This paper proposes an optical discrimination system for packed food quality. Raw material of the food is cereal. The material is powdered, baked, seasoned in general, and packed with transparent plastic film. Then, the food products are tested in their quality whether they are exact in number and appropriate in food sufficiency without lack, in addition to the check of unexpected mixtures. Our way of testing makes use of such optical characteristics of the food material in which light reflects, diffuses and then weakens depending on its thickness. We put photodiodes in the cylinder locating between ends of two belt conveyers. Of course, the cylinder has the shape keeping the flow of the food material consecutive. We define some thresholds and total area to evaluate the number and sufficiency of the piled food products, respectively. Also, formulation for estimating the area by signal processing is derived. For demonstrating the discrimination, the automatic test system is fabricated by combining mechanical and optical parts together. Experimental results show that the system works in real time, with high correctness of the discrimination.
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