Flikweert Vision enhances QualityGrader for better potato sorting

NETHERLANDS – Flikweert Vision has significantly upgraded its QualityGrader, doubling the camera coverage and increasing processing power to improve accuracy and efficiency in potato sorting.

QualityGrader is an advanced solution for quality grading in the agri-food sector, specifically focusing on (seed) potatoes and onions.

Introduced three years ago, this innovative optical sorting device quickly became a vital tool for the Dutch seed potato industry, thanks to its ability to improve sorting efficiency and accuracy.

The latest upgrades to the QualityGrader further enhance its capabilities, setting new standards in the industry.

The primary enhancement involves doubling the number of cameras used in the QualityGrader. This improvement allows every potato to be monitored by at least two cameras, ensuring defects are clearly visible.

“These extra cameras mean that all products are monitored by at least two cameras,” explained Martijn Flikweert, co-owner of Flikweert Vision. “Doubling the number of cameras provides a significant improvement in quality assessment.”

With the upgraded system, potatoes and onions are assessed at least ten times, offering a more thorough examination than previously possible. This level of scrutiny eliminates many of the errors that occur when a product is only viewed from one angle.

In addition to the camera upgrades, the device now boasts a substantial increase in processing power. This enhancement is available as a separate module and increases the system’s computational power sixfold.

This increase not only handles the larger volume of data from the additional cameras but also more than doubles the device’s capacity.

Martijn Flikweert emphasized the significance of this upgrade, stating, “This is the next step toward an autonomous quality rating. Our ambition is to fully automate the quality grading of potatoes and onions worldwide, and we will not stop until this goal is achieved.”

The new upgrades have already been put to the test by several customers, including Klaver Koeling, a seed potato producer based in Kraggenburg, Netherlands.

Jan Mussche, a representative of the firm, expressed his satisfaction with the improved QualityGraders.

“Due to the noticeable improvement in accuracy, we are convinced that this is a major leap forward in sorting potatoes without human labor. We would never want to go back to conventional grading. This is the future!” he concluded.

Flikweert Vision is not resting on its laurels. The company has significantly expanded its research and development team, ensuring that further advancements in the technology will continue.

These developments aim to push the QualityGrader closer to fully autonomous operation, a goal that Flikweert Vision is committed to achieving.

“Our ambition with the QualityGrader is to eliminate 100% of the manual sorting work for potatoes,” Martijn Flikweert reiterated. “With these upgrades, we are one step closer to making this ambition a reality.”

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