept at low temperatures immediately after harvesting to slow down the growth of
microorganisms and insect activity responsible for quality deterioration. In addition, low
temperature minimizes the vapor pressure between the outer atmosphere and the product,
reducing the water loss from the fruits [20].
The modern multi-target concept of food preservation is becoming more attractive
with recent technologies to maintain their quality during storage [9,21]. The fruit preser-
vation is presently a multidisciplinary science to best disease control with the desired
physicochemical characteristics for quality maintenance as long as possible [22,23]. The
Internet of things (IoT) facilitates real-time monitoring of the system’s environment in many
areas. It allows the systems to respond suitably and timely [24]. The applications of IoT-
Based multipurpose sensors for food technologies have paved the way for intelligent food
quality management. These integrated technologies can give reliable data on the quality
of food products during their storage duration [25]. IoT in cold storage aims to monitor
parameters that affect the stored product quality and preserve it from contamination due
to surrounding conditions. The most important parameters are RH, temperature, alcohol
gases, and light in cold storage rooms and warehouses [26,27].
There are some challenges for the cold storage monitoring systems, such as support-
ing distinct requirements for various products, tracking products and labeling, real-time
monitoring, minimizing human intervention, and monitoring of various parameters. There
are various attempts to integrate IoT with cold storage, and each of them has its own contri-
bution. Afreen and Bajwa [28] presented a real-time intelligent monitoring and notification
system (RT-IMNS) based on IoT to introduce real-time monitoring of important parameters
Sensors 2022, 22, 4680 3 of 29

such as temperature, luminosity, humidity, and gas concentration in cold storage. The
RT-IMNS can send notifications when exceeding some dangerous limits for the measured
parameters. Appasani et al. [29] proposed an advanced automated cold storage system
(ACSS). The authors monitored the temperature and humidity inside the cold storage room.
They considered these two parameters the most important for any cold storage system.
They introduced self-adaptable capabilities using a controller using a particle swarm opti-
mization algorithm. Sarmah and Aruna [30] used heterogeneous IoT devices and cloud
services to track food quantity. The model accurately detects the food quality and sends
an alert in case of degradation. Umamaheswari et al. [31] proposed smart cold storage
that speeds up the supply chain. The scheme employed Raspberry Pi-3 B+ in combination
with some sensors. This scheme can detect and identify the objects inside the smart cold
storage using a web camera. Additionally, a load cell with HX711 IC have been used to
weight the objects inside the smart cold storage. Feng et al. [32] introduced an evaluation
of an IoT-based monitoring system (IoTMS) for cold storage. The IoTMS introduced an
electronic nose to detect food spoilage. The authors used this electronic nose to detect
some parameters for the salmon samples. This scheme also used the convolutional neural
networks and support vector machine to classify the levels of freshness. Srivatsa et al. [33]
were motivated by the need for perishable goods to travel thousands of miles until they
reached their destination. They introduced an endless real-time monitoring system using
IoT that controls the losses which occur for businesses for 7645 storage facilities in India.
The efficient monitoring and control of the temperature and RH in the internal at-
mosphere of cold storage rooms leads to preserving date quality and reducing water loss
during storage [9]. Ganjewar et al. [34] protected the food from getting spoiled by intro-
ducing real-time monitoring and control system. They employed IoT and adaptive Naïve
Bayes prediction to preserve the food from being spoiled. They collected the data from
the IoT sensors and executed projections on it. This scheme is interested in environmental
parameters such as temperature, moisture, RH, and light. Yadav et al. [27] used Raspberry
pi as a monitoring node with python’s programming language. The Raspberry Pi board is
interfaced with multi-sensors of MQ3 to determine alcohol contents, LDR to determine the
light intensity, and DHT11 to measure the temperature and RH. Mishra et al. [35] developed
a low-cost solar-powered smart cold storage. They used a modified split air conditioner for
cold storage. This low-cost cold storage supports automatic remote monitoring using IoT
sensors. Zhan et al. [36] employed industrial IoT and unsupervised learning to develop an
intelligent real-time occupational safety monitoring system for cold storage. They used a
stacked auto-encoder to track abnormal stationary detection in cold storage. Additionally,
they provided enhanced spatial-temporal traceability by using some intelligent services.
Finally, they introduced real-life air cargo cold storage as a case study. Gautham et al. [37]
employed machine learning and IoT to build an ultrasonic humidification control system
to extend the longevity of fruits and vegetables. In this scheme, the IoT provides visual
feedback for the current levels for some parameters of interest.
In the previous studies, they only monitored the microclimate atmosphere of CSRs
using the IoT regarding temperature and humidity. However, the microclimate atmosphere
of CSRs consists of other gases that must be monitored, such as CO2 and C2 H4 , to maintain
the quality of stored products and the health of workers. Moreover, if the main door
of the CSR is left open it causes outside air to flow inside the CSR which changes the
temperature, relative humidity, and gas concentrations inside the CSR and increases the
power consumption. Previous studies also have shown that the humidification of CSRs
using ultrasonic humidifiers has the possibility to improve the quality of the stored product.
Real-time remote control and malfunction alerts for the microclimate atmosphere of CSRs
and their equipment, i.e., evaporator unit, condensing unit, control unit, humidification
unit, and defrost unit are needed to maintain the CSR and quality of stored products. So,
when sudden malfunctions occur in the CSR equipment and the control system fails to solve
the problem or the user leaves the light or door open for more than the predefined Setpoints
time the IoT system should give notification with an alarm for maintaining food quality and
 Sensors 2022, 21, x FOR PEER REVIEW 4 of 30

fails to solve the problem or the user leaves the light or door open for more than the pre-
Sensors 2022, 22, 4680 4 of 29
defined Setpoints time the IoT system should give notification with an alarm for main-
taining food quality and energy saving. In addition, compressor temperatures and elec-
trical energy
energy consumption
saving. In addition,must be carefully
compressor monitored and
temperatures and controlled so that appropriate
electrical energy consumption
actions can be taken in real-time. Accordingly, there is still
must be carefully monitored and controlled so that appropriate actions a need to designcanabemodern,
taken in
low-cost, viable system for controlling, providing visual feedback on the current
real-time. Accordingly, there is still a need to design a modern, low-cost, viable system data forfor
CSR microclimate
controlling, and its
providing equipment,
visual feedbackandonsending warning
the current data alerts for microclimate
for CSR reducing post-har-
and its
vest losses and storage issues.
equipment, and sending warning alerts for reducing post-harvest losses and storage issues.
Therefore, this
Therefore, this study
study aimed
aimedtotodesign
designandandimplement
implementa asmart
smart IoT-BC
IoT-BC system to to
system re-re-
motely control, alert, and real-time monitor the interior microclimate, i.e., relative
motely control, alert, and real-time monitor the interior microclimate, i.e., relative humidity,humid-
ity, temperature, CO2, C2H4, and light and some operating parameters, i.e., the tempera-
temperature, CO2 , C2 H4 , and light and some operating parameters, i.e., the temperature
ture of the refrigeration compressor, the electrical current, and the energy consumption of
of the refrigeration compressor, the electrical current, and the energy consumption of a
a CSR to extend shelf life and maintain high-quality attributes of stored fruit and support
CSR to extend shelf life and maintain high-quality attributes of stored fruit and support
components of cold storage facilities. In addition, evaluating the designed IoT-BC system
components of cold storage facilities. In addition, evaluating the designed IoT-BC system
regarding its performance, operating the modified CSR, and its impact on stored date fruit
regarding its performance, operating the modified CSR, and its impact on stored date fruit
quality compared to the traditional CSR.
quality compared to the traditional CSR.
2. Materials
2. Materials and
and Methods
Methods
2.1. Cold Storage Rooms
2.1. Rooms Description
Description
The experiment
The experimentwas wasconducted
conductedusing
usingtwo
twosimilar
similar cold
cold storage
storage rooms
rooms CSRs
CSRs estab-
established
lished
at at thePalm
the Date DateResearch
Palm Research
CenterCenter of Excellence
of Excellence (DPRC),(DPRC), King Faisal
King Faisal University
University (KFU),
(KFU), Saudi Arabia. One of these CSRs was remotely controlled and monitored
Saudi Arabia. One of these CSRs was remotely controlled and monitored by the designed by the
designed cloud-based IoT system (IoT-BC), and the second was left with
cloud-based IoT system (IoT-BC), and the second was left with its traditional control.its traditional
control.1 Figure
Figure shows 1the shows
mainthe main components
components of the
of the CSR, CSR,consisted
which which consisted of a thermally
of a thermally insulated
insulated cold room, evaporator unit, condensing unit, control unit, humidification
cold room, evaporator unit, condensing unit, control unit, humidification unit, and defrost unit,
unit. The internal measures of the cold room were 5.8 m in length, 2.9 m in width, in
and defrost unit. The internal measures of the cold room were 5.8 m in length, 2.9 m and
width,
2.9 m inand 2.9 m in height.
height.

Figure 1.
Figure 1. The
Themain
maincomponent
componentofof thethe
cold storage
cold room
storage (dimensions
room in m).
(dimensions in (1)
m).Control unit, (2)
(1) Control unit,
storage shelves, (3) LED light bulbs, (4) cold air direction, (5) evaporator unit, (6) electrically oper-
(2) storage shelves, (3) LED light bulbs, (4) cold air direction, (5) evaporator unit, (6) electrically
ated expansion device, (7) condensing unit, (8) pressure transmitter, (9) ultrasonic humidifier, (10)
operated expansion device, (7) condensing unit, (8) pressure transmitter, (9) ultrasonic humidifier,
outputted mist (all dimensions in meters).
(10) outputted mist (all dimensions in meters).

The CSR walls and ceiling were made from polyurethane sandwich panels (PUSP)
with 0.12 thickness. The PUSP was composed of three layers. The internal and external
layers were two corrugated aluminum plates with a thickness of 0.01 m. The core layer
was high-density polyurethane foam with a thickness of 0.10 m. The evaporator (type:
EVAP.CAE3264 R417A, Carrier s.c.s. Co., Aubagne, France) is equipped with two fans
Sensors 2022, 22, 4680 5 of 29

230 V/single-phase/60 Hz. The R417 A refrigerant (Type: CAE3264, −40/38 ◦ C min/max)
was used in the cooling system of the CSR. The condensing unit is equipped with a
refrigeration compressor 3 phase, 380–420 V/3-phase/60 Hz, and the nominal operating
current was 6.8 A (model DLEE-201-EWK, Emerson Climate Technologies Ltd., Mikulov,
Czech Republic). The control unit consisted of one 3-phase breaker, two single-phase
breakers, three contactors, a 24 h timer, and a digital temperature controller 230 VAC
(model: XR06CX, Dixell, Pieve d’Alpago, Italy). The control unit was used to control the
operating fans and CSR compressor. The CSR included three compact fluorescent light
bulbs with a total power of 75 W. The temperature inside the CSR was set at the target
temperatures before conducting the experiments using the controller supplied in the control
unit of each CSR.
The humidification unit was an ultrasonic humidifier with the same descriptions as
the designed ultrasonic humidifier by Mohammed et al. [9]. The ultrasonic humidifier was
used to control the relative humidity (RH) in the CSR. This humidifier consisted of ten
ultrasonic transducers, a water reservoir, an air fan, and a control unit. The ultrasonic trans-
ducers were installed at the central bottom position of the reservoir. The frequency of each
ultrasonic transducer was 2600 kHz with a resonance impedance of 2 Ω, and the operating
temperature range was 0 to 50 ◦ C. The humidifier reservoir was a rectangular stainless-steel
tank of 0.25 × 0.25 × 0.40 m. The fan flow rate ranged from 0 to 2.5 m3 /min with a maxi-
mum power consumption of 22 W, and the rated inputted voltage was 230 V/60 Hz. The
RH was adjusted by the high-precision humidity control unit (MH13001 with a humidity
sensor of INS121, Shenzhen Electronic Co., Ltd., Shenzhen, Guangdong, China).
The accumulated frost on the surface of the evaporator coils hinders the distribution
and conduction of the cooling capacity of the refrigeration evaporator, which finally impacts
the cooling efficiency or deforms the evaporator. This problem leads to increasing electrical
energy consumption and reducing the service life of refrigeration system equipment.
Therefore, the benefit of the defrost unit is to defrost the accumulated frost to improve the
efficiency of the system cooling, ensuring the quality of stored products in the storage room,
saving electrical energy, and extending the service life of the cold storage components.
Therefore, the electric heating type (220 V, 200 W) was used for the defrost unit CSRs. The
heaters of the defrost unit were clamped directly to the evaporator coil and operated by the
control based on defrosting temperature sensor data to prevent the coils from damaging by
freezing water.

