Augmented Reality Systems Applied to Poultry Grading and Inspection

Simeon HarbertGeorgia Tech Research Institute,

Food Processing Technology Division

Parth Bhawalkar

Blair MacIntyreGeorgia Institute of Technology,

College of Computing

Situation: Introduction of Automated Inspection Systems

• Currently:– Product flows along shackle line– Inspectors, workers communicate directly

• One inspector per trimmer

– Leverage gesture, speech• Develop efficient shorthand

• Inspection technologies being introduced– Trim tasks not yet automated

New Problem: Communication between Systems and Trimmers

• Automated systems need to communicate information about product on lines– No direct human communication

• How to display information to trimmer?

• How to associate tasks with specific birds?

Investigated Various Possibilities

• Solution must– Keep workers hands free– Not require technology near line

• Looked at wearable auditory and visual displays– Problem: relating tasks to specific bird

Solution: Augmented Reality

• Directly merge graphical display with worker’s view of world

• Task info spatially aligned with relevant product

Example Symbolic Instructions

See-through Head-Worn Display

• Monocular, transparent display

• Very little visual obstruction

Laser Scanner

Comparison

• Wearable Heads-up Display– No active technology installed in factory

• Potential for wide area use

– Display anywhere, esp. on product– Fragile, potentially encumbering

• Laser Scanner– Hardened, permanent install done once– Difficult to display on product– Nothing carried by worker

Experimental Evaluation Planned for Coming Year

• Compare human, HMD, Laser

• Use synthetic, similarly demanding “task”