An innovative machine for automated cutting of fish

Summary form only given. This paper presents an innovative machine for fish cutting. The new machine does not possess many of the shortcomings of the Iron Butcher which is commonly used in the industry for head removal of fish. The machine uses a double-bladed rotary cutter, arranged in a V-configuration and driven by 3-phase induction motors, in order to improve the recovery of fish meat. Also, two servomotors have been used for positioning of the cutter with respect to a fish. An imaging system senses each fish and generates the desired cutting location, and positions the cutter accordingly. An ultrasonic sensor senses the thickness of each fish, and positions a delivery platform using this information. In addition to sensing the cutter loads, conveyor motion, and the performance of the servo systems, a secondary imaging system has been incorporated at the product-exit end of the machine to determine the cutting quality. This information is preprocessed on line and used in a knowledge-based supervisory control system, which is able to make the necessary adjustments in the machine if the performance is unacceptable.