2.2. The IoT-Based Control System Architecture

The detailed workflow and communication among the different entities of the de-
signed IoT-based control system (IoT-BC) are shown in Figure 2. The figure shows the
modified cold storage room (MCSR) that was monitored and controlled remotely. In ad-
dition, a set of sensors and microcontrollers for collecting data were used to control and
monitor the selected parameters. The communication between the different entities is
as follows:
• The sensors periodically collected the data from different portions of the cold storage room.
• The collected data were uploaded by the considered microcontrollers to our private
channel on ThingSpeak through Wi-Fi for control, monitoring, and alert purposes.
• The data analytics was accomplished on our ThingSpeak channel using MATLAB
Analysis App. According to the code written on MATLAB Analysis App, the desired
action/control is sent in real-time to the designated microcontroller to be applied to
the cold storage room.
• The authenticated users can access our private ThingSpeak channel and monitor
real-time through graphical interfaces to all the measured parameters.
• Finally, two alerts (email and SMS) are sent to a designated administrator in case of
an emergency based on real-time data analytics. The email alert was done using the
MATLAB Analysis App. The SMS alert was accomplished using the ThingHTTP App
and our account on the Twilio website.
 • The authenticated users can access our private ThingSpeak channel and monitor real-
time through graphical interfaces to all the measured parameters.
• Finally, two alerts (email and SMS) are sent to a designated administrator in case of
an emergency based on real-time data analytics. The email alert was done using the
Sensors 2022, 22, 4680 MATLAB Analysis App. The SMS alert was accomplished using the ThingHTTP 6App of 29
and our account on the Twilio website.

Thesystem
Figure2.2.The
Figure systemmodel
modelof
ofthe
thedesigned
designedIoT-BC.
IoT-BC.

Themain
The maingoal
goalofofthethe designed
designed IoT-BC
IoT-BC is monitoring
is monitoring some
some critical
critical parameters,
parameters, i.e.,
i.e., the
the atmosphere storage, controlling its work, and sending alerts in cases of
atmosphere storage, controlling its work, and sending alerts in cases of emergency. There- emergency.
Therefore,
fore, the IoT-BC
the IoT-BC monitored
monitored the internal
the internal andand external
external atmospheretemperature,
atmosphere temperature,internal
internal
relative humidity (RH), Internal Carbon Dioxide concentration (CO2 ), internal ethylene gas
relative humidity (RH), Internal Carbon Dioxide concentration (CO2), internal ethylene
concentration (C H ), internal ambient light, compressor temperature, electrical current
gas concentration2 (C42H4), internal ambient light, compressor temperature, electrical cur-
intensity, and electrical energy consumption.
rent intensity, and electrical energy consumption.
The IoT-BC controlled the humidification unit based on the relative humidity levels,
The IoT-BC controlled the humidification unit based on the relative humidity levels,
the ventilation unit based on the CO2 and C2 H4 levels, and the control unit based on the
the ventilation unit based on the CO2 and C2H4 levels, and the control unit based on the
internal atmosphere temperature, compressor temperature, and current intensity.
internal atmosphere temperature, compressor temperature, and current intensity.
The alerting email and SMS were achieved for the following parameters:
The alerting email and SMS were achieved for the following parameters:
• Internal temperature measured by the internal DHT22 sensor;
• Internal temperature measured by the internal DHT22 sensor;
• Internal relative humidity measured by the internal DHT22 sensor;
• Internal relative humidity measured by the internal DHT22 sensor;
• Internal carbon dioxide CO2 measured by the Senseair-S8 sensor;
•
• Internal carbon dioxide CO2 measured by the Senseair-S8 sensor;
Internal ethylene gas C2 H4 measured by the MQ-3 sensor;
•• Internal
Internal ambient gas
ethylene lightCmeasured
2H4 measured by the MQ-3 sensor;
by the BH1750 sensor;
•• Internal ambient
Compressor light measured
temperature measuredby the BH1750
by the sensor; sensor;
DS1822-PAR
•• Compressor
The applied current intensity measured by three currentsensor
temperature measured by the DS1822-PAR meters.
• The applied current intensity measured by three current meters.
2.2.1. IoT-BC Hardware Layout
2.2.1. IoT-BC Hardware Layout
This section introduces the schematic diagrams in IoT-BC, the description of the used
Thisand
sensors, section introducesof
the calibration the schematic
the diagrams
sensor. The in IoT-BC,
hardware thebeen
layout has description of the using
implemented used
sensors, and the calibration of the sensor. The hardware layout has been implemented
KiCad version 6.0 installed on MacBook Pro (3.3 GHz Intel Core i7) to draw the expected
IoT-BC schematic and confirm the electrical rules check, as shown in Figure 3. KiCad has
been used for its ability to handle and maintain various and complex electronic circuits.
For example, two circuits were used to monitor and control the controlled atmosphere
storage: one circuit for the internal atmosphere storage, and the second circuit for the
compressor operations.
 using KiCad version 6.0 installed on MacBook Pro (3.3 GHz Intel Core i7) to draw the
expected IoT-BC schematic and confirm the electrical rules check, as shown in Figure 3.
KiCad has been used for its ability to handle and maintain various and complex electronic
circuits. For example, two circuits were used to monitor and control the controlled atmos-
Sensors 2022, 22, 4680 phere storage: one circuit for the internal atmosphere storage, and the second circuit7for
of 29
the compressor operations.

Figure 3.
Figure 3. The
The detailed
detailed schematic
schematic KiCad
KiCad diagram
diagram with
with successful
successful electrical
electrical rules
rulescheck
checkfor
forthe
theinternal
inter-
nal sensors. D is a diode, ESP8266 is a NodeMCU board, GND is the ground, Q is transistor
sensors. D is a diode, ESP8266 is a NodeMCU board, GND is the ground, Q is transistor (BC547), (BC547),
R is a resistor, RV rheostat, T1 and T2 are temperature sensors (DS1822), T&RH is temperature and
R is a resistor, RV rheostat, T1 and T2 are temperature sensors (DS1822), T&RH is temperature and
relative humidity sensor (DHT22), LCD is a liquid crystal display (RC1602A-GHW-ESX), S is sensor
relative humidity sensor (DHT22), LCD is a liquid crystal display (RC1602A-GHW-ESX), S is sensor
and Hum is humidification.
and Hum is humidification.
Figure 1 introduces the detailed KiCad diagram for the set of considered sensors after
Figure 1 introduces the detailed KiCad diagram for the set of considered sensors after
running an electrical rules check. As shown in this figure, the description part consists of
running an electrical rules check. As shown in this figure, the description part consists of
the following items:
the following items:
• Comments related to the connected peripherals:
• Comments related to the connected peripherals:
Comment 1: The CO2-Alarm beeps when the CO2 value reaches 0.045%.
Comment 1: The CO2 -Alarm beeps when the CO2 value reaches 0.045%.
Comment 2: GPIO 5 is the output for the internal temperature measured by the
Comment 2: GPIO 5 is the output for the internal temperature measured by the DHT22.
DHT22.
Comment 3: GPIO 10 is the output for the ventilation unit based on the CO2 and Alcohol.
Comment 3: GPIO 10 is the output for the ventilation unit based on the CO2 and Al-
Comment 4: GPIO 16 is the output for the humidification based on the humidity level.
cohol.
The details4:ofGPIO
Comment the connected
16 is the peripherals in our
output for the IoT-BC are asbased
humidification follows:
on the humidity
• ESP8266 NodeMCU level. board: We used one ESP8266 NodeMCU board. It is used to
interface theofIoT-BC
The details peripherals
the connected with the
peripherals Internet
in our and
IoT-BC arethe
as cloud platform. Several
follows:
24 pins have been used to connect the ESP8266 with the IoT-BC sensors and actuators.
There are six empty pins between power and multiplexed GPIO pins that can be used
for future scaling purposes using the same board.
• DS1822-PAR Sensor: It is a single-wire distributed temperature sensor. It is based on
the multidrop capability that simplifies distributed temperature sensing applications.
Therefore, it does not need any external components. Its measurement range is from
−55 ± 100 ◦ C. Two DS1822-PAR sensors have been employed in the IoT-BC. They
have been connected to GPIO2 and GPIO14.
Sensors 2022, 22, 4680 8 of 29

• DHT22 Sensor: It is a low-cost digital temperature and relative humidity sensor. Its
temperature range is −40–80 ◦ C. Its RH range is 0–100%. It reads a new measure every
2 s. Two DHT22 have been employed in the IoT-BC. They have been connected to
GPIO12 and GPIO13.
• Senseair-S8 (004-0-0075) Sensor: It is a commercial miniature infrared CO2 sensor. Its
measurement range is 400–2000 ppm. It reads a new measure every 2 s. It is equipped
with two output pins—an alarm output and a 1 kHz PWM output. One Senseair-S8
sensor has been employed in the IoT-BC. It has been connected to the UART pins
(GPIO1 and GPIO3) and one digital pin (GPIO5).
• BH1750 Sensor: It is a digital ambient light sensor. It has been interfaced with the
ESP8266 module using the I2C serial interface. It has been connected to MOSI and
SCLK pins. It is used to sense the light inside the CCSA.
• MQ-3 Sensor: It is a sensitive gas sensor. It is used in IoT-BC to detect the existence of
ethylene gas (C2 H4 ). Once the ethylene alcohol gas exists, the sensor’s conductivity
gets higher, and the gas concentration rises. Two MQ-3 sensors have been used in IoT-
BC. They have been connected with the ESP8266 module through GPIO9 and GPIO10.
• G5Q-1A Electrical Relay: Three G5Q-1A electrical relays have been used in IoT-BC.
They are connected to GPIO4, GPIO5, and GPIO16. The first relay (connected to GPIO5)
controls the temperature inside the IoT-BC. The second relay (connected to GPIO16)
controls the humidification unit in the IoT-BC. Finally, the third relay (connected to
GPIO4) controls the ventilation unit in the IoT-BC.
• RC1602A-GHW-ESX LCD: It is the only LCD used in IoT-BC. It is mainly used to
display some information related to doing action on a real-time basis. It has been
connected with the ESP8266 module through CS, SCLK, and GPIO0.
Figure 4 introduces the detailed KiCad diagram for the set of considered current
meters and sensors after running electrical rules check for all of them. As shown in this
figure, the description part consists of the following items:
• Comments related to the connected peripherals:
• Comment 1: A current transformer is used with some resistances to measure the current.
• Comment 2: Three current meters are used for the compressor.
• Comment 3: Two current meters are used for the condensing and control unit.
• The number of sheets and the file name (Cloud_CAS_2.kicad_sch).
• The title of this schematic diagram (Cloud-Controlled Atmosphere Storage (IoT-BC)—
Current Meter).
Moreover, the details of the connected peripherals in the current control schematic are
as follows:
• Arduino UNO R3: It is a microcontroller board based on ATmega328P. It provides
14 digital input/output pins and six analog pins.
• ESP-01v090: It is a Wi-Fi module from ESPressif. It connects the Arduino board to the
Internet. It is interfaced with the Arduino board through Tx and Rx pins.
• Current meter: The employed current meter comprises one current transformer, one
capacitor, one 33-ohm burden resistor, and two 10–470 K-ohm potentiometers. Five
current meters have been connected to the Arduino UNO R3 board. They are connected
to the following analog pins A0, A1, A2, A3, and A4.
• DS1822-PAR Sensor: Two DS1822-PAR sensors have been employed in the current
control schematic. They have been connected to D7 and D8.
 Sensors 2022, 21, x FOR PEER REVIEW 9 of 30
Sensors 2022, 22, 4680 9 of 29

