## 8 Creation and Interpretation of the Value Curves
### Interpretation of Value Curves from the Viewpoint of Technical Systems  
The interpretation of the value curves follows: the reasons are focused on the good and bad performances of different machines' categories in terms of the studied competing factors. Otherwise, while the information presented in the bullet list above is oriented to the requirements, the discussion below is articulated in the perspective of families of harvesting machines. In Figure 6, it is possible to notice the high performances of the _portable_ solutions (black and grey lines) in terms of cheapness (level 4/5), transportability (level 4/5), maneuverability (level 5), and their suitability for small and mountainous orchards (level 5). However, _portable_ machines present the lowest capability of separating foreign materials from the shell fruits (level 1/2) and the lowest attitude of working with moisture (level 1/2). In addition, _portable_ solutions are the least productive (level 1/2), comfortable for operators (level 1), and they provide the lower storing capacity (level 1/2). Within the _portable_ solutions, the _vacuum_ machines (_V/P_; grey line in Figure 6) present the best performances in terms of productivity (level 2 vs. 1) and capability of separating foreign materials (level 2 vs. 1), while the mechanical solutions are generally cheaper (level 5 vs. 4), more transportable (level 5 vs. 4), and less sensitive to the moisture (level 2 vs. 1) than the other _vacuum_ machines. In addition, _M/P_ machines (black line in Figure 6) are the most independent from external resources, e.g., fuel (level 5). _Self-propelled_ machines (green lines in Figure 6) are the most productive (level 5) and comfortable (level 5) but are also the most expensive (level 1) and heavy (level 1), and their maneuverability is the lowest (level 1). However, many variants are present in the market (see Table 3) and, therefore, their performances have a larger variability than other categories; hence, some exceptions to the indications of the overall pros and cons of machines' categories can be found. These solutions are the most appropriate for large and flat orchards. The _trailed_ architecture presents very different performances for the two categories of _M/T_ and _V/T_ machines (represented by dark and light orange lines in Figure 6, respectively). This is mainly because only the US companies Weiss McNair and Flory manufacture mechanical/trailed machines (see Tables 2 and 3) and their target is to achieve a level of productivity similar to _self-propelled_ machines. For this reason, the _M/T_ profile is more similar to the _self-propelled_ ones. The _V/T_ and the _V/M_ architectures present similar performances (represented by light orange and light blue lines in Figure 6, respectively). Small differences emerge as for the independence from external resources (level 2 vs. 1; the _mounted_ architecture requires a farm tractor to bear all the weight) and the productivity (level 4 vs. 3). Both these solutions represent a compromise between _portable_ and _self-propelled_ machines. This can be explained by the fact that, with these machines, a tractor moves the machine in the orchard while the operator, thanks to long and flexible hand-held pipes, picks up the shell fruits while walking nearby. This makes these harvesting machines highly versatile and productive. However, the low capability of working with moisture is the main problem of these machines: the moist particles of soil sucked in, indeed, progressively stick to the blades of the suction fan, forcing the machine to be cleaned periodically. The _M/M_ machines (dark blue line in Figure 6) present the best compromise between productivity (level 4) and cost (level 3). These solutions are less suitable for working on slopes than _V/M_ or _V/T_ machines (level 3 vs. 4) since the tractor has to pick the shell fruits, i.e., to pass over to collect them, and, therefore, the use of these machines forces the preparation of the fruit trees in areas accessible by the tractor.