Grainswest - Tech 2024

Tech 2024 grainswest.com 37 Nectar began the launch of BeeTrack’s AI enhancements in January with a feature that predicts hive survival over winter. It will continue to incorporate additional AI capabilities as they are developed. A WINNER IN THE SHELL GAME Now used in satellite crop analysis, hyperspectral imaging is a photographic process that captures the visible and invisible aspects of the light spectrum, including infrared. More than 15 years ago, food engineer Michael Ngadi suspected it could be used in food quality assessment and began to experiment with a hyperspectral camera. In a literal lightbulb revelation, Ngadi realized it could be used in chicken hatcheries. As a McGill University professor and CEO of MatrixSpec Solutions, he has developed the idea with the addition of AI and assistance from CAAIN. He and his team worked with an industrial design company to create a special lightbulb to illuminate the eggs for the camera. This Hyper-Eye system can assess an egg’s physical and chemical composition. “You can collect humongous data about the egg,” said Ngadi. “We train the computer to recognize and assess that data.” In hatchery operations it can determine the quality, fertility and gender of a pre-incubated egg. The innovation has huge implications for hatcheries, as they require only female birds. To cull male eggs rather than day-old chicks would eliminate 21 days of incubation time and euthanasia of these birds. Worldwide, approximately seven billion chicks are destroyed annually. The Hyper-Eye system can save energy and expense and have a positive impact on the environment, said Ngadi. “Every day we come in to work excited to be part of this solution to a worldwide problem.” Staffing is the downside of working at the cutting edge of AI, said Ngadi. MatrixSpec has drawn from McGill and the University of Montreal, which constitute a hub of AI activity. However, he noted many Canadian AI professionals do not operate in the ag and food space, and the industry competes for talent with Google, Amazon and the aerospace sector. The Hyper-Eye is now undergoing intensive laboratory testing that will be followed by pilot testing in hatcheries. Ngadi predicts it will be marketable in a year or two. COOLED TO PERFECTION An agrifood professional with expertise in finance, meat science and process engineering, Cameron Bergen spent three years assisting in the construction of a state-of-the-art, commercial food production facility. The project demanded intense, technological problem-solving and inspired him to help more food industry companies reinvent and streamline their processes. In 2020, he co-founded mode40, which develops high-tech manufacturing processes and technological operating solutions for agri-food clients. Bergen and his workmates identified problems they could potentially solve and found a glaring example in the meat processing industry. Carcass cooling has traditionally been lightly managed owing to general manpower scarcity in the food and beverage sector and the high cost of custom-built equipment. With help from CAAIN, mode40 is developing the Meat Quality Management (MQM) system, which uses AI to produce recommendations for real-time management of carcass cooling. The system’s sensor array collects multiple data points on conditions within the cooler. It correlates with carcass weight to produce handling recommendations. The novel system is intended to improve meat quality, cutability and food safety. Bergen believes it will also produce cost savings and increased profit without the need for costly infrastructure investment. “The data collection, mathematics and thermodynamics issues are complex, but once those are solved, it’s easy to rinse, lather, repeat,” said Bergen. Proven to work in carcass cooling, the framework should apply to numerous similar processes such as cooking, marinating, slicing and smoking of meat products. He emphasized AI-based tools such as MQM are not the stuff of an imagined future. “AI is solving real-world problems today.” The system is now being validated in 10 meat plants in Canada and the U.S. Bergen is confident this pilot stage will prove it suitable for small-scale abattoirs and scalable for large facilities. The Hyper-Eye system created by MatrixSpec Solutions uses hyperspectral imaging and AI to determine egg gender and quality. Photo:CourtesyofMatrixSpecSolutions