Figure 4.
Figure 4. The
Thedetailed
detailedschematic
schematicKiCad
KiCaddiagram
diagramwith
withsuccessful
successful electrical
electrical rules
rules checks
checks forfor
thethe cur-
current
rent meters and power control. C is a capacitor, D is a diode, GND is the ground, Q is transistor
meters and power control. C is a capacitor, D is a diode, GND is the ground, Q is transistor (BC547),
(BC547), R is a resistor, RV rheostat, TC1 and TC2 are temperature sensors of the compressor
R is a resistor, RV rheostat, TC1 and TC2 are temperature sensors of the compressor (DS1822), LCD
(DS1822), LCD is a liquid crystal display (RC1602A-GHW-ESX), CT-1, CT-2 and CT-3 is the current
is a liquid crystal display (RC1602A-GHW-ESX), CT-1, CT-2 and CT-3 is the current meter of the
meter of the compressor, CT-4 is the current meter of the condensing unit, CT-5 is the current meter
compressor, CT-4
of the control is WI-FI
unit, the current meter
is a Wi-Fi of the condensing
module (ESP-01090).unit, CT-5 is the current meter of the control
unit, WI-FI is a Wi-Fi module (ESP-01090).
Moreover, the details of the connected peripherals in the current control schematic
2.2.2. IoT-BC Software Layout
are as follows:
There are two codes used in the IoT-BC. The first one is used to monitor and con-
• Arduino UNO R3: It is a microcontroller board based on ATmega328P. It provides
trol/alert the internal atmosphere storage (Figure 3), and the second one is used to monitor
14 digital input/output pins and six analog pins.
and control/alert the current (Figure 4). For simplicity reasons, only the code used for
• ESP-01v090: It is a Wi-Fi module from ESPressif. It connects the Arduino board to the
controlling the internal atmosphere storage is introduced here, as shown in Figure 5.
Internet. It is interfaced with the Arduino board through Tx and Rx pins.
The figure shows the code that will be repeatedly executed on the ESP8266 board to
• Current
monitor, meter:
control, andThe
alertemployed current
some of the main meter comprises
parameters one current
considered transformer,
in IoT-BC. one
The detailed
capacitor, one 33-ohm burden resistor, and two 10–470
description of the main functions used in this code is as follows: K-ohm potentiometers. Five
current meters have been connected to the Arduino UNO R3 board. They are con-
• IntializeSensors( ): This analog
nected to the following function is responsible
pins A0, A1, A2,for
A3,executing
and A4. sensors’ calibration and
• reset
DS1822-PAR Sensor: Two DS1822-PAR sensors have beeninemployed
if needed. Each sensor is assigned a unique name the introduced
in the internal
current
control to the atmosphere storage. This unique name
control schematic. They have been connected to D7 and D8. helps send instructions to the
sensors and collect the data from them.
•2.2.2.GetData( ): The readings
IoT-BC Software Layout will be collected from the sensors every 200 ms. This
reading interval is represented by the if condition “if (CurrentTime—LastGetTime >=
There are two codes used in the IoT-BC. The first one is used to monitor and con-
GetInterval)”. Thus, every 200 ms, the GetData( ) collects the readings from the list of
trol/alert the internal atmosphere storage (Figure 3), and the second one is used to monitor
sensors attached to the microcontroller. This process is accomplished based on each
and control/alert the current (Figure 4). For simplicity reasons, only the code used for con-
sensor and its own configuration.
trolling the internal atmosphere storage is introduced here, as shown in Figure 5.
 control to the atmosphere storage. This unique name helps send instructions to the
sensors and collect the data from them.
• GetData( ): The readings will be collected from the sensors every 200 ms. This reading
interval is represented by the if condition “if (CurrentTime—LastGetTime >= Get-
Interval)”. Thus, every 200 ms, the GetData( ) collects the readings from the list of
Sensors 2022, 22, 4680 10 of 29
sensors attached to the microcontroller. This process is accomplished based on each
sensor and its own configuration.
•• Upload2ThingSpeak():):This
Upload2ThingSpeak( Thisfunction
function is mainly
is mainly usedused to send
to send the collected
the collected readingreading
from
from the list of sensors to a private cloud channel on the ThingSpeak
the list of sensors to a private cloud channel on the ThingSpeak platform. This upload platform. This
upload stage is done in real-time. The real-time measures uploaded
stage is done in real-time. The real-time measures uploaded to the cloud ThingSpeak to the cloud
ThingSpeak
platform platform
are used are used
for data for data
analytics and analytics and sending
sending alerts alerts toadministrator
to a designated a designated
administrator
in in casebased
case of emergency of emergency based on each
on each measured measured parameter.
parameter.
•• Track( ):): This
Track( This function
function isisconsidered
consideredlocallocalmonitoring
monitoringthat thatshows
shows thethesystem
systemactivity.
activ-
All the readings collected from the sensors are displayed on the
ity. All the readings collected from the sensors are displayed on the serial monitorserial monitor at the
collection time. Additionally, in case of an emergency, the alert
at the collection time. Additionally, in case of an emergency, the alert message is message is shown
multiple
shown times on
multiple the on
times serial
themonitor to alerttothe
serial monitor local
alert theinvestigator about about
local investigator the emer-
the
gency issue.issue.
emergency
•• Print2LCD():):This
Print2LCD( Thisfunction
functionexecute
executea similar
a similar task
task to to
thatthat of Track(
of Track( ) function.
) function. How-
However,
ever,function
this this function will show
will show all theall the readings
readings and on
and alerts alerts
theonLCD.the LCD.

Figure 5.
Figure 5. The
The repeatedly
repeatedly executed
executed code
code on
on the
the ESP8266
ESP8266 board.
board.

2.3.
2.3. Sensors
Sensors Calibration
Calibration
The
The Food
Food and
and Drug
Drug Administration
Administration (FDA)
(FDA) requires
requiresanan accurate
accurate display
display for
for all
all devices
devices
that have an impact on the quality of the stored product by their calibrating over a
that have an impact on the quality of the stored product by their calibrating over a speci-specified
interval of time.
fied interval The The
of time. equipment calibration
equipment is also
calibration important
is also to facilitate
important thethe
to facilitate storage of
storage
many critical materials that demand a controlled modified atmosphere and security.
of many critical materials that demand a controlled modified atmosphere and security. In In
order to comply with the international benchmarks, tested and calibrated CSR rooms
order to comply with the international benchmarks, tested and calibrated CSR rooms (in-
(including their cooling equipment) according to the Code of Federal Regulations Title 21
cluding their cooling equipment) according to the Code of Federal Regulations Title 21
were used in this study [38]. The sensors used in IoT-BC have been calibrated to assure
were used in this study [38]. The sensors used in IoT-BC have been calibrated to assure
their accuracy as follows:
their accuracy as follows:
• To calibrate the temperature and humidity sensor DHT22 and the digital temperature
sensors, a controlled atmosphere (temperature and RH) incubator (model: PC900h,
Helmer Scientific Inc., Noblesville, IN, USA) was used. The incubator atmosphere
temperatures and RH were set at different values and the observed values were
compared with the values of the sensor’s readings.
• To calibrate the CO2 sensor, the reading of the Senseair-S8 sensor was compared
with the reading recorded by the indoor air CO2 m/datalogger (model: Extech EA80,
FLIR Commercial Systems Inc., Nashua, NH, USA) at a temperature of 5 C. A carbon
dioxide cylinder containing 99.5% pure CO2 was used to add different concentrations
of CO2 in a closed room.
• To calibrate the ethylene MQ-3 sensor, a fruit ripening gas box containing 99.95% pure
ethylene (type: corrugated box of 96 Pc, MILAN JYOTI INTERNATIONAL LTD,
Sensors 2022, 22, 4680 11 of 29

Mumbai, India) was used. The gas was sprayed in a closed cold room at a temperature
of 5 ◦ C and the reading of the sensor was compared with the reading of a portable
ethylene gas detector (model: PG-100-C2 H4 , AMBETRONICS ENGINEERS PVT LTD.,
Mumbai, India).
• To calibrate the light intensity BH1750 sensor, the reading of the sensor was compared
with the reading recorded by the light intensity meter/datalogger (model: Extech
EA33, FLIR Commercial Systems Inc., Nashua, NH, USA). Calibration was carried out
using the LED light source with variable intensity of illumination in the cooling room
at a temperature of 5 ◦ C.
• To calibrate the current intensity Load_CellX03 with HX711 amplifier, power, and
electrical energy consumption, the reading of the current sensor, calculated power,
and calculated energy consumption were compared with the reading recorded by
three-phase power and harmonics clamp meter (UNI-T, UT243, Uni-Trend Technology
Co., Ltd., Dongguan, Guangdong, China) under different current intensities consumed
by a heater coil.

2.4. Control and Alert

IoT-BC’s control and the alert system have been introduced to control the compressor,
the ventilation unit, and the humidification unit. As well as sending alerts to a designated
administrator based on the measures of some sensors. Moreover, sending an alert based on
the light level inside the atmosphere storage. In comparison to the Supervisory Control
and Data Acquisition (SCADA) system which is very similar to the designed IoT-BC. The
SCADA system could remotely control huge industrial processes in real-time based on
high-level software applications. Additionally, a trained user is needed to use the SCAD
system. Thus, the SCADA system is most suitable for the high cost and huge industrial
facilities, as it is very expensive. The SCADA system also needs huge computational
resources to work properly. On the other hand, the designed IoT-BC could achieve the same
objectives as the SCADA system with low cost for the small to medium-sized industrial
facilities. Moreover, the designed IoT-BC requires a simple IoT microcontroller and sensors
along with a free cloud platform. Additionally, the normal user can use IoT-BC’s interface
as it is very simple and easy to use.
The alert in IoT-BC is an email and SMS for a designated administrator through our
private channel on the ThingSpeak cloud platform. The configuration for sending an
email is achieved using MATLAB Analysis App on ThingSpeak. Where a MATLAB code
is written in the MTLAB Analysis App for each controlled parameter. Additionally, the
configuration of sending an SMS using ThingSpeak and the Twilio website is shown in
Figure 6. The figure shows the detailed configuration for sending an SMS as an alert by
using the Twilio website and ThingHTTP App on our private channel on the ThingSpeak
cloud platform.

2.4.1. Compressor Control and Alert Mechanism

The process of controlling the compressor in the MCSR has been accomplished based
on three main parameters:
• Internal Temperature (T): It is shown in Figure 7. The flowchart (Figure 7a) turns the
compressor on when the internal temperature reaches the maximum setpoint (T is
greater than or equal 7 ◦ C). The IoT-BC will send an email and SMS to a designated
administrator to alert if the internal temperature remains greater than the maximum
temperature set point for 30 min after turning the compressor on. The flowchart
(Figure 7b) turns the compressor off when the internal temperature reaches and
remains at the minimum temperature setpoint (T is smaller than or equal 3 ◦ C) for
30 min. The IoT-BC would send an email and SMS to a designated administrator as an
alert if the internal temperature remained smaller than the minimum temperature set
point for 30 min after turning the compressor off.
Sensors 2022, 22, 4680 12 of 29

• Compressor Temperature (CT): It is shown in Figure 8. This figure cares about the
compressor temperature. The compressor will be turned off if its temperature reaches
the maximum compressor temperature setpoint (CT is greater than or equal to 100 ◦ C)
for 5 min. For example, suppose the compressor temperature remained greater than
or equal to 100 ◦ C for 5 min after turning the compressor off. In that case, the IoT-BC
will send an email and SMS to a designated administrator as an alert.
• Current Meters (CM): It is shown in Figure 9. This figure controls the compressor
on/off based on the measures of three current meters (CM1, CM2, and CM3). The
three current meters must record the normal range of 4 A to 7 A. If the normal range
for the three current meters is satisfied, then IoT-BC must make sure that the absolute
difference between any of the three current meters is not greater than or equal to 1 A.
Thus, the compressor must keep working normally, and there is no problem. However,
suppose the normal range condition is true and the differences between any of the
three current meters are greater than or equal to 1 A. In that case, IoT-BC will wait for
1 min and then recheck the differences in the current measures. If the differences in
the current measures are still greater than or equal to 1 A, the IoT-BC will turn the
compressor off and send an email and SMS to a designated administrator as an alert. If
the normal range condition is false, IoT-BC will check if any of the three current meters
is greater than or equal to 10 A. Then, IoT-BC will wait for 1 min before rechecking the
same condition. If the measure for one of the current meters remained greater than
Sensors 2022, 21, x FOR PEER REVIEW 12 of 30
or equal to 1 A for one minute, The IoT-BC will turn the compressor off and send an
email and SMS to a designated administrator as an alert.

Figure6.6.The
Figure Thedetailed
detailedconfiguration
configurationfor
forusing
usingThingHTTP
ThingHTTPand
andTwilio
Twiliowebsite
websiteto
tosend
sendan
analert
alertSMS
SMS
to a designated administrator.
to a designated administrator.

2.4.1. Compressor Control and Alert Mechanism

The process of controlling the compressor in the MCSR has been accomplished based
on three main parameters:
• Internal Temperature (T): It is shown in Figure 7. The flowchart (Figure 7a) turns the
compressor on when the internal temperature reaches the maximum setpoint (T is
greater than or equal 7 °C). The IoT-BC will send an email and SMS to a designated
administrator to alert if the internal temperature remains greater than the maximum
temperature set point for 30 min after turning the compressor on. The flowchart (Fig-
ure 7b) turns the compressor off when the internal temperature reaches and remains
Sensors 2022, 21, x FOR PEER REVIEW 13 of 30
Sensors 2022, 22, 4680 13 of 29

Figure 7. The compressor control and alert based on the internal temperature (T) measured by the
DHT22 sensor. (a) The control and alert based on the maximum setpoint. (b). The control and alert
based on the minimum setpoint.

• Compressor Temperature (CT): It is shown in Figure 8. This figure cares about the
compressor temperature. The compressor will be turned off if its temperature reaches
the maximum compressor temperature setpoint (CT is greater than or equal to 100
°C)7.for
Figure The5 compressor
min. For example, suppose
control and the compressor
alert based temperature
on the internal temperature remained
(T) measured greater
by the
Figure 7. The
than or compressor
equal to 100control
°C forand
5 alert after
min basedturning
on the internal
the temperature
compressor (T)Inmeasured
off. that case,bythe
the
DHT22 sensor. (a) The control and alert based on the maximum setpoint. (b). The control and alert
DHT22 sensor.
IoT-BC (a) The control and alert based on the maximum setpoint. (b). The control and alert
based on thewill send an
minimum email and SMS to a designated administrator as an alert.
setpoint.
based on the minimum setpoint.

• Compressor Temperature (CT): It is shown in Figure 8. This figure cares about the
compressor temperature. The compressor will be turned off if its temperature reaches
the maximum compressor temperature setpoint (CT is greater than or equal to 100
°C) for 5 min. For example, suppose the compressor temperature remained greater
than or equal to 100 °C for 5 min after turning the compressor off. In that case, the
IoT-BC will send an email and SMS to a designated administrator as an alert.

The
Figure8.8.The
Figure compressorcontrol
compressor controland
andalert
alertbased
basedonon the
the compressortemperature
compressor temperature(CT)
(CT)measured
measuredbyby
theDS1822-PAR
the DS1822-PARsensor.
sensor.

