Grains, seeds and beans are being sorted using precision hyperspectral techniques as part of a collaboration between Headwall Photonics and the Swiss company QualySense.
The Hyperspec Extended VNIR sensors, which operate in the spectral range of 550 to 1650nm, are aimed at providing a higher level of precision during the analysis of seeds and grains.
Through collaboration with Headwall, the QualySense QSorter systems will be able to classify and sort grains based on nutrients and contamination levels. Waste is expected to be minimised because hyperspectral sensing has the ability to eliminate those seeds and grains that specific algorithms deem to be of poor quality.
Francesco Dell'Endice, QualySense CEO, explained the key role that technology can play: 'Food producers need a highly resolved way of determining protein and oil content, colour, size and other meaningful characteristics while increasing product consistency. Hyperspectral sensing represents a tremendous technical leap forward because it gives our customers a new view on quality.'
