Feature extraction of non-uniform food products using RGB and RGB-D data combined with shape models

This research paper investigates a new 3D handling process in food industry: bin picking. Machines only function effectively when the input of product is physically well organised, well structured, and consistent. At many stages in a typical production line, foodstuffs are physically arranged as they move through a machine or equipment, however, this order is then lost again as products are ejected onto conveyors, bulked together into bins for transport, taken off-line for chilled storage. Bin picking is generally not solved for manufacturing parts. Unlike food ordering processes such as pick and place operations, vibratory feeders etc., this food handling operation has not been applied to food industry neither. A new approach is presented using the Microsoft KinectTM sensor and Active Shape Models. By combining the new device that obtains an RGB and RGB-D image and the flexible shape model, it is possible to identify non-uniform food products that have a high variation in shape. The methodology of this system is presented. The experiments show the achievability of this new system

Development of in-vitro mouth methods for studying oral phenomena

Manufacturers are under pressure to reformulate products to make healthier foods, without changing desirability or flavour. A better understanding of product breakdown under oral conditions is essential to structure novel products which are healthier without consumers noticing. In-vitro methods were developed to explore product behaviour when subject to a range of phenomena relevant to those in the mouth, with particular emphasis on lubrication behaviour. Polysaccharides common in food products were mainly used as model systems and salt release was studied in some systems. Three in-vitro systems were developed and used in this study. Firstly, a stirred vessel was developed to gather data of salt release from gelatin, gellan and alginate systems, under quiescent conditions. This was a reliable method of tracking diffusion of sodium ions through the gel structures into a surrounding liquid, showing that diffusion was unaffected by the differing structure of the gels. The second system introduced the effect of compression. Only when pressures are sufficient to rupture the gel samples did compressions affect salt release over that observed in the stirred vessel study. Samples released the majority of their contained salt up to nine times faster, as a result of greater surface areas being exposed. Finally, tribology equipment was developed, which explores the thin film, high shear behaviour of materials. An exploration of available equipment, processing parameters and configurations was carried out to determine optimum surfaces, normal forces and speed ranges which could be related to phenomena occurring in the mouth. The lubricating properties of inhomogeneous polysaccharides with different physical properties were studied. The mixing behaviour of the polysaccharide greatly affected the lubrication response; some mixed quickly so lubricated more efficiently and vice versa. Finally, the developed tribology equipment was used to study the ordering process of a series of fluid gel samples, indicating that lubrication tracks the ordering process, with a decrease in lubrication when structure forms. The pattern of this response is a result of polysaccharide and salt content of the materials, with increasing content enhancing the change in lubrication experienced as more rigid gel particles are produced. The work presented in this thesis shows that the use of in-vitro methods can provide repeatable information on structure behaviour under conditions relevant to the mouth. This information could then be used to develop and assess future food products for their expected performance when consumed

The Talking Heads experiment: Origins of words and meanings

The Talking Heads Experiment, conducted in the years 1999-2001, was the first large-scale experiment in which open populations of situated embodied agents created for the first time ever a new shared vocabulary by playing language games about real world scenes in front of them. The agents could teleport to different physical sites in the world through the Internet. Sites, in Antwerp, Brussels, Paris, Tokyo, London, Cambridge and several other locations were linked into the network. Humans could interact with the robotic agents either on site or remotely through the Internet and thus influence the evolving ontologies and languages of the artificial agents. The present book describes in detail the motivation, the cognitive mechanisms used by the agents, the various installations of the Talking Heads, the experimental results that were obtained, and the interaction with humans. It also provides a perspective on what happened in the field after these initial groundbreaking experiments. The book is invaluable reading for anyone interested in the history of agent-based models of language evolution and the future of Artificial Intelligence

The Talking Heads experiment: Origins of words and meanings

The Talking Heads Experiment, conducted in the years 1999-2001, was the first large-scale experiment in which open populations of situated embodied agents created for the first time ever a new shared vocabulary by playing language games about real world scenes in front of them. The agents could teleport to different physical sites in the world through the Internet. Sites, in Antwerp, Brussels, Paris, Tokyo, London, Cambridge and several other locations were linked into the network. Humans could interact with the robotic agents either on site or remotely through the Internet and thus influence the evolving ontologies and languages of the artificial agents. The present book describes in detail the motivation, the cognitive mechanisms used by the agents, the various installations of the Talking Heads, the experimental results that were obtained, and the interaction with humans. It also provides a perspective on what happened in the field after these initial groundbreaking experiments. The book is invaluable reading for anyone interested in the history of agent-based models of language evolution and the future of Artificial Intelligence

The Talking Heads experiment: Origins of words and meanings

The Talking Heads Experiment, conducted in the years 1999-2001, was the first large-scale experiment in which open populations of situated embodied agents created for the first time ever a new shared vocabulary by playing language games about real world scenes in front of them. The agents could teleport to different physical sites in the world through the Internet. Sites, in Antwerp, Brussels, Paris, Tokyo, London, Cambridge and several other locations were linked into the network. Humans could interact with the robotic agents either on site or remotely through the Internet and thus influence the evolving ontologies and languages of the artificial agents. The present book describes in detail the motivation, the cognitive mechanisms used by the agents, the various installations of the Talking Heads, the experimental results that were obtained, and the interaction with humans. It also provides a perspective on what happened in the field after these initial groundbreaking experiments. The book is invaluable reading for anyone interested in the history of agent-based models of language evolution and the future of Artificial Intelligence

The Talking Heads experiment: Origins of words and meanings

The Talking Heads Experiment, conducted in the years 1999-2001, was the first large-scale experiment in which open populations of situated embodied agents created for the first time ever a new shared vocabulary by playing language games about real world scenes in front of them. The agents could teleport to different physical sites in the world through the Internet. Sites, in Antwerp, Brussels, Paris, Tokyo, London, Cambridge and several other locations were linked into the network. Humans could interact with the robotic agents either on site or remotely through the Internet and thus influence the evolving ontologies and languages of the artificial agents. The present book describes in detail the motivation, the cognitive mechanisms used by the agents, the various installations of the Talking Heads, the experimental results that were obtained, and the interaction with humans. It also provides a perspective on what happened in the field after these initial groundbreaking experiments. The book is invaluable reading for anyone interested in the history of agent-based models of language evolution and the future of Artificial Intelligence

The Talking Heads experiment: Origins of words and meanings

The Talking Heads Experiment, conducted in the years 1999-2001, was the first large-scale experiment in which open populations of situated embodied agents created for the first time ever a new shared vocabulary by playing language games about real world scenes in front of them. The agents could teleport to different physical sites in the world through the Internet. Sites, in Antwerp, Brussels, Paris, Tokyo, London, Cambridge and several other locations were linked into the network. Humans could interact with the robotic agents either on site or remotely through the Internet and thus influence the evolving ontologies and languages of the artificial agents. The present book describes in detail the motivation, the cognitive mechanisms used by the agents, the various installations of the Talking Heads, the experimental results that were obtained, and the interaction with humans. It also provides a perspective on what happened in the field after these initial groundbreaking experiments. The book is invaluable reading for anyone interested in the history of agent-based models of language evolution and the future of Artificial Intelligence