Dr. Thump Pro

How many times have you gone to the store, selected a watermelon, and then taken it home only to find out it was not very good? Dr. Thump Pro is an app that has been developed after years of research to take the randomness out of the process of selecting a quality watermelon of any type. By using the sound made from thumping a watermelon along with its general size, the app can predict the general level of sweetness or bitterness of the watermelon before purchase.

When using the app, the sweetness or bitterness of the watermelon will be displayed using a brix scale, which is designed to measure the sugar content in fruit juices. The lower the number, the more bitter the watermelon. The higher the number, the sweeter and less bitter. A typical watermelon is a 7 on this scale. Ideally, you are looking for values of 8 and above. For anything less than a 7, we recommend putting it back as it will be bitter tasting.

When using the app, watermelons can be situated in a bin or removed and tested in isolation. When thumping, you can use your knuckles or fist. For a lot of testing to save your knuckles, we recommend something hard and solid, such as a cue ball or hard plastic disk (as in a caster wheel). Whatever the object, it should not make a noise itself—such as a ringing or clanking sound—after you thump the watermelon.

A tutorial video on using this app can be found here: https://youtu.be/L7y10r6bS0Q. This video can also be accessed anytime through the tutorial option in the settings menu.