Computer vision could soon be used to grade meat if a project by Meat and Livestock Australia (MLA) and design build and consulting business Wiley bears fruit.
The pair are exploring how technology can transform meat grading using Augmented Reality (AR) in a research and development project.
The subjective collection and assessment of meat grading attribute in the industry have contributed to trust issues between producers and processors, according to MLA, with producers and feedlot operators are concerned about the precision of meat grading in Australia.
Computer vision will be used to provide objective measurement and decision support for grading staff.
The AR platform, called ARGA (Augmented Reality Grading App) facilitates faster, more consistent and more precise meat grading by taking advantage of the experience and capabilities of the industry’s meat graders.
The solution is designed to discern the colour of a meat sample, and accurately determine the area of the latissimus dorsi muscle. It also introduces hands-free scanning of meat sample tickets.
These features have been demonstrated on a Vuzix m300 augmented reality headset as well as on various hand-held devices, according to Wiley.
The project consists of two phases - a research phase reviewing and cataloguing relevant augmented reality projects, case studies and technology; and a proof of concept phase in which a prototype of an augmented reality application was developed for an AR head mounted display and tasked with reducing the subjectivity in MSA grading in a processing environment.
“Decision assistance for meat graders may lead to improved transparency and consistent outcomes for the meat industry,” Wiley’s R&D and innovation director, Brett Wiskar said.
“Increased precision has obvious benefits such as accuracy on a carcass by carcass basis, and broader labour efficiencies, but there are also subtle flow-on positive impacts to the industry and processors.
“Decision support is likely to bring about greater speed and decreased training periods for meat graders. In addition, such a solution has the potential to normalise grading performance across shift duration, between graders, between facilities and across processor groups.”
MLA and Wiley will jointly prepare a Rural R&D for profit submission on an augmented and virtual reality program for all Australian agriculture.
