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【2020 Application Example】 Peeking into a Baozi to See How AI Reduces Scrap Rates by 50% and Boosts Production Efficiency by 60% for Frozen Foods

From production line to dining table, who oversees the hygiene management of what we eat?

In recent years, there has been a continuous stream of news reports concerning food safety, such as repackaging expired goods, and poisoning incidents at Hong Rui Zhen. It's clear that people are increasingly concerned about the hygiene of their food. However, due to various quality control methods in food processing, there are inherent risks.

The World Health Organization (WHO) has pointed out that unsafe food and water cause physical harm to 2 million people each year. Hence, international markets demand that food processing companies must establish a traceability system for products. This is why major domestic food processors also aim to set up a production traceability system to quickly trace back to problematic raw materials and initiate recall and destruction of problematic food.

Visible assurance, implementing production transparency

A major domestic food manufacturer producing frozen food and instant meals has expanded its market presence to North America, New Zealand, Japan, etc. They are also at the forefront in promoting food management domestically, having obtained certifications such as HACCP, ISO22000, ISO14001.

Since food production is labor-intensive, it is prone to quality impacts caused by worker fatigue. Additionally, the production lines often have unclear records of production quantities, processes, and timing. This obscurity in traceability makes it difficult to track production information when defects occur, leading to food safety management gaps that result in the scrapping of entire batches.

To address this, the Production Development Center at National Sun Yat-sen University utilized its advisory resources to help the food manufacturer tackle food safety management challenges, planning the use of AI technology to collect production data and establish anti-fraud and traceability for food production.

Intelligent manufacturing boosts food safety

Although the level of automation is not high in the processing of bakery products, the food plant in this case is keen to enhance the automation of its production lines and introduce smart manufacturing. For businesses, a traceability system not only helps establish brand image and increase product and brand value, but also gives consumers peace of mind due to the transparency of production lines.

Therefore, the Production Development Center at National Sun Yat-sen University matched AI technology service providers, Hong Ge Technology, in the first phase to plan the introduction of data collection devices to link food work orders information, reducing human operational omissions and capturing real-time production information through dashboards to ensure the consistency of production stage information potentially affected by human factors.

Schematic for intelligent production line planning

▲ Schematic for intelligent production line planning

The second phase involves using deep learning during the dough fermentation stage to calculate size and volume, analyze the relationship between temperature, humidity, fermentation time, and product volume, and assess whether to introduce AOI foreign object detection after freezing as a second quality control step.

Schematic of AI-integrated quality control for finished products

▲ Schematic of AI-integrated quality control for finished products

Food processing ID card, launching the AI-era of food safety tracing

In Taiwan, the understanding and acceptance of production history by consumers is gradually improving. From the supply of raw materials, processing, production, to distribution and sales, it is necessary to have complete control and provide transparent information. Publicly disclosing the production history not only increases trust between enterprises and consumers, but also aligns Taiwan's food safety environment with international standards.

In 2020, the Production Development Center at National Sun Yat-sen University will assist enterprises with the adoption of advanced AI technology, documenting the entire data process from industry to dining table and supervising food production processes to successfully implement product tracing, prevention of adulteration, and the establishment of high standards for products, thus advancing food processing products to international standards.

「Translated content is generated by ChatGPT and is for reference only. Translation date:2024-05-19」

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【導入案例】維繫遊艇王國美譽 嘉信遊艇導入國內第一套FRP複材超音波智慧檢測
Maintaining the reputation of the “Kingdom of Yachts” - Kha Shing Enterprise introduces the first domestic FRP ultrasonic smart inspection of composite materials