Figure 8. The compressor control and alert based on the compressor temperature (CT) measured by
the DS1822-PAR sensor.
 turn the compressor off and send an email and SMS to a designated administrator as
an alert. If the normal range condition is false, IoT-BC will check if any of the three
current meters is greater than or equal to 10 A. Then, IoT-BC will wait for 1 min before
rechecking the same condition. If the measure for one of the current meters remained
Sensors 2022, 22, 4680
greater than or equal to 1 A for one minute, The IoT-BC will turn the compressor off
14 of 29
and send an email and SMS to a designated administrator as an alert.

The
Figure9.9.The
Figure compressor
compressor control
control andand alert
alert based
based on three
on three current
current meters
meters measures
measures (CM1,(CM1,
CM2, CM2,
and
and CM3).
CM3).

2.4.2. Humidification Unit’s Control and Alert Mechanism

2.4.2. Humidification Unit’s Control and Alert Mechanism
The process of controlling the humidification unit in the MCSR has been accomplished
based on the internal relative humidity (RH) measured by the DHT22 sensor, as shown in
Figure 10. This figure is composed of two subgraphs:
# Figure 10a: This flowchart turns the humidifier on when the internal RH reaches
the minimum humidity setpoint (RH is smaller than or equal to 65%). The IoT-BC
would send an email and SMS to a designated administrator as an alert if the internal
humidity remained smaller than the minimum humidity set point for 30 min after
turning the humidifier on.
# Figure 10b: This flowchart turns the humidifier off when the internal humidity reaches
and remains at the maximum humidity setpoint (RH is greater than or equal to 90%)
for 30 min. The IoT-BC would send an email and SMS to a designated administrator
as an alert if the internal humidity remained greater than the maximum humidity set
point for 30 min after turning the humidifier off.
 ing the humidifier on.
o Figure 10b: This flowchart turns the humidifier off when the internal humidity
reaches and remains at the maximum humidity setpoint (RH is greater than or equal
to 90%) for 30 min. The IoT-BC would send an email and SMS to a designated ad-
Sensors 2022, 22, 4680
ministrator as an alert if the internal humidity remained greater than the maximum
15 of 29
humidity set point for 30 min after turning the humidifier off.

Figure10.
Figure TheHumidification
10.The Humidificationunit
unitcontrol
controland
andalerts
alertsbased
basedon
onthe
therelative
relativehumidity
humidity(RH)
(RH)measured
measured
databy
data bythe
theDHT22
DHT22sensor.
sensor. (a)
(a)The
Thecontrol
controland
andalert
alertbased
basedononthe
theminimum
minimumsetpoint.
setpoint. (b).
(b).The
Thecontrol
control
andalert
and alertbased
basedon
onthe
themaximum
maximumsetpoint.
setpoint.

2.4.3. Ventilation Unit Control and Alert Mechanism

2.4.3. Ventilation Unit Control and Alert Mechanism
The process of controlling the ventilation unit in the MCSR has been accomplished
The process of controlling the ventilation unit in the MCSR has been accomplished
based on two main parameters:
based on two main parameters:
# Internal Carbon Dioxide (CO ): It is shown in Figure 11a. This flowchart turns the
o Internal Carbon Dioxide (CO2):2 It is shown in Figure 11a. This flowchart turns the
ventilation unit on when the internal CO2 reaches the maximum CO2 Setpoint (CO2
ventilation unit on when the internal CO2 reaches the maximum CO2 Setpoint (CO2 is
is greater than or equal to 0.045%). The IoT-BC would send an email and SMS to
greater than or equal to 0.045%). The IoT-BC would send an email and SMS to a des-
a designated administrator to alert if the internal CO2 remained greater than the
ignated administrator to alert if the internal CO2 remained greater than the maximum
maximum CO2 Setpoint for 30 min after turning the ventilation unit on.
CO2 Setpoint for 30 min after turning the ventilation unit on.
# Internal Ethylene Gas (C2 H4 ): It is shown in Figure 11b. This flowchart turns the
ventilation unit on when the internal C2 H4 reaches the maximum C2 H4 Setpoint
(C2 H4 is greater than or equal to 0.02%). The IoT-BC would send an email and SMS to
a designated administrator as an alert if the internal C2 H4 remained greater than the
maximum C2 H4 set point for 30 min after turning the ventilation unit on.

2.4.4. Light Alert Mechanism

The IoT-BC will send an email and SMS to a designated administrator as an alert if the
internal light remains greater than the maximum light set point (L is greater than or equal
to 5 Lux) for 30 min, as shown in Figure 11c.

2.5. Energy Consumption

The voltage, current intensity, and power factor for TCSR were measured using a
real RMS digital power and harmonics clamp meter (UNI-T UT243, Sinotronics Co., Ltd.,
Guizhou, China). The clamp meters were wired to a laptop for real-time data logging. The
following equations were used to estimate the power and energy consumption:

P1 = V(L−N) × I × PF (1)
√
P2 = 3 × V ( L − L ) × I × PF (2)
E = (P1 × T1 ) + (P2 × T2 ) (3)
where P1 is the actual power consumption for a single-phase, P2 is the actual power
consumption for 3 phases, V(L−N) is the voltage (line to neutral), V(L−L) is the voltage
Sensors 2022, 22, 4680 16 of 29

Sensors 2022, 21, x(line to line),

FOR PEER current intensity, and PF is the power factor (PF = cos ϕ), PF ' 0.94
I is the
REVIEW 16 o
in the experimental site, E is the total energy consumption, and T1 and T2 are the actual
operating time.

Figure 11. The control and alert based on three measured parameters. (a) The ventilation unit control
Figure 11. The control and alert based on three measured parameters. (a) The ventilation unit con
and alerts based on the CO2 level measured by the Senseair-S8 sensor. (b). The ventilation unit
and alerts based on the CO2 level measured by the Senseair-S8 sensor. (b). The ventilation unit
control and alerts areand
trol based onare
alerts thebased
C2 H4onlevel measured
the C by the MQ-3 sensor. (c) The light alert is
2H4 level measured by the MQ-3 sensor. (c) The light alert is b
based on the light level measured by the BH1750 sensor.
on the light level measured by the BH1750 sensor.

2.6. Tested Date Fruits

o Internal Ethylene Gas (C2H4): It is shown in Figure 11b. This flowchart turns the v
The yield of thirty dateunit
tilation palmon trees
when(Khalas cv.) were
the internal C2H4 selected
reaches the for maximum
this study Cfrom the
2H4 Setpoint (C2H
experimental farmsgreater
of the DPRC at the Agricultural Training and Research Station,
than or equal to 0.02%). The IoT-BC would send an email and SMS to a KFU,
SA (Latitude: 25.267690 ◦ N, Longitude: 49.708162◦ E). All selected date palm trees were
ignated administrator as an alert if the internal C2H4 remained greater than the m
almost the same age (16 years)
imum and
C2H4 set uniform
point for 30 in
mingrowth and were
after turning the subjected
ventilationtounit
theon.
same
agricultural treatments. The fruits of these palm trees were harvested at a fully ripened
stage (Tamr). Immediately
2.4.4. Light AlertafterMechanism
harvesting, the fruits with good characteristics and free
from insect damage The wereIoT-BC
transported
will sendto the
anpostharvest
email and SMS laboratory at the DPRC.
to a designated The fruits as an ale
administrator
were sorted andthecleaned using dry air and then divided into two similar
internal light remains greater than the maximum light set point (L is groups (The total
greater tha
weight was 800equal
kg). The fruits were packaged in 40 plastic
to 5 Lux) for 30 min, as shown in Figure 11c. crates with an internal size of
50 × 40 × 25 cm. Each crate has been filled with approximately 20 kg of date fruit. The
crates were stored immediately
2.5. Energy after packing in the two Cold Storage Rooms CSRs, i.e.,
Consumption
MCSR and TCSR. The MCSR and TCSR have the same storage temperature (5 ◦ C), same
The voltage, current intensity, and power factor for TCSR were measured using a
size (482), and manufacturing materials.
RMS digital power and harmonics clamp meter (UNI-T UT243, Sinotronics Co., Ltd., G
zhou,
2.7. Fruit Quality China). The clamp meters were wired to a laptop for real-time data logging.
Measurements
following equations were used to estimate the power and energy consumption:
The most important quality parameters of the stored date fruits were measured before
and after cold storage to study the impact ofPa =controlled V( ) × I atmosphere
×P on fruit quality.
Therefore, the following physicochemical characteristics were measured immediately after
harvesting at the Tamar stage (full ripened stage P =with
√3 ×brown
V( )color)
× I × Pand during cold storage
use. The tested fruits were randomly selected before and during cold storage from different
locations in the MCSR and TCSR. E = (P × T ) + (P × T )
The fruit weights were measured using
where P is the actual power consumption a digital balance
for a(MSA225S,
single-phase, Sartorius
P is theLab In- power c
actual
struments GmbH Co, Göttingen, Lower Saxony, Germany). Fruit length (FL) and diameter
sumption for 3 phases, V( ) is the voltage (line to neutral), V( ) is the voltage (lin
(FD) were measured
line), using
I is thea digital
currentvernier caliper.
intensity, and PForisdetermining
the power factorthe percentage
(P = cos φ), of fruit
P ≃ 0.94 in
weight loss, theexperimental
fruit samplessite, wereE weighed before
is the total cold
energy storage to obtain
consumption, and Tthe initial weight
1 and T2 are the actual ope

ing time.

2.6. Tested Date Fruits

The yield of thirty date palm trees (Khalas cv.) were selected for this study from
experimental farms of the DPRC at the Agricultural Training and Research Station, K
Sensors 2022, 22, 4680 17 of 29

and after 1, 2, and 3 months to obtain the weight after cold storage. The following equation
was utilized to calculate the fruit weight loss:

W1 − W2
FWL = × 100 (4)
W1

where FWL is the fruit weight loss (%), W1 is the initial weight of the sample (g), W2 is the
weight of the same date sample after the target cold storage time (g).
The projected area (PA) of fruits was measured based on the image processing method.
A digital camera was used with a fixed height of 50 cm, and a light-emitting diode (LED)
source with a power of 20 W was used to adjust the lighting. First, the captured im-
ages were transferred to a laptop via a USB port; then, the images were processed using
the open-source image-processing software (ImageJ/Fiji 1.46) to determine the required
parameters [39].
The fruit volume (FV) was estimated using the gas displacement method in an isother-
mal system with a pressure of 200 kPa and a temperature of 22 ◦ C. This method used a
cylinder with compressed air, an empty cylinder, and a treatment chamber made from stain-
less steel with 0.01 cm thickness, a length of 100 cm, and an outer diameter of 40 cm [40].
The fruit density (FD) was determined by dividing the mass of the sample by its
volume, which was determined by the gas displacement methods. While the bulk density
of dates was determined by filling a container of 5000 cm3 volume with a date sample,
the date sample was weighted to measure its mass. The bulk density of the sample was
calculated by dividing the measured mass by 5000 cm3 .
Fruit sphericity of was defined as the ratio of fruit volume to the sphere with a
diameter equal to the major length of the fruit. The fruit sphericity was determined using
the following equation [41]: √
3
l×w×t
Φ= (5)
l
where Φ is fruit sphericity, l, w, and t are the length, width, and thickness of the tested fruit
(mm), respectively.
Fruit hardness was measured using a texture profile analyzer meter (TA.XTplus, Stable
Micro Systems Ltd., Godalming, Surrey, UK) with a cylindrical puncture probe with a 7 mm
diameter at room temperature (about 22 ◦ C). The probe traveling speed was 0.5 mm/s, and
the puncture distance was 5 mm. The maximum force was recorded during the punching
process to indicate the hardness of the stored date fruits.
The moisture content of fruits was determined by drying a sample of 150 g at 70 ◦ C
under a vacuum for 48 h using the vacuum-drying oven (LVO-2041P, Daihan Labtech Co.,
Ltd., Namyangju-si, Gyeonggi-do, Korea) according to the standard methods of analysis of
AOAC [42].
The pH, total soluble solids (TSS), moisture content (MC), and water activity (Aw) of
the stored fruits were measured according to standard AOAC analysis methods [42]. The
laboratory pH meter (HI-99121, Hanna Instruments, Leighton Buzzard, Bedfordshire, UK)
was used to determine the pH data. The laboratory refractometer (RFM 860, Bellingham &
Stanley Ltd., Kent, UK) was used to determine the TSS data. The portable water activity
device (Aqualab Series 3, Decagon Devices, Inc., Pullman, DC, USA) Aw was used to deter-
mine the Aw data. A portable electronic moisture balance (Model MOC-120H, Shimadzu
Corporation, Kyoto, Japan) was used to determine the MC data.
The color parameters of the fruits were determined based on CIELAB color space using
a Hunter Lab color meter (Quest-45/0 LAV, Hunter Associates Laboratory Inc., Reston,
VA, USA). The color parameters were measured for each trial using 10 date fruits selected
randomly. Chroma, hue angle, and the color difference between the measuring color param-
eters of fruit before and after storage time were calculated using the following equations:

C2 = a 2 + b 2 (6)
Sensors 2022, 22, 4680 18 of 29

q
C = a2 + b2 (7)
 
b
h◦ = arc tan if the value ≥ 0 (8)
a
 
b
h◦ = arc tan + 360 otherwise (9)
a
q
∆E = (L2 − L1 )2 + (a2 − a1 )2 + (b2 − b1 )2 (10)
where L is the lightness, a is the red/green coordinate, b is the yellow/blue coordinate, C is
Chroma, h◦ is Hue angle (degree), a is redness, b is yellowness, and ∆E is a color difference.

