Better High Throughput Screening with space technology
Product defining
The Dutch company Progress Control has built a fast multispectral camera for ESA, the European Space Agency. As a result of this cooperation, ESA has endorsed the birth of a new company with the task to develop new techniques with multispectal imaging for "earth" applications. This company, Space Colour Systems, has developed it`s first product with this technology: the "ProductDefiner". Progress Control will exclusively market this system.
The "ProductDefiner" is an instrument that can be used to optimize the conditions for optical sorting machines: it defines a product on colour, shape and size. Mostly important is it`s capability to find the highest constrast in a "region of interest" of the product, which is the base of the accuracy and the speed of sorting in an automated machine. The user can transfer the illumination and camera conditions to the sorting machine.
The first customer is manufacturer of sorting machines for agro-products: it will help them to define quickly the best sorting condition during the visits of customers in the application room.
The picture shows the construction of the black room of the ProductDefiner. Not visible is the multispectral camera and the multi-wavelength light sources. A computer with special own software calculates the optimal sorting conditions.
A workshop on this subject will take place at Estec-ESA in Noordwijk, Holland, on the 30th of October 2007.
