New AI-based Inspection System Brings Profitability to Potato Processors
Potato processors understand that foreign items and erroneous quality grading reduce profitability. To address this, they have tried X-ray detection, metal detection, vision inspection technologies, and massive teams of human inspectors, with limited success. A new AI-based vision inspection solution from Smart Vision Works, a KPM Analytics brand, aims to address these long-standing issues.
Artificial intelligence (AI) is used to train the SiftAI Smart Table to automatically identify and eliminate foreign items and sort products in a single pass. The new technology, which uses more accurate advanced artificial intelligence (AI) than rival visual inspection systems, enables businesses to scan products and eliminate foreign objects at a rate that has never been possible before. Customers in the beta program report much lower labor expenses, fewer overlooked pollutants, and increased produce profit.
To make sure that only perfect potatoes advance to other stages of the process, the system consists of cameras, artificial intelligence software, a conveyor, and automatic ejection mechanisms with dual drops (one for foreign material, one for culls).
“The SiftAI Smart Table vision inspection system is competitively priced. Company managers can justify the investment by reallocating inspection workers to higher-skill areas. Wages have risen sharply in recent years, so company managers will value the opportunity to shift workers away from low-skill activities. In addition, the system helps processors avoid customer fines for contaminants. For some processors, these fines may cost USD50,000 per incident and total hundreds of thousands of dollars per year. Because of the speed of the advanced AI technology, conveyor speeds can be increased, giving operators more throughput per shift. Best of all, the system precisely grades produce using sophisticated evaluation of bruises, rot, and green,” according to a recent press release.
“We estimate that up to 20% of potatoes are typically diverted to the wrong value stream, reducing profitability and causing customer satisfaction issues,” Christopher Bryant, President of KPM Analytics’ Smart Vision Works AI Division, claims.
A more accurate sorting system diverts less produce to less profitable uses, and higher quality produce can command a higher price.
All Potato Growers and Processors Will Benefit
The AI-driven system addresses specific business and operational challenges potato processors face each day: – chip potatoes – avoid penalties (chargebacks) by immediately eliminating foreign materials from the process stream; – process potatoes – also eliminate foreign materials while reliably sorting potatoes based on size, defect presence, and more; – fresh pack potatoes – pre-sort to reduce potato volume through the facility, minimize foreign material risk, and deliver only the best potatoes to customers.
Advanced AI Technology
The improvements are possible because the system’s technology is not like the basic AI commonly used by other vision inspection systems. Instead, the system uses AI built on 12 years of development by AI scientists and a decade of experience in food sorting applications. Unlike competitors that use optical scanners, the system takes a full digital image and runs it through a neural network. Users receive detailed data for analysis.