2.8. Statistical Analysis

The statistical metrics were utilized to validate the accuracy of the used sensors by
comparing the measured values by the sensors with the reference value simultaneously
using standard instruments. These metrics included the determination coefficient, root
mean square error, and index of agreement. The determination coefficient (R-squared
correlation (R2 ) expresses the strength of the correlation between the measured data and
the observed data. The following formula expresses the R-value:

N (∑(XY) − (∑ X)(∑ Y)
R = r   (11)
n ∑ X2 − (∑ X)2 n ∑ Y2 − (∑ Y)2

where R is Pearson correlation, N is the number of data points, X is the observed data, and
Y is the measured data.
Root mean square error (RMSE) compares the difference between measured values by
the sensor and the observed values measured by the standard instrument. The following
formula defines the RMSE:
s
2
∑ni=1 (Xi − Yi )
RMSE = (12)
N

where RMSE is the root mean square error, Xi is the observed data, Yi is the measured data,
and N is the number of data points.
The index of agreement (IOA) describes the ratio of the mean square error and the
potential error. The IOA varies between 0 and 1, which the agreement value of 0 indicating
no agreement at all and 1 indicating a perfect match.
2
∑ni=1 (Xi −Yi )
IOA = 1 − 2
∑ni=1
(|Yi −Xo |+|Xi −Xo |) (13)
0≤d≤1

where IOA is the index of agreement, Xo is the observed data, Ym is the measured data, Xo
is the average data observed.
The statistical analyses of the data were conducted at a 0.05 significance level by
the one-way analysis of variance ANOVA using the statistical analysis program of IBM
SPSS version 24 (SPSS Inc., Chicago, IL, USA). In addition, the Tukey test was used to
determine the least significant difference (LSD) between the experimental mean values at a
0.05 probability level.

3. Results and Discussion

3.1. Sensors Calibration
Some environmental factors, i.e., high-temperature levels, abnormal humidity condi-
tions, sudden degradation, shocks, etc., can affect the accuracy of the measured values for
Sensors 2022, 22, 4680 19 of 29

the sensors used in MCSR. These factors let the sensors give inadequate measurements.
Therefore, there is an urgent need to apply sensor calibrations that are subject to most
of the mentioned factors to validate sensor measurements before use. In addition, the
output signals of the sensors need to calibrate against the reference standard instruments
for producing calibration curves that describe the responses of the sensors to the reference
instrument data to ensure data acquisition quality [43,44].
Before deploying the sensors for the MCSR measurements, the sensors were calibrated
against the suitable reference standard instruments. Table 1 shows the comparison between
the measured values and the reference values for temperature, RH, carbon dioxide (CO2 ),
ethylene gas sensor (C2 H4 ), light intensity, current intensity, power, and energy consump-
tion using the standard statistical metrics of the Pearson correlation (R), determination
coefficient (R2 ), root mean square error (RMSE), and index of agreement (IOA). This table
shows that the calibration of the used sensors achieved the required accuracy within the
target parameters based on the R, R2 , RMSE, and IOA, which had acceptable values for the
used sensors.

Table 1. Statistical metrics values of Pearson correlation (R), determination coefficient (R2 ), root mean
square error (RMSE), and index of agreement (IOA)resulting from comparing the measured values of
the temperature and RH sensor (DHT22), carbon dioxide (CO2 ) sensor (Senseair-S8), ethylene gas
(C2 H4 ) sensor (MQ-3), light intensity sensor (BH1750), current intensity sensor (CST2), calculated
power, and calculated electrical energy consumption with the reference values.

Statistical Metrics
Parameters
R R2 RMSE IOA
Temperature 0.997 0.994 1.673 0.995
RH 0.867 0.752 10.18 0.927
CO2 0.983 0.966 0.004 0.99
C2 H4 0.991 0.982 0.004 0.989
Light 0.995 0.990 26.05 0.997
Current 0.997 0.994 0.801 0.998
Power 0.997 0.993 175.3 0.998
Energy 0.996 0.992 257.2 0.997
The numbers of the measured points (n) were 200 values for all calibrated parameters.

The sensor calibrations have been applied for six sensors in IoT-BC, as shown in
Figure 12 and Table 1. The observed values are plotted on the x-axis, and the measured
values are plotted on the y-axis for each calibration curve shown in Figure 6. The details of
each calibration curve are as follows:
• Figure 12a,b: These curves indicate the temperature and RH calibration. The mea-
sured temperature and RH using the DHT22 sensor have been validated with the
observed measurements by the incubator. The R, R2, RMSE, and IOA are shown on
the temperature and RH rows in Table 1, indicating a perfect match in the measured
temperature and RH with the observed temperature and RH. The DHT22 sensors
showed good performance at the various temperature and RH values and had good
linear regressions that nearly overlapped the 1:1 line (y = x + 0). The linear regression
was y = 1.0065x − 1.5962 for the temperature and was y = 0.8346x + 7.3535 for the RH.
• Figure 12c: The CO2 measurements have been validated in this curve. The measured
CO2 using the Senseair-S8 sensor was validated with the indoor air CO2 m/datalogger
(Extech EA80). The values of R, R2, RMSE, and IOA are shown on the CO2 row in
Table 1, indicating a perfect match between the measured CO2 and the observed CO2 .
The Senseair-S8 sensors showed good performance at the various gas concentrations
and had good linear regressions (y = 0.9389x + 0.004) that nearly overlapped the
1:1 line.
• Figure 12d: The C2 H4 measurements have been validated in this curve. The measured
C2 H4 using the MQ-3 sensor has been validated with the observed measurements
Sensors 2022, 22, 4680 20 of 29

by a fruit ripening gas box containing 99.95% pure ethylene. The values of R, R2 ,
RMSE, and IOA are shown on the C2 H4 row in Table 1, indicating a perfect match
between the measured C2 H4 and the observed C2 H4 . The MQ-3 sensors showed
good performance at the various gas concentrations and had good linear regressions
(y = 0.8445x + 0.0083) that nearly overlapped the 1:1 line.
• Figure 12e: This curve has validated the light measurements. The measured light
using the BH1750 sensor has been validated with the observed measurements by the
light intensity meter/datalogger (Extech EA33). The values of R, R2, RMSE, and IOA
is shown on the light row in Table 1, indicating a perfect match between the measured
light and the observed light. The BH1750 sensors showed good performance at the
various light intensities and had good linear regressions (y = 0.9673x + 13.487) that
nearly overlapped the 1:1 line.
• Figure 12f: This curve has validated the current intensity. The measured current
intensity using the CST2 sensor has been validated with the observed measurements
by the three-phase power and harmonics clamp meter (UNI-T). The R, R2 , RMSE, and
IOA are shown on the current, power, and energy rows in Table 1, indicating a perfect
match between the measured current intensity and the observed current intensity. The
CST2 sensors showed good performance at the various current intensities and had
good linear regressions (y = 0.9481x + 0.632) that nearly overlapped the 1:1 line.

3.2. Monitoring, Controlling, and Alerting Results

Figure 13 presents the real-time acquired data based on the sensors’ measurements for
the most important parameters, i.e., outside temperature and compressor temperature (a),
MCSR temperature (b), MCSR RH (c), CO2 concentration in the MCSR (d), C2 H4 concentra-
tion in the MCSR (e), and applied electrical current and hourly energy consumption (f) for
3 months from 1 January to 1 April 2022.
Figure 13a shows the variations in the maximum temperature (Ta Max), minimum
temperature (Ta Min), and average temperature (Ta Avg) temperature for the outside atmo-
sphere in the study area and the average temperature of the MCSR compressor (Tc Avg).
The outside temperature ranged from 12.13 to 32.03 ◦ C and the average outside temperature
was 20.32 ± 5.09. The average compressor temperature was 62.34 ± 10.91 ranging from 32
to 80 ◦ C. From the collected data in this figure, it is obvious that the outside temperature im-
pacts the compressor temperature. There was no significant difference between the MCSR
and TCSR compressor temperatures. The compressor of the MCSR has not automatically
turned off, and the designed IoT-based system has not sent any email or SMS as an alert
because the temperature has not reached to maximum compressor temperature Setpoint
(100 ◦ C for 5 min), as shown in Figure 8.
Figure 13b shows the maximum inside temperature (Tc Max) the minimum temper-
ature (Tc), and the average temperature (Tc Avg) in the MCSR. Each value in this curve
describes the average temperatures of three different locations in the MCSR. This temper-
ature was controlled based on the flowchart shown in Figure 7, where Min C-Setpoint
is the minimum control setpoint equal to 4.5 ◦ C, and Min A-setpoint is the minimum
alert setpoint equal to 3 ◦ C. The Max C-Setpoint and Max A-Setpoint are the maximum
control and alert Setpoint that equal 5.5 ◦ C and 7 ◦ C, respectively. Figure 13b assures
that the developed MCSR successfully achieved the target internal temperature ranges as
controlled and alerted based on the setpoints, as shown in Figure 7. Unlike the TCSR the
designed system successfully sent an alert when the CCAR temperature reached 7.21 ◦ C on
10 January at 8:00, 7.30 ◦ C on 13 January at 14:15, 7.32 ◦ C on 1 February at 12:10, 7.24 ◦ C on
11 February at 4:16, 7.12 ◦ C on 26 February at 22:10, 7.11 ◦ C on 6 March at 20:15, and 7.11 ◦ C
on 30 March at 14:05 based on the Tc Max A-Setpoint (7 ◦ C). The system also successfully
sent an alert when the internal de-creased to 2.82 ◦ C on 3 March at 10:15 and 2.87 ◦ C on
11 March at 06:05 based on the Tc Min A-Setpoint (3 ◦ C).
Sensors 2022, 21, x FOR PEER REVIEW 21 of 30
Sensors 2022, 22, 4680 21 of 29

50 100
(a) (b)
40 80
Measured T (°C)

Measured RH (%)
30 60

20 40

Model Model
10 20
1:1 Slope 1:1 Slope
Linear (Model) Linear (Model)
0 0
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100
Reference T (°C) Reference RH (%)
0.10 0.10
(c) (d)
0.08 0.08
Measured CO₂ (%)

Measured C₂H₄ (%)

0.06 0.06

0.04 0.04

0.02 Model 0.02 Model

1:1 Slope 1:1 Slope
Linear (Model) Linear (Model)
0.00 0.00
0.00 0.02 0.04 0.06 0.08 0.10 0.00 0.02 0.04 0.06 0.08 0.10
Reference CO₂ (%) Reference C₂H₄ (%)

1000 20
(e) (f)
800
Measured current (A)

15
Measured light (Lux)

600
10
400

5 Model
200 Model
1:1 Slope
Linear (Model)
0 0
0 200 400 600 800 1000 0 5 10 15 20
Reference light (Lux) Reference current (A)

Figure 12. Calibration results for

for temperature
temperature (a),
(a), relative
relativehumidity
humidity(b),
(b),CO
CO22 (c),
(c),CC22H
H44 (d), ambient
light (e), and current (f).

