Adaptive Sorting of Fresh Produce

This project includes two main parts: Development of a “Selective Wavelength Imaging Sensor” and an “Adaptive Classifiery System” for adaptive imaging and sorting of agricultural products respectively. Three different technologies were investigated for building a selectable wavelength imaging sensor: diffraction gratings, tunable filters and linear variable filters. Each technology was analyzed and evaluated as the basis for implementing the adaptive sensor. Acousto optic tunable filters were found to be most suitable for the selective wavelength imaging sensor. Consequently, a selectable wavelength imaging sensor was constructed and tested using the selected technology. The sensor was tested and algorithms for multispectral image acquisition were developed. A high speed inspection system for fresh-market carrots was built and tested. It was shown that a combination of efficient parallel processing of a DSP and a PC based host CPU in conjunction with a hierarchical classification system, yielded an inspection system capable of handling 2 carrots per second with a classification accuracy of more than 90%. The adaptive sorting technique was extensively investigated and conclusively demonstrated to reduce misclassification rates in comparison to conventional non-adaptive sorting. The adaptive classifier algorithm was modeled and reduced to a series of modules that can be added to any existing produce sorting machine. A simulation of the entire process was created in Matlab using a graphical user interface technique to promote the accessibility of the difficult theoretical subjects. Typical Grade classifiers based on k-Nearest Neighbor techniques and linear discriminants were implemented. The sample histogram, estimating the cumulative distribution function (CDF), was chosen as a characterizing feature of prototype populations, whereby the Kolmogorov-Smirnov statistic was employed as a population classifier. Simulations were run on artificial data with two-dimensions, four populations and three classes. A quantitative analysis of the adaptive classifier's dependence on population separation, training set size, and stack length determined optimal values for the different parameters involved. The technique was also applied to a real produce sorting problem, e.g. an automatic machine for sorting dates by machine vision in an Israeli date packinghouse. Extensive simulations were run on actual sorting data of dates collected over a 4 month period. In all cases, the results showed a clear reduction in classification error by using the adaptive technique versus non-adaptive sorting.