Machine Vision Applications to Aquatic Foods: A Review

Machine vision (MV) is a rapid, economic, consistent and objective inspection and evaluation technique. This non- destructive method has applications in the aquatic food industry. MV can perform many functions at once in an aquatic food processing line: sorting by species, by size, and by visual quality attributes, as well as automated portioning. In this review, the mode of operation and the components of a MV system are introduced, its applications to foods are briefly discussed, and the advantages and disadvantages listed. The literature in the MV applications to aquatic foods is grouped under the following topics: determination of composition, measurement and evaluation of size and volume, measurement of shape parameters, quantification of the outside or meat color of aquatic foods, and detection of defects during quality evaluation. Finally, brief examples from the industrial applications of this promising technology are given. Extensive bibliography is cited in this field.