3.2. Monitoring, Controlling, and Alerting Results

Figure 13 presents the real-time acquired data based on the sensors’ measurements
for the most important parameters, i.e., outside temperature and compressor temperature
(a), MCSR temperature (b), MCSR RH (c), CO2 concentration in the MCSR (d), C2H4 con-
centration in the MCSR (e), and applied electrical current and hourly energy consumption
(f) for 3 months from 1 January to 1 April 2022.
Sensors 2022, 21, x FOR PEER REVIEW 22 of 30
Sensors 2022, 22, 4680 22 of 29

Figure13.
Figure Dataacquired
13.Data acquiredbybythe
thedesigned
designedIoT-BC
IoT-BCsystem.
system.Figure
Figure(a)
(a)shows
showsthethemaximum
maximum(Ta (TaMax),
Max),
minimum(Ta
minimum (TaMin),
Min),and
and average
average (Ta(Ta Avg)
Avg) of of
thethe ambient
ambient temperature
temperature outside.
outside. Figure
Figure (b) shows
(b) shows the
maximum
the maximum (Tc Max), minimum
(Tc Max), minimum(Ta Min), and average
(Ta Min), (Ta Avg)
and average of theoftemperature
(Ta Avg) insideinside
the temperature the cold
the
storage room.room.
cold storage Figure (c) shows
Figure the average
(c) shows relative
the average humidity
relative (RH
humidity (RHAvg)
Avg)inside
insidethe
thecold
coldstorage
storage
room.
room.Figure
Figure(d)(d)shows
showsthetheaverage
averageCO CO2 concentration (CO2 Avg) inside the cold storage room.
2 concentration (CO2 Avg) inside the cold storage room.
Figure (e). Shows the average C 2H4 concentration (C2H4 Avg) inside the cold storage room and the
Figure (e). Shows the average C2 H4 concentration (C2 H4 Avg) inside the cold storage room and the
maximum alert setpoint (Max A-Setpoint). Figure (f). Shows the average applied current (I Avg)
maximum alert setpoint (Max A-Setpoint). Figure (f). Shows the average applied current (I Avg) and
and the electrical energy consumption (E).
the electrical energy consumption (E).
Figure
Figure13a
13cshows
showsthethevariations
average RH in the maximum
inside the MCSR temperature (Ta Max),The
for three months. minimum
internal
temperature (Ta Min), and average temperature (Ta Avg) temperature
RH in MCSR is controlled based on the flowchart shown in Figure 10, where RH Avg for the outside at-
mosphere in the study area and the average temperature of the MCSR
is the average RH inside the cold storage room, Min C-Setpoint is the minimum controlcompressor (Tc
Avg). The(75%),
setpoint outside
Maxtemperature ranged
C-Setpoint is from 12.13
the maximum to 32.03
control °C and
setpoint the Min
(80%), average outsideis
A-Setpoint
temperature
the minimum alert setpoint that equals 65%, and Max A-Setpoint is the maximumrang-
was 20.32 ± 5.09. The average compressor temperature was 62.34 ± 10.91 alert
ing from 32
setpoint toequals
that 80 °C. 90%.
FromThe
the control
collected
of data in this figure, system
the humidification it is obvious
in thethat
MCSRtheachieved
outside
temperature
the target RHimpacts
ranges,the compressor
as observed temperature.
in Figure 10. ThereThere
was awas no significant
significant difference
difference between
Sensors 2022, 22, 4680 23 of 29

the RH in the MCSR and TCSR. Where a significant oscillation in the RH in the TCSR was
observed with the passage of storage time. Figure 13c assures that the designed IoT-BC
has successfully achieved the target internal RH ranges as controlled and alerted based
on the setpoints, as shown in Figure 10. The system successfully sent an alert when the
average RH reached 91.53% on 6 January at 22:00 and 91% on 1 March at 20:05 based on
the RH Max A-Setpoint (90%). The system also successfully sent an alert when the average
RH decreased to 64.38% on 1 January at 06:00, 63.07% on 1 January at 18:07, 64.72% on
3 February at 02:10, 64.35% on 3 February at 12:00, 63.21% on 6 March at 20:10, and 62.21%
on 30 March at 14:20, according to the RH Min A-Setpoint (65%).
Figure 13d shows the average CO2 concentration (Avg CO2 ) inside the cold storage
room. The CO2 concentration inside the cold storage was controlled and alerted based on
the flowchart shown in Figure 11a, where Max A-Setpoint is the maximum control and alert
Setpoint that equals 0.045%. Figure 13d assures that the designed IoT-BC has successfully
achieved the target internal CO2 ranges as controlled and alerted based on the setpoints,
as shown in Figure 11a. Unlike the TCSR, the designed system successfully sent an alert
when the average CO2 concentration reached to 0.0477% on 10 January at 08:00, 0.0459% on
13 January at 14:00, 0.0462% on 1 February at 12:10, 0.0476% on 11 February at 4:15, 0.0476%
on 26 February at 22:02, 0.0469% on 6 March at 22:05, and 0.0465% on 30 March at 14:15
based on the CO2 Max A-Setpoint (0.045%).
Figure 13e shows the average C2 H4 concentration (C2 H4 Avg) inside the cold storage
room. The C2 H4 concentration inside the cold storage room was controlled and alerted
based on the flowchart shown in Figure 11b, where Max A-Setpoint is the maximum control
and alert Setpoint of 0.02%. Figure 13e assures that the designed IoT-BC has successfully
achieved the target internal C2 H4 ranges as controlled and alerted based on the setpoints,
as shown in Figure 11b. The system successfully sent an alert when the average C2 H4
concentration reached 0.0212% on 27 February at 04:10 and 0.0213% on 1 March at 20:15
based on the C2 H4 Max A-Setpoint (0.02%).
Figure 13f shows the average required current (I Avg) and the hourly electrical en-
ergy consumption for the MCSR equipment. The electrical energy is consumed by the
refrigeration of date fruits, evaporator, and condenser fans, defrost heaters, humidification
system, lights, and control system. The average current for the cold storage room is moni-
tored based on the flowchart shown in Figure 9, where Max A-Setpoint is the maximum
control and alert Setpoint that equals 10 A. Figure 13f assures that the developed IoT-BC
has successfully achieved the current target ranges as controlled based on the setpoints,
as shown in Figure 9. There was no significant difference between the MCSR and TCSR
applied electrical energy consumption although the MCSR was supplied with the designed
control and humidification systems. The MCSR compressor has not automatically turned
off and the designed IoT-based system has not sent any email or SMS as an alert because
the applied electrical current has not reached to maximum current Setpoint (10 A for one
minute) and the three current meters of the compressor recorded the normal ranges from
4 A to 7 A during its operating, as shown in Figure 9.
Inanition, the designed IoT-based system has not sent any email and SMS alerts due
to the internal light has not remained greater than the maximum light Setpoint (L is greater
than or equal to 5 Lux) for 30 min, as shown in Figure 11c.

3.3. Impact of IoT-BC on Stored Fruit Characteristics

Table 2 displays the impact of controlling and monitoring the MCSR by IoT-BC under
controlled RH of 75–80%, 5 ◦ C temperature, and CO2 and C2 H4 gases on the most impor-
tant quality parameters, i.e., fruit weight, weight loss percentage, length, diameter (FD),
projected area, volume, density, sphericity percentage, hardness, pH, total soluble solids,
moisture content, water activity, color parameters, and color difference of stored date fruits
(Khalas cv.) compared to the TCSR under a same controlled temperature of 5 ◦ C during
cold storage times.
Sensors 2022, 22, 4680 24 of 29

Table 2. Comparison of mean values ± standard deviation of fruit weight (FW), fruit weight loss
(FWL), fruit length (FL), fruit diameter (FD), projected area (PA), fruit volume (FV), fruit density (Fd),
sphericity percentage (Φ), fruit hardness (FH), pH, total soluble solids (TSS), moisture content (MC),
water activity (Aw), color parameters (L, a, b, h, c), and color difference (∆E) of stored date fruits
(Khalas cv.) at various storage time in cold storage rooms (CSRs) under traditional cold storage room
(TCSR) and the modified cold storage room (MCSR) controlled by IoT- based control system.

Storage Time (Months)

Characteristics CSRs
0 1 2 3
TCSR 11.23 ± 1.3 A 10.69 ± 1.13 AB 9.63 ± 1.02 B 11.01 ± 0.07 AB
FW (g)
MCSR 11.29 ± 0.76 A 11.16 ± 0.88 A 10.63 ± 0.68 AB 11.32 ± 1.02 A
TCSR 0±0 5.77 ± 0.17 B 19.61 ± 0.59 A 4.81 ± 1.34 C
FWL (%)
MCSR 0±0 1.35 ± 0.09 D 1.96 ± 0.14 D 1.75 ± 0.26 D
TCSR 45.43 ± 2.11 A 44.07 ± 1.84 AB 44.13 ± 3.19 AB 41.37 ± 2.27 B
FL (mm)
MCSR 44.7 ± 2.02 A 44.38 ± 1.83 A 43.04 ± 1.7 AB 44.41 ± 1.48 A
TCSR 25.72 ± 0.9 A 25.04 ± 0.7 A 24.35 ± 1.37 A 24.64 ± 1.05 A
FD (mm)
MCSR 24.98 ± 2.27 A 25.01 ± 1.17 A 24.33 ± 1.37 A 24.81 ± 1.36 A
TCSR 6.76 ± 0.33 A 6.38 ± 0.25 A 6.36 ± 0.64 A 6.3 ± 0.6 A
PA (cm2 )
MCSR 7 ± 0.87 A 6.69 ± 0.33 A 6.33 ± 0.48 A 6.65 ± 0.54 A
TCSR 15.39 ± 1.08 AB 14.15 ± 0.78 AB 13.77 ± 1.75 B 11.94 ± 1.9 C
FV (cm3 )
MCSR 15.63 ± 1.13 A 14.89 ± 0.44 AB 13.79 ± 1.05 B 14.7 ± 0.99 AB
TCSR 0.93 ± 0.1 A 0.95 ± 0.11 A 1.01 ± 0.18 A 1.02 ± 0.14 A
Fd (g/cm3 )
MCSR 0.95 ± 0.1 A 0.95 ± 0.07 A 0.98 ± 0.09 A 0.99 ± 0.09 A
TCSR 82.89 ± 3.63 A 83.08 ± 3.24 A 83.5 ± 5.54 A 82.21 ± 3.81 A
Φ (%)
MCSR 82.17 ± 3.25 A 82.62 ± 1.5 A 82.83 ± 2.81 A 82.19 ± 2.74 A
TCSR 4.94 ± 1.87 AB 3.63 ± 1.28 BC 2.07 ± 0.61 DE 1.33 ± 0.67 E
FH (N)
MCSR 5.06 ± 0.8 A 4.34 ± 0.66 A–C 3.03 ± 0.23 CD 3.19 ± 0.34 CD
TCSR 8.36 ± 0.07 AB 8.12 ± 0.07 BC 7.65 ± 0.13 E 7.15 ± 0.02 F
pH
MCSR 8.48 ± 0.4 A 8.3 ± 0.19 A–C 8.06 ± 0.22 CD 7.81 ± 0.19 DE
TCSR 74.57 ± 1.06 D 75.54 ± 0.68 CD 77.5 ± 0.68 C 88.73 ± 0.97 A
TSS (◦ Brix)
MCSR 73.84 ± 2.44 D 74.69 ± 1.24 D 75.67 ± 0.9 CD 82.85 ± 3.27 B
TCSR 19.88 ± 0.72 F 22.01 ± 0.8 DE 26.28 ± 1.38 B 28.75 ± 1.39 A
MC (%)
MCSR 19.63 ± 0.66 F 20.82 ± 0.61 EF 22.96 ± 0.83 CD 24.19 ± 0.75 C
TCSR 0.62 ± 0.03 E 0.66 ± 0.03 DE 0.76 ± 0.06 BC 0.9 ± 0.05 A
Aw
MCSR 0.64 ± 0.08 DE 0.65 ± 0.04 DE 0.7 ± 0.04 CD 0.77 ± 0.05 B
TCSR 43 ± 2.84 D 44.74 ± 1.99 CD 48.21 ± 2.1 B 51.72 ± 1.4 A
L
MCSR 43.73 ± 3.43 D 44.23 ± 1.65 D 45.97 ± 1.85 BD 47.72 ± 1.08 BC
TCSR 9.83 ± 2.73 A 9.64 ± 1.7 A 9.26 ± 3.1 A 4.99 ± 1.24 B
a
MCSR 9.58 ± 1.79 A 9.61 ± 0.82 A 9.42 ± 1.46 A 7.29 ± 0.81 AB
TCSR 13.05 ± 1.63 A 11.4 ± 1.22 A–C 8.08 ± 2.94 DE 6.71 ± 1.37 E
b
MCSR 12.81 ± 1.23 A 12.1 ± 0.57 AB 10.45 ± 1.37 BC 9.76 ± 0.86 CD
TCSR 64.94 ± 5.56 A 60.51 ± 3.62 AB 64.79 ± 5.19 A 50.6 ± 4.39 C
h◦
MCSR 66.15 ± 5.69 A 63.33 ± 2.49 AB 57.8 ± 3.06 B 65.47 ± 3.37 A
TCSR 16.39 ± 2.89 A 14.94 ± 1.95 A–C 12.31 ± 4.2 C 8.38 ± 1.74 D
c
MCSR 16.87 ± 1.77 A 15.91 ± 1.44 AB 14.59 ± 2.49 A–C 12.63 ± 1 BC
TCSR 0±0 3.21 ± 0.78 C 6.43 ± 1.56 AB 7.14 ± 2.75 A
∆E
MCSR 0±0 2.65 ± 2.34 C 3.51 ± 1.36 C 4.4 ± 2.21 BC
The means within each quality parameter (N = 10) with the same letters are not significantly different at p ≤ 0.05.
Sensors 2022, 22, 4680 25 of 29

