Counting without prior product separation

neogramm presented an image processing solution for counting chaotic products in motion. There is no need for the separation of the items. The system detects each object reliably even with a speed up to one meter per second and in cases of overlapping. The conceptual highlight: The products are not counted until they fall into the transportation tote. The vision system runs regardless of product features like measurements, color or weight. Therefore the system is interesting for handling quite heterogeneous products or bulk material.

The software solution was developed for a line camera which is installed diagonally above a linear light. From the conveyor the single items fall between light and camera into the tote. The backlight solution produces images of the products’ shadows, which are then analyzed by the software. Following the customer request the system is supposed to evaluates the data of all products in the process regarding the target-performance. Not only helps the camera system optimize the process by saving the step of separating the products but also can be seen as an additional control mechanism serving high quality requirements.