# Research Pipeline > SpectrifyAI's NIR spectroscopy platform is expanding across agriculture, environmental monitoring, energy, and healthcare sectors. - Canonical URL: https://spectrify.ai/research-pipeline **Expanding the Spectral Map Across Industries** Tea is our foundation. Our NIR and AI platform extends wherever the same quality measurement gap exists - agriculture, environment, energy, and healthcare. _Research Pipeline · 2025_ - **4**: Active Sectors - **18+**: Projects in Pipeline - **4**: Models Validated - **3**: Industry Partnerships ## Free White Paper **The Tea Quality Measurement White Paper** How NIR spectroscopy replaces lab-based moisture and polyphenol testing - methodology, validation data, and field results from Sri Lankan tea factories. [The Tea Quality Measurement White Paper](https://spectrify.ai/research-pipeline#white-paper) ## Status Key Model Ready · In Development · Proposal Sent · Emails Sent · Awaiting Response · Early Exploration · Planned · Paused ## Sector 01: Food & Agriculture The largest and most developed sector in our pipeline - spanning tea, spices, dairy, and industrial crops. ### Ready to Deploy 4 validated models available now - [Moisture Content - Green Tea](https://spectrify.ai/research-pipeline/moisture-content-green-tea) (Model Ready, MC %): Real-time MC measurement for green tea. Model trained on TRI-standard data and independently validated in December 2025. - [Total Polyphenols (TPP)](https://spectrify.ai/research-pipeline/total-polyphenols-tpp) (Model Ready, TPP): Total polyphenol profiling for black tea - the leading proxy for antioxidant quality and a primary auction pricing signal. - [Sugar in Tea](https://spectrify.ai/research-pipeline/sugar-in-tea) (Model Ready, SUG): Total sugar quantification across black tea grades - a key differentiator for premium blend specification and export documentation. - [Caffeine Content](https://spectrify.ai/research-pipeline/caffeine-content) (Lite Model Ready, CAF): Rapid caffeine screening for black tea blends - lite model delivered, enabling blend certification and label compliance workflows. ### Development - Paused - [Auction Price Prediction](https://spectrify.ai/research-pipeline/auction-price-prediction) (Paused): Machine learning prediction of auction price from spectral profile. Development paused pending a larger, validated calibration dataset. ### R&D Roadmap - Tea Quality, Safety & Physical #### Quality Markers - **Catechins** (In Development): Full catechin profiling - EGCG, ECG, EGC, and EC - the primary antioxidant markers driving health-benefit claims and premium pricing. - **Theaflavins (TF)** (In Development): Contribute to brightness and briskness in black tea liquor. A key freshness indicator assessed at the Colombo auction. - **Thearubigins (TR)** (In Development): Influence liquor colour and body. Work alongside TF to define the overall strength and character of the cup. - **TF:TR Ratio** (In Development): The industry-standard quality metric for black tea - a direct predictor of brightness, body, and auction price expectations. - **Water Extract** (Planned): Total soluble solids measurement reflecting the strength and brewing yield of the tea - a key spec for bulk tea buyers. - **Free Amino Acids** (Planned): Sweetness and umami characteristics. Theanine content is especially important for premium-grade and specialty market classification. - **Ash Content** (Planned): Purity and mineral composition marker. Elevated ash content can indicate contamination or dilution and is monitored under import regulations. #### Safety & Residues - **Glyphosate** (In Development): Broad-spectrum herbicide residue screening. Exceeding MRLs in importing countries can trigger export rejections - a critical compliance parameter for EU and Japanese markets. - **Diuron** (In Development): Long-term herbicide regulated by importing countries. Typically analyzed by LC-MS/MS; rapid NIR screening approaches are under active investigation. - **Other Pesticide Residues** (Planned): Additional regulated compounds including MCPA, chlorpyrifos, and others relevant to EU, US, and Asian import market MRL frameworks. #### Physical Properties - **Leaf Grade Classification** (Planned): Automated classification of black tea grades (BOP, BOPF, OP, Pekoe, etc.) from spectral and morphological data - replacing manual sieve grading. - **Particle Size Distribution** (Planned): Sieve-free particle size analysis relevant to infusion rate, packaging fill weight, and grade compliance verification. - **Colour Analysis** (Planned): Objective liquor colour measurement for blending consistency and export specification compliance - critical for branded tea producers. - **Foreign Matter Detection** (Planned): Identification of non-tea material - fibres, insects, extraneous plant matter - at the processing stage before packing. - **Batch Consistency** (Planned): Spectral fingerprinting across production batches to verify blend consistency before shipping - important for large-volume export contracts. ### Commodity Extensions - [Coffee - Green Bean Moisture](https://spectrify.ai/research-pipeline/coffee-green-bean-moisture) (Emails Sent): MC analysis for green coffee beans - the critical pre-roast quality checkpoint. Questionnaire distributed to target roasters and exporters. - [Cinnamon](https://spectrify.ai/research-pipeline/cinnamon) (Awaiting Response): Moisture and cinnamaldehyde content for Ceylon cinnamon - the primary authenticity and quality indicators for export compliance. Discussions underway. - [Milk Quality](https://spectrify.ai/research-pipeline/milk-quality) (Proposal Sent): Rapid compositional analysis for raw milk - fat, protein, and adulteration screening to replace slow wet-chemistry tests at collection centres. - [Crude Fibre - Feed Inputs](https://spectrify.ai/research-pipeline/crude-fibre-feed-inputs) (Early Exploration): Crude fibre measurement for agricultural feed inputs - early feasibility work underway to assess calibration dataset requirements and partner appetite. - [Rubber](https://spectrify.ai/research-pipeline/rubber) (Awaiting Response): Dry rubber content (DRC) measurement at point of purchase - enabling transparent, data-driven pricing between smallholders and processors. - [Black Pepper & Spices](https://spectrify.ai/research-pipeline/black-pepper-spices) (Early Exploration): Spectral signature mapping for black pepper and mixed spices - dataset acquisition phase. Adulteration detection and grade classification are primary targets. ### Active Partnerships - **OAK Integrated Systems: AI + Sustainability Solutions** (Early Discussions): Early collaboration exploring AI-driven sustainability monitoring across agricultural supply chains. Scope and data-sharing framework are being defined. - **NIPM: Data Collection Partnership** (Emails Sent): Engaging the National Institute of Plantation Management to support structured spectral data collection across commodity types - critical for accelerating model training beyond tea. ## Sector 02: Environmental & Industrial High-stakes detection applications where laboratory turnaround times are a critical bottleneck for safety and compliance. - [Asbestos Analysis](https://spectrify.ai/research-pipeline/asbestos-analysis) (Proposal Sent): Spectral identification of three asbestos fibre types - Chrysotile, Amosite, and Crocidolite - in field samples. Proposal submitted to industrial partner for site monitoring applications. - [Pesticide Detection](https://spectrify.ai/research-pipeline/pesticide-detection) (Emails Sent): Field-level residue screening for Diuron, MCPA, and related compounds - targeting EU MRL compliance verification for export-grade produce. ## Sector 03: Energy Sector Featured Collaboration: Baker Hughes - [CCUS Pipeline Solutions](https://spectrify.ai/research-pipeline/ccus-pipeline-solutions) (Pitch Deck Sent): NIR-based composition monitoring for carbon capture, utilisation, and storage (CCUS) pipelines - enabling real-time fluid characterisation without offline sampling. Application and pitch deck submitted to Baker Hughes. ## Sector 04: Healthcare & Biochemical _These items are early-stage research, not products in development. We present them to indicate the architectural range of the platform - not to imply clinical applications._ - [Biomarker Detection in Urine](https://spectrify.ai/research-pipeline/biomarker-detection-urine) (Proposal Sent): Non-invasive creatinine and blood detection in urine via NIR spectroscopy - early feasibility research. Proposal submitted to a research partner. - [Pest-Stress Detection - Black Tea](https://spectrify.ai/research-pipeline/pest-stress-detection) (Early Exploration): Identifying spectral signatures of pest-induced biochemical stress in black tea at powder level - early research into quantifying quality impact before visible damage appears. ## R&D Partnerships **Have a Quality Measurement Problem?** Our NIR architecture is commodity-agnostic - what determines feasibility is calibration data. If you're working on a measurement gap in agriculture, food, environment, or industry, we're open to research partnerships. - **Food & Agriculture**: 10+ projects - **Environmental**: 2 projects - **Energy**: 1 project - **Healthcare**: 2 projects [Contact the Research Team](mailto:meth@spectrifyai.com)