The data in Table 2 show a highly significant (p < 0.05) effect of the storage time on
the most quality parameters of stored date fruit in the TCSR compared with the MCSR.
Comparing TCSR and MCSR after 3 months of storage time, date palm fruits stored in
TCSR had significantly (p < 0.05) lower fruit length, volume, hardness, pH, and color
parameters (b, h, and c). The fruit’s total soluble solids, moisture content, water activity,
and color lightness (L) were significantly increased when date palm fruits were stored at
different duration in the TCSR and the MCSR. There was no significant difference between
the mean values of fruit weight, diameter, projected area, density, sphericity, and color
parameter (a). There was no significant weight loss and color difference for the stored date
fruit in the MCSR. On the contrary, there was a significant difference in weight loss and
color difference for dates stored in the TCSR.
Food products must be properly stored in some cold storage facilities to prevent
spoilage and save their nutritional value. At least, there should exist an effective control
and monitoring for the temperature and humidity inside the cold storage facilities. This
motivates the need for integrating IoT with the cold storage facility. The IoT-enabled
cold storage monitoring can regularly and successfully record, monitor, and support the
conditions inside the cold storage. It is also urgent to ensure that the cold storage room
temperature never exceeds the optimal temperature based on the kind of product stored in
the room.
The most critical parameters that affect the shelf life of the stored products in cold
storage are temperature and RH [45,46]. The fruits of date palm cv. Khalas stored at 5 ◦ C
and 80% RH did not show insect activity or degradation in fruit quality and enhanced their
shelf-life [47]. Soft and semi-soft date fruits can be preserved by storing them at 5 ◦ C or
lower, preventing the development of various pests [48]. However, the stored product is
subject to partial weight loss during cold storage in conventional systems due to its surface
drying in addition to the deterioration of the quality of the fruits during storage due to
the lack of accurate control of the temperature and RH in the internal atmosphere of cold
refrigerating rooms.
The morphological and biochemical characteristics of date palm fruit, such as size,
color, hardness, acidity, sweetness, and moisture content, are used to assess its marketabil-
ity [49]. The results found that fruit weight, size, and projected area were maintained better
after three months of storage at MCSR, where the RH was remotely controlled. These
parameters were significantly reduced at TCSR, where RH oscillated. Previous studies on
date palm fruit storage indicated a reduction in fruit weight and size with time [4,50,51].
The management of storage temperature was emphasized in these investigations. However,
the current study focused on storage temperature and RH. As a result, the fruits stored at
MCSR did not reduce weight or size after three months of storage.
Similarly, the fruit weight loss was also minimal after three months of storage at MCSR
compared to TCSR. The increase in respiration rate, induced by reduced RH in the air
surrounding the fruit, is usually responsible for the decrease in fruit weight [52,53]. The
fruit weight loss was higher with the increase in storage temperature in apples; however,
higher RH reduced the weight loss [54]. The ultrasonic humidifier substantially impacted
the weight loss of date fruits after six months of cold storage [9]. After three months of
storage at MCSR, maintaining the RH retained fruit weight in the current study.
Similarly, the date palm fruit firmness was significantly reduced at TCSR compared
to MCSR after six months of storage. Fruit tissue softening is linked to moisture loss
and turgor pressure reduction [55]. In the present study, maintaining a high RH level
equilibrated moisture content, which kept the fruit firm. Nectarine fruits have reduced
weight loss and maintained higher fruit firmness during cold storage under 85–90% RH [56].
On the other hand, apple fruits kept at 95% RH lost their firmness very slowly during
storage [54]. Similarly, high RH during storage-maintained firmness in zucchini fruit [57].
However, the fruit pH of date palm cv. Khalas stored at TCSR or MCSR was reduced
after three months of storage; however, it was lowest at TCSR. The fermentation activity of
microorganisms during storage is considered to produce organic acids, leading to decreased
Sensors 2022, 22, 4680 26 of 29

fruit pH [58,59]. Similar results were reported after fruit storage in cv. Khalas [16] and
cv. Stamaran [60]. According to the present study, the TSS of date palm cv. Khalas stored
for three months increased at both storage conditions, i.e., 15.96% at TCSR and 10.88% at
MCSR. The leading cause of the increase in TSS would be the enzymatic conversion of large
polysaccharides into small sugars [4]. According to Radi et al. [59], the increase in TSS of
date fruits during storage may be due to microbial and enzymatic activity that converts high
molecular weight molecules to low molecular weight compounds. Pomegranate fruit had a
considerable rise in TSS content during storage, linked to moisture loss and increased sugar
concentration in the fruit [61,62]. These results coincide with Aleid et al. [63], who stored
date fruits (cv. Khalas) at 5 ◦ C for 12 months and found that fruit pH declined while TSS
and moisture content increased. Similarly, TSS increased in cv. Mazafati fruits are stored
at 4 ◦ C for 180 days [51]. Pomegranate fruits stored at 5 ◦ C and 92% RH had significantly
reduced weight loss and maintained TSS [64]. Our study also showed that the fruits were
stored at TCSR and MCSR for three months, and the moisture content of the fruit increased
by 30.85 and 18.85%, respectively, compared to the fruits before storage. Comparing the
moisture content of fruits stored at TCSR and MCSR after three months, 16% less moisture
content was determined in fruit stored at MCSR. Similarly, water activity was 14.44% less
after three months of storage at MCSR compared to TCSR. Mohammed et al. [9] found that
fruits of cv. Khalas stored at 5 ◦ C and 80% RH maintained moisture content and water
activity compared to traditional storage facilities. Another study revealed that after five
months of storage, the moisture content in cvs. Majhoul and Boufeggous did not change
considerably, whereas TSS increased in cv. Majhoul [65]. The decrease in moisture and
water activity could be accounted for by the evaporation of fruit water caused by the
relatively high temperature and moderate RH [66].
Apart from the values of CIE L, all other fruit color attributes (a, b, h◦ , and C) decreased
during the storage time; however, these attributes (a, b, h◦ , and C) were significantly higher
at MCSR when compared with TCSR color values. The decrease in h◦ was also reported in
tomatoes during storage [67]. In cherries, the h◦ decreased under both cold and ambient
temperature storage [68]. In the present study, the h◦ difference between unstored and
stored fruits for three months at MCSR was non-significant, also reported in strawberries
where storage temperature and RH did not affect h◦ [69]. A significant difference in color
attributes was also observed in apple cv. Granny Smiths were stored for 4 months at 2 ◦ C
and 90% RH [45]. On the other hand, pomegranate fruits stored at 5 ◦ C maintained their
color better throughout the storage period [64].

4. Conclusions
Maintaining high quality and ensuring food safety are extremely important. The
present study presented a smart IoT-BC system that connects sensors, actuators, and related
cold storage equipment for remote controlling, monitoring, and risk alerting to maintain
food quality and components of cold storage facilities. As a case study, we applied the
cloud-based IoT system to control and monitor the microclimate, i.e., RH, temperature,
CO2 , C2 H4 , and interior light for a commercial-sized CSR, for extending the shelf life and
maintaining the quality of the date fruit (Khalas cv.). On the other hand, some operating
parameters, i.e., the temperature of the refrigeration compressor, the electrical current,
and the energy consumption, were monitored and controlled to maintain CSR equipment.
The impacts of the designed IoT-based control system on date fruit quality during cold
storage in the MCSR were investigated and compared with TCSR. Based on real-time
data analytics, the results showed that the designed IoT-BC system efficiently controlled
the MCSR, provided reliable data about the interior microclimate atmosphere, applied
electrical current and energy consumption of the MCSR, and sent the necessary alerts in
the event of an emergency. In the MCSR, most of the quality attributes did not significantly
differ at various storage times; however, in the TCSR, storage time had an adverse effect on
the quality characteristics of stored date fruit. Therefore, we recommend IoT-BC technology
to manage cold storage facilities to maintain the high quality and safety of the stored
Sensors 2022, 22, 4680 27 of 29

food due to its positive impacts on the characteristics of stored fruits and the potential
of remote control and monitoring of cold storage facilities. However, further studies are
needed to incorporate the designed IoT-BC with modern machine learning and food sensor
technologies for integrated food quality management during cold storage.

Author Contributions: Conceptualization, M.M. and K.R.; engineering design, M.M. and K.R.;
methodology, M.M. and K.R.; software, K.R. and M.M.; validation, M.M. and K.R.; formal analysis,
M.M. and K.R.; investigation, M.M. and K.R.; resources, M.M., K.R. and N.A.; data curation, M.M.
and K.R.; writing—original draft preparation, K.R. and M.M.; writing—review and editing, M.M.,
K.R. and N.A.; visualization, K.R. and M.M.; project administration, M.M.; funding acquisition, M.M.,
K.R. and N.A. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.
Funding: This work was supported through the Annual Funding track by the Deanship of Scientific
Research, Vice Presidency for Graduate Studies and Scientific Research, King Faisal University, Saudi
Arabia [Project No. AN00069].
Institutional Review Board Statement: Not applicable.
Informed Consent Statement: Not applicable.
Data Availability Statement: Not applicable.
Acknowledgments: The authors gratefully acknowledge the Date Palm Research Center of Excel-
lence, King Faisal University, Saudi Arabia, for supporting this study with the availability of cold
storage rooms, experimental fields, and laboratories.
Conflicts of Interest: The authors declare no conflict of interest.

References
1. Faostat-FAO Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Available online: https://www.fao.org/faostat/en/
#data/QCL (accessed on 6 March 2022).
2. Ali-Dinar, H.; Mohammed, M.; Munir, M. Effects of Pollination Interventions, Plant Age and Source on Hormonal Patterns and
Fruit Set of Date Palm (Phoenix dactylifera L.). Horticulturae 2021, 7, 427. [CrossRef]
3. Mohammed, M.E.A.; Alhajhoj, M.R.; Ali-Dinar, H.M.; Munir, M. Impact of a novel water-saving subsurface irrigation system on
water productivity, photosynthetic characteristics, yield, and fruit quality of date palm under arid conditions. Agronomy 2020,
10, 1265. [CrossRef]
4. Hazbavi, E.; Khoshtaghaza, M.H.; Mostaan, A.; Banakar, A. Effect of storage duration on some physical properties of date palm
(cv. Stamaran). J. Saudi Soc. Agric. Sci. 2015, 14, 140–146. [CrossRef]
5. Ahmad, S.A.H.; Ab Rahman, M.N.; Muhamed, A.A. Optimal temperature in cold storage for perishable foods. In Pro-
ceedings of the 5th NA International Conference on Industrial Engineering and Operations Management, Detroit, MI, USA,
10–14 August 2020.
6. lal Basediya, A.; Samuel, D.V.K.; Beera, V. Evaporative cooling system for storage of fruits and vegetables—A review. J. Food Sci.
Technol. 2013, 50, 429–442. [CrossRef] [PubMed]
7. El-Gioushy, S.F.; El-Masry, A.M.; Fikry, M.; El-Kholy, M.F.; Shaban, A.E.; Sami, R.; Algarni, E.; Alshehry, G.; Aljumayi, H.; Benajiba,
N.; et al. Utilization of Active Edible Films (Chitosan, Chitosan Nanoparticle, and CaCl2 ) for Enhancing the Quality Properties
and the Shelf Life of Date Palm Fruits (Barhi Cultivar) during Cold Storage. Coatings 2022, 12, 255. [CrossRef]
8. Al Jasser, M.S. Effect of storage temperatures on microbial load of some dates palm fruit sold in Saudi Arabia market. Afr. J. Food
Sci. 2010, 4, 359–363.
9. Mohammed, M.; Alqahtani, N.; El-Shafie, H. Development and Evaluation of an Ultrasonic Humidifier to Control Humidity in a
Cold Storage Room for Postharvest Quality Management of Dates. Foods 2021, 10, 949. [CrossRef] [PubMed]
10. Gopala Rao, C. Engineering for Storage of Fruits and Vegetables, 1st ed.; Academic Press—Elsevier: London, UK, 2015;
ISBN 9780128033654.
11. Siddiqui, M.W.; Chakraborty, I.; Ayala-Zavala, J.F.; Dhua, R.S. Advances in minimal processing of fruits and vegetables: A review.
J. Sci. Ind. Res. 2011, 70, 823–834.
12. Alam, T. Packaging and Storage of Fruits and Vegetables: Emerging Trends; Taylor and Francis Group, Apple Academic Press: New
York, NY, USA, 2021; ISBN 9781003161165.
13. Yahia, E.M. Postharvest Technology of Perishable Horticultural Commodities; Elsevier Science: New Delhi, India, 2019;
ISBN 9780128132760.
14. Xue, M.; Zhang, J.; Tang, W. Optimal temperature control for quality of perishable foods. ISA Trans. 2014, 53, 542–546. [CrossRef]
15. Liu, D.-K.; Xu, C.-C.; Guo, C.-X.; Zhang, X.-X. Sub-zero temperature preservation of fruits and vegetables: A review. J. Food Eng.
2020, 275, 109881. [CrossRef]
Sensors 2022, 22, 4680 28 of 29

