System and method for detecting ink marking and ejecting carcass from line
The disclosure relates to methods and systems for identifying ink on an animal carcass, or a portion thereof, using an ink detection model. In one embodiment, the methods and systems disclosed herein use automated methods to determine an objective evaluation of an animal carcass, or a portion thereof, based on the presence or absence of ink on the animal carcass, or a portion thereof. Methods and systems disclosed herein comprise processing one or more images of the animal carcass, or a portion thereof, captured with one or more data capture devices, and using the ink detection model to determine whether the carcass is marked with ink or not.
1 . An ink detection system designed to detect ink on an animal carcass comprising:
a transport system designed to move the animal carcass through a meat processing facility;
a data capture device designed to capture one or more images of the animal carcass as it moves on the transport system;
an ink detection model including at least one processor and a memory unit with programmable instructions that when executed cause the at least one processor to:
receive an image of the one or more images received from the data capture device;
isolate a plurality of pixels of the image that are within a specified color range associated with the ink being detected;
count a number of pixels that are within the specified color range;
divide the number of pixels that are within the specified color range from the number of pixels in the image to get a ratio of colored pixels within the specified color range;
determine if the ratio of colored pixels within the specified color range is greater than a threshold value consistent with a carcass marked with ink; and
activate a controller in communication with a processing unit configured to remove the animal carcass when the ratio of colored pixels is greater than the threshold value.
2 . The ink detection system of claim 1 further comprising an ejection device that removes the animal carcass from a first section of the transport system and onto a second section of the transport system when the ratio of colored pixels is greater than the threshold value.
3 . The ink detection system of claim 1 , wherein the ink detection model is designed to identify a color value, wherein the specified color range corresponds to the color value.
4 . The ink detection system of claim 1 , wherein the animal carcass is identified as being marked when the ratio of colored pixels within the specified color range is greater than the threshold value.
5 . The ink detection system of claim 4 , wherein the ink detection model further causes the processor to save the image associated with a marked animal carcass to the memory unit.
6 . The ink detection system of claim 1 , wherein the data capture device is provided in the form of an RGB camera.
7 . The ink detection system of claim 1 , wherein the ink detection model further causes the processor to:
convert the image to a color format prior to isolating the plurality of pixels.
8 . The ink detection system of claim 7 , wherein isolating the plurality of pixels includes creating a mask of any pixel value that is between an upper color format value and a lower color format value selected as the specified color range and applying the mask over the image.
9 . A method for identifying an animal carcass marked with ink using an ink detection model, the method comprising:
transporting the animal carcass using a transport system;
triggering a data capture device as the animal carcass moves on the transport system;
processing an image of the animal carcass captured by the data capture device using at least one processor of the ink detection model;
determining an objective evaluation of the animal carcass by identifying a presence or absence of the ink from a plurality of pixels of an image that are within a specified color range associated with the ink being detected on the animal carcass;
determining if a ratio of colored pixels within the specified color range is greater than a threshold value associated with the ink being detected; and
activating a controller in communication with a processing unit configured to remove the animal carcass when the presence of the ink is identified on the animal carcass.
10 . The method of claim 9 , wherein processing the image of the animal carcass includes:
converting the image to a color format; and
isolating a plurality of pixels of the image by creating a mask of any pixel value that is between an upper color format value and a lower color format value selected as a specified color range and applying the mask over the image.
11 . The method of claim 10 , further comprising:
focus the image on a particular area of interest being evaluated.
12 . The method of claim 10 , wherein determining an objective evaluation of the animal carcass includes:
counting a number of pixels that are within the specified color range in the image;
dividing the number of pixels that are within the specified color range from the number of pixels in the image to get a ratio of colored pixels within the specified color range;
determining if the ratio of colored pixels within the specified color range is greater than a threshold value;
identifying the animal carcass as a marked animal carcass if the ratio of colored pixels within the specified color range is greater than the threshold value; and
identifying the animal carcass as a good animal carcass if the ratio of colored pixels within the specified color range is less than the threshold value.
13 . The method of claim 12 , further comprising:
saving the image associated with the marked animal carcass to a memory unit.
14 . The method of claim 9 , wherein the processing unit removes the animal carcass from a first section of the transport system onto a second section of the transport system.
15 . The method of claim 12 , wherein the ink detection model is designed to identify a color value, wherein the specified color range corresponds to the color value.
16 . The method of claim 9 further comprising:
generating a notification using a notification system, wherein the notification can include an output of the ink detection model.
17 . An ink detection system designed to detect ink on an animal carcass comprising:
a transport system designed to move the animal carcass;
a data capture device designed to capture one or more images of the animal carcass as it moves on the transport system;
an ink detection model including at least one processor and a memory unit with programmable instructions that when executed cause the at least one processor to:
receive an image of the one or more images received from the data capture device;
process the image of the animal carcass and isolate a plurality of pixels of the image that are within a specified color range associated with the ink being detected;
determine an objective evaluation of the animal carcass by identifying a presence or absence of the ink on the animal carcass if a ratio of colored pixels within the specified color range is greater than a threshold value associated with the ink being detected; and
activate a microcontroller to initiate an ejection device when the presence of the ink is identified on the animal carcass.
18 . The system of claim 17 , wherein processing the image of the animal carcass includes the ink detection model causing the processor to further:
convert the image to a color format; and
isolate a plurality of pixels of the image by creating a mask of any pixel value that is between an upper color format value and a lower color format value selected as a specified color range and applying the mask over the image.
19 . The system of claim 17 , wherein the ejection device removes the animal carcass from a first section of the transport system onto a second section of the transport system.
20 . The system of claim 18 , wherein the ink detection model is designed to identify a color value, wherein the specified color range corresponds to the color value.