AI-Enabled Inspection Boosts Quality for Frozen Pizza Manufacturer
Artificial intelligence (AI) continues to add value in new ways for a range of different industries, including food and beverage manufacturers. In response to consumer feedback, one leading frozen pizza manufacturer sought to improve overall efficiency and product quality through innovative automation technology, including AI and machine vision. Read more…
Issues Emerge with Manual Inspection Process
The manual process of topping pizzas resulted in inconsistent products due to inaccurate quantities and placement. To solve this problem, the company partnered with Oxipital AI to boost quality and efficiency with the OX1 AI-powered inspection station.
No-Code AI
Oxipital AI’s OX1 is an easy-to-use inspection station that provides high-speed, comprehensive visual inspection of variable objects in complex processing operations such as food processing. The system combines purpose-designed 3D RGB cameras packaged in food-grade IP69K enclosures with a sophisticated yet intuitive no-code software interface that eliminates the complexity of deploying AI for machine vision inspection out of the box.
A proprietary synthetic data-generation pipeline develops pretrained object models designed with deep object understanding to provide the highest degree of performance and flexibility, enabling them to maintain control of the operation through a robust set of no-code tools. This allows for the creation of human-readable rules, enabling rapid testing, iteration, and highly reliable deployments.
Intuitive Installation for Effective Inspection
The pizza manufacturer deployed OX1 as a pilot project in their operations in a process that took only one day without any disruption to the production line. For the pilot project, the system was installed at the end of the line to inspect individual pizzas and toppings through the plastic wrapping.
The pretrained object models enabled the pizza processor to get up and running quickly because they didn’t have to gather and label imagery. Additionally, the no-code tools from Oxipital AI allowed the manufacturer to digitally implement quality guidelines on the system while flexing to meet the needs of their customers.
Improved Quality + Reduced Costs = Expanded Implementation
After weeks of use, the system achieved significant savings per operating line with projected savings of more than $5,000 per month in operational expenses. Additionally, it minimized over-topping errors to enhance customer satisfaction while also improving cost-efficiency and overall product quality.
As a result of this success, this food processor implemented additional OX1 systems throughout its facility, reporting that the solution has been a game changer when it comes to delivering tangible economic benefits and operational improvements.
Additionally, by replacing two full-time quality control positions with a single OX1 system, the food processor projects a five-year savings of more than $300,000 on top of the reduction in operational expenses.
AI-enabled software is expanding machine vision capabilities and opening the door to applications where manual labor has been the norm. This is just one way that machine vision is helping food processors improve product quality through inspection and defect detection. Learn more about this application in this case study. Want to learn how the OX1 Vision Solution can improve your food processing operations?
See the power of AI-enabled inspection by contacting us.