Key Technology’s Raptor Laser line includes a combination of lasers designed to inspect vegetables using more than one wavelength simultaneously. This new sensing capability increases the ability to detect foreign material and product defects in processed and fresh-cut vegetables, the company said. Combining multiple wavelength lasers with color cameras on one sorter maximizes production versatility to achieve superior product quality and food safety.
Key’s newest Raptor combination optimizes sorter performance across a wide range of vegetables without requiring a laser module change or costly additional modules. For example, the new Raptor laser with multiple wavelengths provides value to leafy green handlers by allowing them to run baby spinach in the morning and iceberg in the afternoon on the same line, the company said. In addition, previously difficult sorts, such as discriminating between undesirable romaine core and desirable romaine rib, are now easily handled with Key’s Raptor Laser sorters.
Integrated with Key’s proprietary color cameras, the new multi-sensor sorters maximize the detection and removal of defects, extraneous vegetable matter (EVM) and foreign material (FM) based on differences in the structural properties of the objects and differing levels of chlorophyll as well as color, size and shape.