A new chapter in the revolution

Three years ago, Flikweert Vision launched the QualityGrader, developed from passion. This QualityGrader started a true revolution in optical sorting. At lightning speed, the Dutch seed potato sector opted for Flikweert Vision’s optical sorting machines. While the sorting of seed potatoes became automated, developments at Flikweert Vision continued apace to also sort onions with this technology. This too became a success, with the result that a large proportion of Dutch onion processors are now using the QualityGrader.

We strive for excellence
Striving for the best result is encrypted in the DNA of the Zeeland company. Add to that the fast-growing team that wants to accelerate and the passion of the three owners, and you have the right ingredients of an upscaling company that keeps raising the bar. The latest result of this is an upgrade capability for the number of cameras and computer power, which has greatly increased accuracy while increasing capacity.

Camera upgrade
“Our ambition with the QualityGrader is to eliminate 100% of the manual sorting work for potatoes and onions. With this upgrade, that ambition becomes a tangible reality”, says Martijn Flikweert, co-owner of Flikweert Vision. He continues: “The camera upgrade which means doubling the number of cameras is indispensable in this. The extra cameras mean that all products are captured by at least two cameras. This has the advantage that defects are always clearly visible, something that is not always the case when the product is only recorded from one view. Another advantage is that with the upgrade, the potatoes or onions are assessed not five but at least ten times. Doubling the number of cameras thus provides a significant improvement in quality assessment.”

Computing power upgrade doubles capacity
To process the increased data, additional computing power is required. As a separate module, we offer a computing power upgrade for this purpose. Through this computing power upgrade, the QualityGrader gets six times more computing power. This more than doubles the capacity and makes the QualityGrader ready for the future.

Further development
These upgrades create opportunities for further software development. According to Flikweert, the next step toward fully autonomous quality grading lies in this direction, Flikweert said. “We have recently been able to significantly expand our R&D team and therefore expect to continue making impactful advancements. Our ambition is no secret: We want to fully automate quality grading of potatoes and onions worldwide and will not stop until that goal is achieved.”

First customer experiences
The upgrades have been extensively tested and several customers are already working with the upgrades. One of these customers is Klaver Koeling in Kraggenburg. Jan Mussche of Klaver Koeling talks about his experience with the updated QualityGraders:

“Because of the clearly noticeable improvement in accuracy, we are convinced that this is the step in sorting potatoes without human labor. We would never want to go back to conventional grading. This is the future!”

Contact
The upgrades are available for both existing and new QualityGraders. Upgrades on existing machines are available now. These upgrades are available as an option on new machines, which are available starting now.