Non-contact measurement & inspection
allows the detection of wrinkles in sealing films, faults in the arrangement of the product in the tray, and the detection of quality defects that cannot be distinguished by standard machine vision algorithms.
Another application scenario is the inspection of the labeling. To detect the label, a corresponding configurable tool looks for a specific pattern. Once this is located, the inspection processes take place. To do this, the application uses the optical character recognition technologies integrated in HALCON, such as OCR (Optical Character Recognition) or Deep OCR. Deep OCR uses a holistic deep-learning-based approach and is able to find and read text in the most difficult conditions, such as characters that are too close together, blurred, or incomplete. This allows various types of label inspection to be conveniently configured. Deep learning technologies and pattern matching of color tones are also used to detect anomalies in the applied labeling, such as wrinkles, creases, or tears, and contaminants such as feathers, hair, or bone traces.
FLEXIBILITY IN INTERFACE INTEGRATION For the end customer, it is important that the Thermoseal & Label Inspector can also be seamlessly integrated technically into the existing process environment. This allows the user, for example, to control the inspection system in the environment that is familiar to him. “The integration of an interface was one of the biggest challenges during the implementation. This is because the various parameters of the inspection can be configured from another system control and all the images from the various cameras have to be analyzed in a very short time. It is also important not to forget that the image acquisition devices operate at enormously high speeds. So, the machine vision software has to decide in a very short time whether a package is faulty and has to be rejected,” explains Emilio de la Red Bellvis. Consequently, a lot of programming and debugging work was needed to distribute the entire processing load among the different threads of the microprocessor. In addition, computational operations with high loads – especially those using deep learning – had to be transferred to the computer’s graphics processing unit (GPU). The integration of the solution was simplified by the possibilities offered by MVTec HALCON: “The software offers various interfaces for many types of industrial cameras and the possibility to directly run scripts within a real application using the HdevEngine and debug it. We see the wide variety of image processing algorithms, convenient programming, and seamless integration with our software as further strengths of MVTec products,” confirms Emilio de la Red Bellvis.
On the hardware side, the application setup includes various components such as several latest-generation industrial PCs. These receive the images from the individual cameras and communicate with programmable logic controllers (PLCs). In the process, Emilio de la
38
Red Bellvis faced another challenge: “Given the current shortage of electronic components, we had to develop flexible programming. This allowed us to accommodate different camera types, processing architectures, and GPUs so that the hardware could vary depending on availability.”
AWARD FOR MOST INNOVATIVE TECHNOLOGY
As a result, INSPECTRA has been able to solve all the problems that producers have to face with its Thermoseal & Label Inspector inspection solution by integrating the machine vision software MVTec HALCON. In this way, the quality defects on the packaging as well as on the product itself are avoided. Therefore, costs for the destruction, replacement, and transport of defective products are eliminated. In addition, producers can guarantee their brand promise to consumers at all times due to the reliable and consistent quality. The biggest advantage, however, is that the quality control can be automated end-to-end along the entire production process. This reduces the labor costs incurred for quality assurance, lowers the error rate, and eliminates the subjectivity of the inspection criteria. Last but not least, the technology can detect defects that would have been hidden from the human eye.
“We can be very satisfied with our work because we have overcome the challenges. We are currently in contact with many customers from the food industry who are interested in our products. At the Meat Attraction 2022 trade show, the Thermoseal & Label Inspector even received an award as the most innovative technology for the ancillary industries of the meat industry. The inspection solution was ultimately a result of the interaction of MVTec HALCON with our hardware and optimized INSPECTRA software architecture. Thus, our years of research and development work have fully paid off,” Emilio de la Red Bellvis sums up.
MVTec Software
www.mvtec.com
March 2024 Instrumentation Monthly
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80