16. Al-Yahyai, R.; Al-Kharusi, L. Physical and chemical quality attributes of freeze-stored dates. Int. J. Agric. Biol. 2012, 14, 97–100.
17. Benkeblia, N. Storage technologies for date palm fruits (Phoenix dactylifera L.): Current and potential techniques. Acta Hortic. 2013,
994, 151–154. [CrossRef]
18. Palou, L.; del Río, M.A.; Guardado, A.; Vilella-Esplá, J. Influence of induced ripening and cold storage protocols on the incidence
of posthar-vest diseases of date palm fruit. Acta Hortic. 2011, 235–241. [CrossRef]
19. Paull, R.E. Effect of temperature and relative humidity on fresh commodity quality. Postharvest Biol. Technol. 1999, 15, 263–277.
[CrossRef]
20. Palipane, K.B. Good Practice for Assuring the Post-Harvest Quality of Exotic Tree Fruit Crops Produced in Jamaica—A Technical Guide;
Food And Agriculture Organization of The United Nations: Rome, Italy, 2008.
21. Mohammed, M.; Munir, M.; Aljabr, A. Prediction of Date Fruit Quality Attributes during Cold Storage Based on Their Electrical
Properties Using Artificial Neural Networks Models. Foods 2022, 11, 1666. [CrossRef]
22. Ahmed, J.; Rahman, M.S. Handbook of Food Process Design; John Wiley & Sons: Hoboken, NJ, USA, 2012; ISBN 144433011X.
23. Mohammed, M.E.A.; El-Shafie, H.A.; Sallam, A.A.A. A solar-powered heat system for management of almond moth, Cadra
cautella (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae) in stored dates. Postharvest Biol. Technol. 2019, 154, 121–128. [CrossRef]
24. Stevanoska, S.; Davcev, D.; Jovanovska, E.M.; Mitreski, K. IoT-based system for real-time monitoring and insect detection in
vineyards. In Proceedings of the MobiWac 2020—Proceedings of the 18th ACM Symposium on Mobility Management and
Wireless Access, Alicante, Spain, 16–20 November 2020; pp. 133–136. [CrossRef]
25. Popa, A.; Hnatiuc, M.; Paun, M.; Geman, O.; Hemanth, D.J.; Dorcea, D.; Son, L.H.; Ghita, S. An intelligent IoT-based food quality
monitoring approach using low-cost sensors. Symmetry 2019, 11, 374. [CrossRef]
26. Swaroop, P.; Reddy, Y.S.; Saif, E.S.; Joseph, M.C. The Real Time Temperature Sensing using Raspberry PI. Int. J. Innov. Res. Sci.
Technol. 2015, 1, 232–237.
27. Yadav, R.K. Remote Monitoring System for Cold Storage Warehouse using IOT. Int. J. Res. Appl. Sci. Eng. Technol. 2020, 8,
2810–2814. [CrossRef]
28. Afreen, H.; Bajwa, I.S. An IoT-Based Real-Time Intelligent Monitoring and Notification System of Cold Storage. IEEE Access 2021,
9, 38236–38253. [CrossRef]
29. Appasani, B.; Jha, A.V.; Ghazali, A.N.; Gupta, D.K. Analytical Modeling and Optimal Control of Cold Storage System with
Large-Scale Implementation Using IoT. Lect. Notes Electr. Eng. 2021, 693, 51–59. [CrossRef]
30. Sarmah, B.; Aruna, G. Detection of Food Quality and Quantity at Cold Storage using IoT. In Proceedings of the 2020 International
Conference on Wireless Communications Signal Processing and Networking (WiSPNET), Chennai, India, 4–6 August 2020;
pp. 200–203. [CrossRef]
31. Umamaheswari, K.; Susneha, M.; Kala, B.S. IoT based Smart Cold Storage System for Efficient Stock Management. In Proceedings
of the 2020 International Conference on Communication and Signal Processing (ICCSP), Chennai, India, 28–30 July 2020; pp. 51–55.
[CrossRef]
32. Feng, S.; Sikdar, A.; Wang, J.; Memon, M.; Li, B.; Ma, H.; Lv, G. Response of amorpha fruticosa seedlings to drought and rewatering
in arid and semi-arid environment. Pak. J. Bot. 2021, 53, 419–424. [CrossRef]
33. Srivatsa, S.G.; Bharadwaj, K.R.M.; Alamuri, S.L.; Shanif, M.M.C.; Shreenidhi, H.S. Smart Cold Storage and Inventory Monitoring
System. In Proceedings of the 2021 International Conference on Recent Trends on Electronics, Information, Communication &
Technology (RTEICT), Bangalore, India, 27–28 August 2021; pp. 485–488. [CrossRef]
34. Ganjewar, P.D.; Barani, S.; Wagh, S.J.; Sonavane, S.S. Food monitoring using adaptive naïve bayes prediction in IoT. Adv. Intell.
Syst. Comput. 2020, 940, 424–434. [CrossRef]
35. Mishra, R.; Chaulya, S.K.; Prasad, G.M.; Mandal, S.K.; Banerjee, G. Design of a low cost, smart and stand-alone PV cold storage
system using a domestic split air conditioner. J. Stored Prod. Res. 2020, 89, 101720. [CrossRef]
36. Zhan, X.; Wu, W.; Shen, L.; Liao, W.; Zhao, Z.; Xia, J. Industrial internet of things and unsupervised deep learning enabled
real-time occupational safety monitoring in cold storage warehouse. Saf. Sci. 2022, 152, 105766. [CrossRef]
37. Gautham, A.K.; Mujahid, A.A.; Kanagaraj, G.; Kumaraguruparan, G. Machine Learning and IoT-Based Ultrasonic Humidification
Control System for Longevity of Fruits and Vegetables; Springer: Berlin/Heidelberg, Germany, 2022; pp. 87–99. [CrossRef]
38. FDA. U.S. Food and Drug Administration CFR-Code of federal Regulations Title 21, Volume 2, CITE: 21CFR106.30. Available
online: https://www.accessdata.fda.gov/scripts/cdrh/cfdocs/cfcfr/cfrsearch.cfm?fr=1308.12 (accessed on 29 March 2022).
39. Gamea, G.R.; Aboamera, M.A.; Mohmed, M.E. Design and Manufacturing of Prototype for Orange Grading Using Phototransistor.
Misr J. Agric. Eng. 2011, 28, 505–523. [CrossRef]
40. Mohammed, M.E.A.; El-Shafie, H.A.F.; Alhajhoj, M.R. Design and efficacy evaluation of a modern automated controlled
atmosphere system for pest management in stored dates. J. Stored Prod. Res. 2020, 89, 101719. [CrossRef]
41. Sahin, S.; Sumnu, S.G. Thermal properties of foods. In Physical Properties of Foods; Springer Science & Business Media: New York,
NY, USA, 2006.
42. AOAC Association of Official Analytical Chemists. Official Methods of Analysis of AOAC International, 16th ed.; AOAC International:
Arlington, VA, USA, 1995.
Sensors 2022, 22, 4680 29 of 29

43. Williams, R.; Long, R.; Beaver, M.; Kaufman, A.; Zeiger, F.; Heimbinder, M.; Hang, I.; Yap, R.; Acharya, B.; Ginwald, B.; et al.
EPA Sensor Evaluation Report. Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, DC, EPA/600/R-14/143 (NTIS PB2015-100611).
2014. Available online: https://cfpub.epa.gov/si/si_public_record_Report.cfm?Lab=NERL&dirEntryId=277270 (accessed on
16 May 2022).
44. Huynh, T.L.; Fakprapai, S.; Nguyen, T.K.O. Air Quality Monitoring with Focus on Wireless Sensor Application and Data
Management. In TORUS 3—Toward an Open Resource Using Services; Laffly, D., Ed.; John Wiley & Sons, Ltd: Hoboken, NJ, USA,
2020; pp. 17–40, ISBN 9781119720522.
45. Akdemir, S.; Bal, E. Quality Changes in Apple in Evaporative Cooling Store. Erwerbs-Obstbau 2020, 62, 61–67. [CrossRef]
46. Akdemir, S. Designing of cold stores and choosing of cooling system elements. J. Appl. Sci. 2008, 8, 788–794. [CrossRef]
47. Mohammed, M.; Sallam, A.; Alqahtani, N.; Munir, M. The Combined Effects of Precision-Controlled Temperature and Relative
Humidity on Artificial Ripening and Quality of Date Fruit. Foods 2021, 10, 2636. [CrossRef]
48. Yahia, E.M.; Kader, A.A. Date (Phoenix dactylifera L.). In Postharvest Biology and Technology of Tropical and Subtropical Fruits;
Woodhead Publishing Series in Food Science; Yahia, E.M., Ed.; Elsevier: Amsterdam, The Netherlands, 2011; pp. 41–79,
ISBN 9781845697358.
49. Said, A. Dates Quality Assessment of the Main Date Palm Cultivars Grown in Algeria. Annu. Res. Rev. Biol. 2014, 4, 487–499.
[CrossRef]
50. Aleid, S.M.; Elansari, A.M.; Zhen-Xing, T.; Sallam, A.A. Effect of cold storage and packing type on Khalas and Sukkary dates
quality. Adv. J. Food Sci. Technol. 2014, 6, 603–608. [CrossRef]
51. Akhavan, H.R.; Hosseini, F.S.; Amiri, S.; Radi, M. Cinnamaldehyde-Loaded Nanostructured Lipid Carriers Extend the Shelf Life
of Date Palm Fruit. Food Bioprocess Technol. 2021, 14, 1478–1489. [CrossRef]
52. Alférez, F.; Agusti, M.; Zacarías, L. Postharvest rind staining in Navel oranges is aggravated by changes in storage relative
humidity: Effect on respiration, ethylene production and water potential. Postharvest Biol. Technol. 2003, 28, 143–152. [CrossRef]
53. Shin, Y.; Ryu, J.A.; Liu, R.H.; Nock, J.F.; Watkins, C.B. Harvest maturity, storage temperature and relative humidity affect fruit
quality, antioxidant contents and activity, and inhibition of cell proliferation of strawberry fruit. Postharvest Biol. Technol. 2008, 49,
201–209. [CrossRef]
54. Tu, K.; Nicolaï, B.; De Baerdemaeker, J. Effects of relative humidity on apple quality under simulated shelf temperature storage.
Sci. Hortic. 2000, 85, 217–229. [CrossRef]
55. Van Den Berg, L. The Role of Humidity, Temperature, and Atmospheric Composition in Maintaining Vegetable Quality During Storage;
ACS Publications: Las Vegas, NV, USA, 1981; pp. 95–107, ISBN 1947-5918.
56. Sowmyashree, A.; Sharma, R.R.; Rudra, S.G.; Grover, M. Layer-by-layer coating of hydrocolloids and mixed plant extract reduces
fruit decay and improves postharvest life of nectarine fruits during cold storage. Acta Physiol. Plant. 2021, 43, 112. [CrossRef]
57. Zuo, X.; Cao, S.; Zhang, M.; Cheng, Z.; Cao, T.; Jin, P.; Zheng, Y. High relative humidity (HRH) storage alleviates chilling injury of
zucchini fruit by promoting the accumulation of proline and ABA. Postharvest Biol. Technol. 2021, 171, 111344. [CrossRef]
58. Jemni, M.; Chniti, S.; Ferchichi, A.; Artés, F.; Jemni, M.; Chniti, S.; Harbaoui, K.; Ferchichi, A.; Artés, F. Partial vacuum and active
modified atmosphere packaging for keeping overall quality of dates. J. New Sci. Agric. Biotechnol. 2016, 29, 1656–1665.
59. Radi, M.; Firouzi, E.; Akhavan, H.; Amiri, S. Effect of Gelatin-Based Edible Coatings Incorporated with Aloe vera and Black and
Green Tea Extracts on the Shelf Life of Fresh-Cut Oranges. J. Food Qual. 2017, 2017, 9764650. [CrossRef]
60. Hazbavi, I.; Khoshtaghaza, M.H.; Mostaan, A.; Banakar, A. Effect of postharvest hot-water and heat treatment on quality of date
palm (cv. Stamaran). J. Saudi Soc. Agric. Sci. 2015, 14, 153–159. [CrossRef]
61. Ilhami KÃ KSAL, A. Research on the Storage of Pomegranate (Cv. Gök Bahçe) Under Different Conditions. Acta Hortic. 1989, 258,
295–302. [CrossRef]
62. Ghafir, S.A.M.; Ibrahim, I.Z.; Zaied, S.A.; Abusrewel, G.S. Response of local variety “Shlefy” pomegranate fruits to packaging and
cold storage. Acta Hortic. 2010, 877, 427–432. [CrossRef]
63. Aleid, S.M.; Hassan, B.H.; Almaiman, S.A.; Al-Kahtani, S.H.; Ismail, S.M. Microbial Loads and Physicochemical Characteristics of
Fruits from Four Saudi Date Palm Tree Cultivars: Conformity with Applicable Date Standards. Food Nutr. Sci. 2014, 5, 316–327.
[CrossRef]
64. Fawole, O.A.; Opara, U.L. Effects of storage temperature and duration on physiological responses of pomegranate fruit. Ind.
Crops Prod. 2013, 47, 300–309. [CrossRef]
65. Noutfia, Y.; Alem, C.; Filali Zegzouti, Y. Assessment of physico-chemical and sensory properties of two date (Phoenix dactylifera L.)
cultivars under commercial cold storage conditions. J. Food Process. Preserv. 2019, 43, 14228. [CrossRef]
66. Chinenye, N.M.; Manuwa, S.I.; Olukunle, O.J.; Oluwalana, I.B. Development of an active evaporative cooling system for
short-term storage of fruits and vegetable in a tropical climate. Agric. Eng. Int. CIGR J. 2013, 15, 307–313.
67. Tadesse, T.N.; Ibrahim, A.M.; Abtew, W.G. Degradation and formation of fruit color in tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.) in
response to storage temperature. Am. J. Food Technol. 2015, 10, 147–157. [CrossRef]
68. Yaman, Ö.; Bayoindirli, L. Effects of an edible coating and cold storage on shelf-life and quality of cherries. LWT-Food Sci. Technol.
2002, 35, 146–150. [CrossRef]
69. Shin, Y.; Liu, R.H.; Nock, J.F.; Holliday, D.; Watkins, C.B. Temperature and relative humidity effects on quality, total ascorbic
acid, phenolics and flavonoid concentrations, and antioxidant activity of strawberry. Postharvest Biol. Technol. 2007, 45, 349–357.
[CrossRef]