Goniophotometers measure the luminance distribution of light emitted or reflected from a point in space or a material sample. Increasingly there is a need for such measurements in real-time, and in real-world situations, for example, for daylight monitoring or harvesting in commercial and residential buildings, design and optimization of greenhouses, and testing laser and display components for AR/VR and autonomous vehicles, to name a few. However, current goniophotometers are ill-suited for real-time measurements; mechanical scanning goniophotometers have a large form factor and slow acquisition times. Parallel goniophotometers take faster measurements but suffer from complexity, expense, and limited angular view ranges (dioptric angular mapping systems) or strict form factor and sample positioning requirements (catadioptric angular mapping systems). Overall, current goniophotometers are therefore limited to in-lab environments.      To overcome these challenges, UC Berkeley researchers have invented an optical sensor  for parallel goniophotometry that is compact, cost-effective, and capable of real-time daylight monitoring. The novel optical design addresses key size and flexibility constraints of current state-of-the-art catadioptric angular mapping systems, while maximizing the view angle measurement at 90°. This camera-like, angular mapping device could be deployed at many points within a building to measure reflected light from fenestrations, in agricultural greenhouses or solar farms for real-time monitoring, and in any industry benefitting from real-time daylight data.

Researchers at the University of California, Davis have developed an automated harvesting system using predictive scheduling for crop-transport robots, reducing manual labor, and increasing harvesting efficiency.

Researchers at the University of California Davis have developed a rapid growth platform that aims to decrease crop production time, allow for tunable sensory attributes, and decrease carbon emissions.

Researchers at the University of California, Davis, have developed a nature-based, plastic-free, non-melting, reusable, sustainable, self-cleanable (anti-fungal), and biodegradable robust cooling system for the applications in cold chains. The system has comparable cooling efficiency to traditional ice and drastically reduces water consumption, prevents potential microbial cross-contamination caused by melt-water, and eliminates the use of plastic and other synthetic materials.

Researchers at the University of California, Davis have developed new methods for sorting and drying freshly harvested almonds with high processing and energy efficiency. 

Researchers at the University of California, Davis have developed a one-step spray dry calcium cross-linked alginate encapsulation process where the calcium is released from a chelating agent.

Drosophila spp., also known as fruit flies, are widely used in genetic research. Drosophila lines (e.g. flies with a particular mutation) can only be stored as live animals – they cannot be frozen and remain viable. So to maintain the stocks, the live flies are manually transferred from an old vial to a new vial on a regular basis (every 1-2 weeks). Some Drosophila labs maintain hundreds or even thousands of individual lines and so maintenance of these lines can be very time consuming. A UC Santa Cruz Drosophila researcher has developed a simpler and more efficient method of transferring the flies that requires significantly less hands-on work.

Researchers at the University of California, Davis have developed a surface sanitation validation system that utilizes a non-living edible surrogate to potentially help determine food processing efficacy.

Researchers at the University of California, Davis have developed a valve system to collect effluent waste from fish in a closed recirculating aquaponic system (RAS).

Researchers at the University of California, Davis have developed a nondestructive method for identifying raw nuts with concealed damage.

Researchers at the University of California, Davis have developed a robotic system can apply signaling to the crops and detect any important needs for the plant.

Over the last few years Celiac disease and gluten intolerance has been on the rise. Currently, the only treatment is a gluten free diet, which is very difficult to follow. Cross contamination of gluten free products is common and many food items that seemingly contain no wheat contain gluten-derived products. Here we describe several bacterial strains isolated from humans for their gluten degrading activities. These bacteria may be used to eliminate trace amounts of wheat contaminants from gluten free products or as probiotic therapy.

Researchers have developed a novel method to analyze the contents of closed metal containers to determine contamination in food products.

Researchers at the University of California, Davis have developed a method of delivering targeted bioactives that is applicable to the agricultural, food processing, cosmetic, veterinary and medical industries.

The application of novel manufacturing techniques, chemical modifications and alternative materials produces the next generation of lenses. These lenses are inexpensive, contain improved numerical aperture and can be easily manufactured. Overall, these improvements create new applications for miniaturized optical and optical electronic devices.

The present invention provides a new method for curing and debittering olives quickly without the use of brine or harsh chemicals, and will generate very little waste water!    

Brief description not available

In many disciplines, quantitative measurements of color are required to evaluate nondestructively the state of an object (e.g., quality of produce). This characterization is typically performed using contact point measurement devices. A limitation of these devices is that multiple measurements are required to characterize an entire object; if multiple objects must be characterized, then this process may be time consuming. Furthermore, these devices interrogate both superficial and deeper structures in the object, and do not possess the ability to discriminate between these structures.