The Kaohsiung-based Kha Shing Enterprise Co, Ltd was established over 40 years ago, and is Taiwan's largest customized yacht company with customers all over America, Europe, Asia, and Australia, earning Taiwan the reputation of the "Kingdom of Yachts" Current FRP hull inspection still relies on traditional methods, such as visual inspection and knocking sounds, which is time-consuming and labor-intensive Kha Shing has applied PAUT array ultrasonic inspection to hull FRP composite materials for the first time, and combined it with AI to interpret ultrasound images, develop complete intelligent solutions, and create emerging markets for inspection companies Kha Shing Enterprise Co, Ltd was formerly Kha Shing Wood Industry Co, Ltd, and was a factory specializing in wood import in Kaohsiung Linhai Industrial Park when it was first established It began to design, manufacture, and sell yachts in 1977 After the second-generation successor of the company, President Kung Chun-Hao entered the company, he made a breakthrough in the previous manufacturing model that relied mainly on the skills of master craftsmen, introduced digital manufacturing to accelerate shipbuilding, and began to make larger yachts, ranking in the top 20 manufacturers worldwide among manufacturers of large yachts over 24 feet It also set a record of delivering 94 yachts within one year, earning Taiwan the reputation of "Kingdom of Yachts" Defect detection ensures yacht quality, using AI to replace humans to achieve higher efficiency Defect detection is very important to ensuring yacht quality At present, the yacht industry still uses very traditional defect detection methods The hull structure is usually made by hand lay-up or the vacuum infusion process, using visual inspection or knocking and the frequency of the sound to determine defects It requires time-consuming manual inspection If there are any defects, they must be reworked and repaired, and a gel coat subsequently sprayed The hull must be constructed in sections to facilitate inspection For large yachts over 24 meters long, construction in sections is very time-consuming and labor-intensive To shorten the time of the yacht manufacturing process, Kha Shing Enterprise will first carry out the gel coating process for the hull, and then perform the hand lay-on process The hull manufacturing process has two types of composite material test specimen structures In terms of 54-foot yacht hulls, the hull contains gel coat, core material, fiber and resin, and the total thickness is about 32cmplusmn01cm, which is twice the total thickness of FRP hull without core material of about 16cmplusmn01cm Defects such as incomplete impregnation of glass fiber or residual air bubbles between glass fiber and resin occasionally occur during the manufacturing process The types of defects include insufficient resin, voids, and delamination Once defects occur, the supply of hull materials will be insufficient and yacht delivery will be delayed Schematic diagram of types of FRP hull In order to solve this problem, Kha Shing Enterprise has engaged in technical cooperated with the metal materials industry and the AI technology industry, combining the ultrasonic inspection expertise of the metal materials industry with AI technologies developed by the AI technology industry in recent years to help solve issues of Kha Shing Enterprise with defect detection The method uses PAUT on the composite material structure of yachts, conducts FRP ultrasonic evaluation to determine the thickness of the yacht hull and material properties, and evaluates the ultrasonic probe frequency applicable to the hull structure based on professional ultrasonic experience After testing, a frequency of 5MHz and a probe width of 45mm can successfully find the location and size of defects in the simulated defect test specimen The three parties jointly found defect detection solutions from array ultrasonic evaluation, AI technology model development, and actual application in yachts The image inspected is an ultrasound image The image displays different colors based on the ultrasonic feedback signal An AI model that automatically identifies defective parts is established through the YOLO algorithm If the amount of abnormal data collected is insufficient for training, the CNN-based Autoencoder algorithm is used to collect normal image data for training and construct an AI model for abnormality detection The object detection YOLO model is trained by inputting image data marked as having defects, while the abnormality detection model is trained by inputting image data without defects Simulated defective specimen corresponding to PAUT results Defect detection by and AI system can shorten the construction period by 15 months and speed up determination by 50 After the development of this AI system is completed, it will be validated on actual 54-foot yachts of Kha Shing Enterprise, and can effectively resolve issues with defects The application of AI technology in ultrasonic inspection for intelligent determination is expected to accelerate determination by approximately 50, and will also shortens the construction period by 15 months, effectively improving the speed and quality of the yacht manufacturing process As Taiwan develops larger and more refined yachts, it will create opportunities for industry optimization and transformation, as well as opportunities for the development of key technologies The application of an AI ultrasonic inspection solution for composite materials is the first of its kind in the yacht industry, and is expected to attract more yacht manufacturers with inspection needs The AI ultrasonic inspection solution for composite materials has three major competitive advantages 1 Professional inspection experience and digital database to facilitate process management and analysis 2 Automatic AI determination and identification quickly identifies defects and provides immediate feedback to process engineers 3 High-efficiency process inspection provides defect repair recommendations, reduces damage rate, and improves the strength and quality of composite materials The application of AI technology can optimize the yacht manufacturing process, reduce manual inspection, create added value through the application of AI in Taiwanrsquos yacht industry, increase international purchase orders, and allow Taiwan yachts to continue to enjoy a good reputation in the world Furthermore, this business model has also spread to fields of application related to composite materials, increasing cross-sector market usage It is estimated to contribute approximately NT14 to NT2 billion in economic benefits to Taiwan's equipment maintenance and non-destructive testing market

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[2023 Case Study] AI Steps into Philanthropy: Stylish Tech at Food Banks

