Nondestructive inspection of Phaseolus coccineus L. soya beans by use of near-infrared lasers

We propose a nondestructive inspection method for the quantitative analysis of molds inside soya beans (Phaseolus coccineus L.) that does not render the beans unfit for human consumption. Three near-infrared lasers are used for multispectral transmission imaging of the beans. Eigenvalue analysis and a least-squares method are used for estimation of the diffuse reflectance spectrum of each type of mold. The estimated spectra are used for determining the internal concentration of the molds inside the beans. Experimental results verify the usefulness of our method.