|
At the Georgia Tech Research Institute (GTRI), researchers
have developed a new process for baking the perfect sandwich bun. Their
production-line system automatically inspects the quality of buns as they come
out of the oven, and adjusts the oven temperature if the buns are deemed
unacceptable.
The research team worked with Flower Foods and Baking
Technology Systems to develop the process for producing buns that are
consistent in color, size, shape, and seed dispersion. Existing practices
required a human worker to remove and inspect a sample each hour, and manually
adjust the oven if the buns were too light or dark in color. Since an estimated
1,000 buns leave the production line each minute, there was a need for an
automated control system that would ensure rapid connections and consistent
results.
The system has been used by Flower Foods for the past year,
and has successfully inspected a variety of buns. As buns move through the
production line, an image is recorded by a digital camera and identified by
imaging software that automatically sends information regarding color, shape,
seed coverage, size, and contamination status to the oven controllers.
A prototype has already been displayed at the Baking
Industry Exposition in Las Vegas. The team hopes that the system will be
adopted for the quality control of other bakery products in the future.
Source: PhysOrg
| 
Re: Baking Better Buns