Taiwan Food Bank AssociationHereinafter referred to as 'the Association'With the mission of providing food aid, poverty relief, reducing food waste, and building a hunger-free network, there are locations across Taiwan that gather donations from wholesalers, intermediaries, retailers, manufacturers, and even generous individuals These sites also rescue food that would otherwise be discarded, properly allocate and distribute it to needy households, thus aiding local vulnerable families55Food banks at various locations collect daily donations from wholesale stores, intermediaries, retailers, manufacturers, and even benevolent individuals from all over Taiwan These places also rescue about-to-be-discarded edible materials, properly sort them, and distribute to needy households, assisting local vulnerable populations However, each location requires significant human and volunteer resources to manage daily operations using traditional methods of communication with non-profit organizations and donors After receiving donations, these resources are then allocated to needy families or individuals There is a potential issue of uneven distribution of resources due to a lack of digitalization and integrated information management in these processes Warehouse and Transportation Centers and Mini Food Banks Distributing Resources to the Disadvantaged The location under validation by the Kaohsiung Charitable Organizations Association,Hereinafter referred to as 'Kaohsiung Charity' In109year6month24Officially inaugurated Taiwan's first 'Food Bank-Warehouse and Transportation Center' at a location measuring200square meters, enhancing the efficiency of food resource redistribution, proper storage, and management So far, nearly two hundred tons of vegetables and fruits have been saved, serving over a hundred organizations and benefiting over5thousand vulnerable households, and continues to serve19mini food banks, with planned completion across multiple districts in Kaohsiung, distributing food resources to over10ten thousand vulnerable families Kaohsiung Charity 'Food Bank-Warehouse and Transportation Center' in the Dasha Community Photo Source Kaohsiung Charitable Organizations Association Challenges in Labor and Food Resource Management Facing the needs of a large number of economically disadvantaged families, the management of the 'Food Bank-Warehouse and Transportation Center' is particularly critical During procurement, tasks such as sorting, purging, and bookkeeping must be performed, while during shipment, food resource needs suggested by social workers must be followed These activities rely on manual judgment and accumulated experience Many volunteers involved are elderly and have limited physical strength, making warehouse tasks physically demanding and recruitment challenging If a large batch of food resources arrives, space and manpower are consumed in sorting and inventory management, raising concerns about the effective use of resources and turnover rate This highlights the challenge of scaling up food bank services while lacking corresponding labor and material management systems At the same time, food bank resources come from various donations, thus they vary greatly in type, shelf life, standards, and quantity Volunteers at mini food banks, mostly also elderly, must handle multiple responsibilities such as case services, food resource management,resource allocation, and resource development Sometimes they must also explain and accept immediate, large quantities of specific resources, such as adults receiving baby formula 'Food Bank-Warehouse and Transportation Center' Resource Inventory Relies Entirely on Manual Labor Mini Food Bank Volunteers Handle Multiple Responsibilities Photo Source Taiwan Food Bank Association Reducing Scrap Resources60 Increasing Speed of Resource Transfer80 To enhance resource management and ensure effective use of materials, and to address personnel shortages, this field validation case has introduced 'Food Bank Warehouse Resource CollectionAITo advance resource management, ensure effective use of resources, and solve manpower shortages, this validation site has implemented an 'Automated Early Warning Needs Assessment System' for the food bank's warehouse resource gathering The first part involves building a classification model, setting up and collecting warehouse information at the site, andAItraining the model Past sitewarehouse information is collected and stored in a database, allowingAIfor preprocessing, classification, and other tasks At the same time, depending on the dependency conditions of the types of goods as features, algorithms are introduced for computation and modeling, and the data collected is used for retraining, ultimately validating the field and organizing data for the five most common types of goods into training and test datasets as required The second part involves constructing the classification model using AI techniques further use of reinforcement learning constructs the management mechanism for the food bank's warehouse, perfecting the classification of donated goodsRNNTechnical construction of classification models further use of reinforcement learning constructs food bank warehouse management mechanisms, making the classification of donated goods perfectlike white rice, instant drinks, noodles, instant noodles, and canned goodscan then be automatically assigned storage based on storage assignment principles AI Service System Process and Description Source Taiwan Food Bank Association AtAIUnder forecasts, it can optimize the speed of resource transfer and allocation, effectively and accurately match resource donations reducing the loss in the donation process, increase the accuracy of resource distribution, and improve the service rate—the successful donation rate—reducing the waste of resources due to incorrect items, and enabling instant monitoring of food resource stock, ensuring operators can respond quickly to needs, effectively providing resource assistance WithAIthe system's introduction and the establishment of data intelligence, it helps the operations of the warehouse and transportation center, allowing more time for the allocation of donated goods The introduction aims to accelerate the digital service rollout for social welfare organizations, thoroughly addressing the needs of the overall vulnerable segments of society Using the system for resource allocation and dispatching Photo Source Kaohsiung Charitable Organizations Association Following this field validation, it is possible to expand the system to other food bank service pointsAIThe system can also collaborate with more non-profit organizations, public welfare groups, and charitable organizations, expanding 'Food Bank Warehouse Resource CollectionAIAutomated Early Warning Demand Assessment System' application range such as medical supply distribution, helping more organizations manage and distribute more intelligently, reducing resource wastage, and enhancing social welfare 「Translated content is generated by ChatGPT and is for reference only Translation date:2024-12-12」

