Three years ago, Dutch specialist machinery manufacturer Flikweert Vision launched the QualityGrader. Whilst seed potato sorting was automated, the company continued development pace to allow this technology to be used to sort onions as well. As a result a large proportion of onion processors in the Netherlands are now also using the QualityGrader.
Strive for excellence
Striving for the best possible result is embedded in the DNA of the company, which is
based in the south west of the Netherlands. The latest example is an upgrade to the QualityGrader, with more cameras and enhanced computer power, which has greatly increased both accuracy and capacity.
Camera upgrade
"Our ambition with the QualityGrader is to eliminate 100% of the manual sorting work
for potatoes and onions, and with this upgrade, we are one step closer to making this
ambition a reality," says Martijn Flikweert, co-owner of Flikweert Vision.
"The camera upgrade, with double the number of cameras, is integral to this. These extra cameras mean that all products are monitored by at least two cameras. Defects are always clearly visible, which is not always the case when the product is only recorded from one position. Addditionally, the potatoes or onions are assessed not five but at least ten times. Doubling the number of cameras thus provides a significant improvement in
quality assessment," states Flikweert.
Computing power upgrade doubles capacity
To process the increased data volume, additional computing power is required. As a
separate module a computing power upgrade is offered for this purpose which provides
the QualityGrader with six times more computing power. This more than doubles the
machine's capacity, and makes the QualityGrader ready for the future.
Further development
These upgrades create opportunities for further software development. According to
Flikweert, the next step toward fully autonomous quality grading lies in this
direction. "We have recently significantly expanded our R&D team, and therefore expect
to continue making useful advances. Our ambition is no secret: we want to fully
automate quality grading of potatoes and onions worldwide, and we will not stop until
this goal is achieved."
First customer experiences
The upgrades have been extensively tested, and several customers are already using
improved machines, including seed potato producer Klaver Koeling of Kraggenburg in
the Noordoostpolder area of the Netherlands. The company's Jan Mussche is pleased
with his experience of the updated QualityGraders. "Due to the clearly noticeable improvement in accuracy, we are convinced that this is a major leap forward in sorting potatoes without human labour. We would never want to go back to conventional grading. This is the future!"
For more information:
Martijn Flikweert
Flikweert Vision
Tel: +31 6 15 69 45 17
www.flikweertvision.nl