Depth Camera Sex Identification for Slaughter Pigs
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current methods for determining the sex of slaughter pigs are either costly and time-consuming, particularly when trying to exclude the undesirable boar scent, or require high personnel effort and are unreliable due to race-specific physical dimensions and fat levels.
Innovation Solution
A device using a depth camera and analysis unit to capture and classify the phenotypic sex of slaughter pigs in real-time, allowing for automatic, efficient, and cost-effective sex determination by capturing spatial coordinates and forming 3D images of the genital region, without the need for additional lighting or background panels, and enabling in-line and real-time processing.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If manual sex determination is performed by personnel, then the sex of slaughter pigs can be determined, but high personnel effort and costs are required
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces the manual mechanical inspection method with an automated optical measurement system. A depth camera captures three-dimensional images of the genital region, and an analysis unit automatically processes the spatial coordinates to determine phenotypic sex, eliminating the need for manual personnel intervention while maintaining determination accuracy.
Solution Approach 2:
The system enables self-service sex determination through automated image capture and analysis. The depth camera automatically captures images as pigs pass through the monitoring station, and the analysis unit independently processes the data to classify phenotypic sex, making the system autonomous without requiring human operators.
2Productivity
If optical capture methods based on physical dimensions are used, then sex determination can be performed, but uncertainty arises due to race-specific scattering of physical dimensions
Solution Approach 1:
The patent transitions from two-dimensional image capture to three-dimensional spatial coordinate capture using a depth camera. By obtaining depth information (z-coordinate) in addition to x and y coordinates, the system creates true 3D models of the genital region, enabling more reliable phenotypic sex classification that is independent of race-specific variations in physical dimensions.
Solution Approach 2:
The system changes the measurement parameters from conventional two-dimensional physical dimensions to three-dimensional spatial coordinates including depth. This parameter expansion allows the analysis unit to capture the volumetric characteristics of genital features, providing more discriminative power for sex determination across different pig breeds.
3Object-affected harmful factors
If odor ascertainment is performed on all slaughter pigs, then boar scent can be excluded, but the process becomes technically complex and costly
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary phenotypic sex determination before slaughter using automated depth camera imaging and 3D analysis. By identifying intact males (boars) based on genital region morphology prior to processing, the system enables proactive separation and handling of animals that may produce boar scent, avoiding the need for complex post-slaughter odor detection and testing.
Data Source
AI summary
The invention relates to a device for optically identifying the sex of a slaughter pig with a depth camera that has a depth camera acquisition region in which a genital region of the pig and spatial coordinates of pixels are acquired. The spatial coordinates are provided in a transmittable manner and include a positioning device to position the depth camera relative to the genital region of the pig. The device includes an evaluation unit connected to the depth camera. The spatial coordinates are acquired by the evaluation unit to determine a phenotypic sex of the pig.