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CCTV Intelligent Video Search System

Search for a specific person, find someone with a suitcase entering the factory in Gao'an area Color features of the person and the object confirmed, person in blue and black top, suitcase in black color, throughCCTV the intelligent video search system, by setting object and color retrieval conditions, it can successfully locate three video clips containing the target subject This greatly aids operational staff in finding the target items, and through this system, search speed can far surpass manual effort6fold Pain Points The CSE-Kaohsiung Plant is densely equippedCCTVto monitor every corner of the plant area, but when an incidenthappens, it's impossible within a limited time throughCCTVvideo playback to find the incident, the implications and risks behind this are self-evident Many areas that are usually unmanned can easily become security blind spots Thus, how to monitor a vast plant area more intelligently and effectively is one of the crucial aspects of building a smart plant for the semiconductor industry The AES Plant in Kaohsiung covers a vast area, with many important sites requiring monitoring of personnel movements to ensure corporate secrets and employee safety 1 Automated production lines and warehouses In semiconductor enterprises’ automated production lines and warehouses, oftenAGV(Automated Guided VehicleAGVs automated guided vehicles travel at high speeds if plant personnel inadvertently enterAGVthe moving area and cannot issue a warning to the person, then the regrettable accidents that occur will be too late to reverse 2 Material and product storage areas Materials used in semiconductor-related processes are costly if areas storing materials or products are breached, there is a risk of loss of high-value materialsproducts 3 High-security areas Trade secrets relate to the core technological competitiveness of semiconductor-related enterprises if someone breaches the high-security areas, there is a risk of corporate secrets being leaked The safety of trade secrets has always been one of the most critical issues for semiconductor enterprises 4 Loading docks At AESLButthe dock area often has loading vehicles coming and going if someone intrudes into the dock area, there is a risk of vehicle collisions and accidents Additionally, goods awaiting shipment at the dock area could be stolen or potentially damaged from collisions, thus causing significant reputation and financial losses for the company, further leading to production and shipping inconvenience When an abnormal event occurs, how to quickly search for the relevant key footage from massive data Many important locations within the AES Kaohsiung Plant need to be equippedCCTVfor safety checks, butCCTVWith thousands to tens of thousands of cameras, manually searching through footage for an event requires laborious frame-by-frame review which is time-consuming and inefficient In light of advancements in computer vision, it's beneficial to utilizeAIto replace manual playback and searching Problem Scenario Object Detection The data source for object detection comprises two parts Open-source datasetsOIDv4and AES Kaohsiung PlantCCTVImage files For these files, search for usable data, specificallyOIDv4image files For these files, extract the defined nine major categories of objects for training data among them, two object categories, knives and gasoline barrels, were not found inOIDv4found usable data for knives and gasoline barrels, while the remaining seven categories of objects are available fromOIDv4useful training data found for the remaining seven categories of objects, all marked Regarding the Kaohsiung PlantCCTVimage files, select some frames Frame of the footage, and manually annotate the objects to be_detected for training and testing data Nine Major Objects Color Recognition The data source for color recognition is divided into two partsInternet image screenshots, and Kaohsiung PlantCCTVimage files Currently, no publicly available open-source datasets specifically for color recognition applications have been found, so images are collected from the web Search the web for images of the defined nine major object categories, save the images after separating the objects from the background, keeping only the object sections, and mark the images according to color Additionally, for the Kaohsiung PlantCCTVimage files, use the already-markedbounding boxextractCCTVimage files from variousFramesections of objects identified by color, and finally, visually identifiable images are marked according to color Each object category has its specific color definition, depending on the usual colors seen in these objects in real life Dynamic Ignore during Training FromOIDv4during the training of the object detection pilot model, since each image in this dataset is only marked for a single category, but the image may contain other desired detection categories unmarked For such cases, dynamic ignore techniques will be employed during training to avoid confusion Next, use the extracted training data from the Kaohsiung Plant toFine-Tuneenhance the detection rate of the object in specific designated areas Finally, select the model that computes the lowest loss value in the test set during the training process as the main object_detection model Dynamic Ignoring AIHelp You View CCTV The intelligent video search system primarily serves as an assistive system for searching surveillance footage, capable of speeding up the process of finding target events by setting search conditions for objects By simply defining the search conditions, you can quickly produce thumbnails of critical objects and playback for review, shortening the time required for manual case retrieval of the past The search time is quickly6doubled, allowing the front-end security unit to use this platform to strengthen the first line of risk management supervision and take timely preventive measures 「Translated content is generated by ChatGPT and is for reference only Translation date:2024-12-12」