MEAT+POULTRY - November 2024 - 34

CONFERENCE RECAP
CONFERENCE RECAP
Colin Usher, senior research
scientist at GTRI, showcased
a robot for chicken houses
that is not harmful to
the chickens and has the
potential to lessen the need
for human labor, as well
as provide valuable data.
responsible for a series or range of processing.
Flexibility allows increases in capacity by
increasing the number of cells depending on
the necessary capacity required.
The recognition unit identifies and classifies
the primal and communicates the necessary
information and work type to the robots. It
contains an X-ray, 3D scanner and detects
feature points of the primal and processes
through AI. Each CELLDAS unit consists
of programmable equipment including a 3D
scanner, multiple robot arms with tools such as
a knife, a chuck, etc., and a conveyor to move
raw materials through. Through collaborative
development with Chiba University, each cell
incorporates collision avoidance technology to
ensure robotic arms do not interfere with one
another during processing.
Mayekawa sees a future in which large
plants incorporate multiple robotic CELLDAS
systems where the processing floor operates
a line to remove the tail and hipbone, with
applications beyond that to include hock leg,
shank leg, belly ribs and the forequarter.
" More applications can be realized by
changing programs and effect, and this
technology was developed for CELLDAS but,
we believe that we can adapt such technologies
for several applications, " Hattori said.
Ai-Ping-Hu, researcher at the Georgia Tech
Research Institute (GTRI), continues to work
on automated poultry deboning. He described
the difficulties, such as the way humans excel
in the deboning process compared to any
34 MEAT+POULTRY | 11.24 | www.meatpoultry.com
currently available automation and robotic
technologies, but he believes the research on
automated deboning is promising, yet still in
the future. One promising concept is based on
Leonardo DaVinci's drawing, " Vitruvian Man. "
The research works on the problem with the
theory that if one knew several key dimensions
of a body you could predict height, weight, etc.
Ping-Hu uses " stereo " cameras (two
cameras side by side) and gets two images that
are slightly different. From there, researchers
can reconstruct 3D information to use with a
robot. The knife on the robot will cut the bird
in a way that yields the most value.
" Like a human, there's ball-and-socket
joint, " Ping-Hu said. " The shoulder joint is
essentially several bones meeting at a juncture,
and then there are ligaments and tendons
holding them together, and what we're trying to
do is just basically separate those tendons, to
be able to separate those bones and to be able
to remove the wings and also the breast meat
from the carcass. "
CHICKEN HOUSE ROBOT
Commercial chicken production houses present
a number of challenges to operators. Thousands
of chickens require intensive labor daily and
turnover can be high. Issues such as equipment
assessment, the removal of floor eggs, quality
analysis and cross-contamination need constant
attention. Senior research scientist, Colin Usher,
at GTRI, suggested robotics could hold a place
in future chicken house labor.
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MEAT+POULTRY - November 2024

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