Abstract: A food processing system includes a structural frame with a conveyor that defines a processing path. The system includes a vision subsystem that captures images of opposite sides of a material on the conveyor and generates superimposed and extracted boundaries of main products and co-products in the material based on the images. The boundaries are converted into coordinates for guiding an automated cutting subsystem, which cuts the material along the boundaries. The separation and material handling subsystem utilizes curvature in the conveyor and a shaker conveyor system to separate or provide more space between the main products and the co-products after the cutting operation. The separation and material handling subsystem may also include a pick and place system that identifies and remove the co-products from the main products on the conveyor, while also providing feedback to the vision subsystem to improve the precision of additional cutting operations.

Abstract: An inline vision-based system used for the inspection and processing of food material and associated imaging methods are disclosed. The system includes a conveyor belt, a transparent plate, and an imaging system, wherein the imaging system includes a light source and at least one camera. The imaging system produces image data from multiple views of light passing through an object on the transparent plate and captured by the camera. The image data corresponds to one of transmittance, interactance, or reflectance image data and is transmitted to a processor. The processor processes the data using machine learning to generate a three dimensional model of the geometry of a portion of material internal to the object so as to determine boundaries of the portion relative to the surrounding material.

Abstract: An inline vision-based system used for the inspection and processing of food material and associated imaging methods are disclosed. The system includes a conveyor belt, a transparent plate, and an imaging system, wherein the imaging system includes a light source and at least one camera. The imaging system produces image data from multiple views of light passing through an object on the transparent plate and captured by the camera. The image data corresponds to one of transmittance, interactance, or reflectance image data and is transmitted to a processor. The processor processes the data using machine learning to generate a three dimensional model of the geometry of a portion of material internal to the object so as to determine boundaries of the portion relative to the surrounding material.