Physikalisches Imaging zur Struktur- und Texturerkennung bei der Fleischverarbeitung

Fine cutting of pork is still mainly performed by hand due to a lack of automation options. Two modern imaging techniques were combined inline to control the positioning and the calculation of cutting curves for the fine cutting of porcine hams. The first technique was a stereo camera system with subsequent digital image processing, which detected the spatial location and geometry of the meat sample. The second method was an ultrasonic system, which analysed the inner structure of the meat sample. By these means, a three-dimensional model of the studied ham was calculated and certain internal tissue structures (bones) were identified. This position and tissue information is the basis for an automated fine cutting, which needs to be adapted to the individual meat sample.