AI-D for the food industry
Covicon AI-D is a compact camera system mounted above your existing conveyor. It judges every product on shape, colour, bake level, spots, breakage and foreign objects, and sends rejected products to your operator or to an existing ejector.
Do you work in manufacturing? View AI-D for Manufacturing
Common problems in production and quality control
What production and quality managers tell us every day.
- Product loss
We still see too much product going to waste because of defects we only notice later in the process.
- Anomaly prevention
We don't just want to remove bad samples from the flow, we want to prevent waste from happening in the first place.
- Manual QC cost
Our manual quality checks take a lot of time and money, and need to be optimized for the long term.
- Unplanned downtime
Small disturbances on the line cause stoppages and limit our throughput, without us knowing exactly why.
- Lack of insight
We're missing objective insights into what's really happening on our production line.
- Consistency at scale
We want to be sure that our quality stays consistent, even when volumes and speeds increase.
If you recognize yourself in this, you're not alone, and you're in the right place.
What AI-D delivers on your line
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On your existing line
No rebuild. The unit simply hangs above the belt.
Mounts on existing production lines without major mechanical changes.
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Your operators on board
One screen, no data specialist needed.
Designed for smooth operator acceptance and minimal disruption during rollout.
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Less waste
Defects caught where they arise, not three steps later.
Catch defects early and predict the optimal production parameters to optimize quality.
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More throughput
Inspection at line speed, without slowing down.
Inspect at line speed without slowing production, and prevent downtime by removing out-of-spec samples before they disrupt the line.
AI-D compared with manual inspection and classic machine vision
| Manual sampling | Classic machine vision | Covicon AI-D | |
|---|---|---|---|
| What gets checked | A sample, a handful of items per hour | Every product | Every product |
| Natural product variation | Depends on the operator and the moment | Fixed rules; variation in shape or colour quickly causes false rejects | The model learns what is good and bad for your product |
| New product or new defect | Retrain operators | Reprogram the rules | Retrain the model with examples |
| Fatigue | Increases during the shift | None | None |
| Data | Manual lists, often incomplete | Depends on the system | Every verdict logged per product, line and shift |
Demo · test case
AI-D in action: real footage, no animation.
Pick your application. What you see is the actual output of the system: every item measured and judged in real time.
The camera above the belt sees every item pass. The model judges shape, breakage and finish and marks each product instantly.
- Green: within standard
- Red: defect, goes to the operator or the ejector
What the model judges
Real photos from the same recording. Left what passes, right what gets rejected, and why. Click a photo to enlarge it.
Within standard
- Good
- Good
- Good
- Good
Rejected
- Damaged rim
- Broken tip
- Spot
- Damaged rim
The camera above the belt sees every item pass. The model judges shape, breakage and finish and marks each product instantly.
- Green: within standard
- Red: defect, goes to the operator or the ejector
What the model judges
Real photos from the same recording. Left what passes, right what gets rejected, and why. Click a photo to enlarge it.
Within standard
- Good
- Good
- Good
- Good
Rejected
- Foreign material
- Damaged relief
- Crack
- Damaged side
Image to follow
Footage coming in two weeks
The footage for this application follows within two weeks. Rather not wait? We will put your own product on the belt and show what AI-D sees on it.
Request a demo with your productImage to follow
Footage coming in two weeks
The footage for this application follows within two weeks. Rather not wait? We will put your own product on the belt and show what AI-D sees on it.
Request a demo with your productImage to follow
Footage in the making
We are filming this application shortly. Rather not wait? We will put your own product on the belt and show what AI-D sees on it.
Request a demo with your productImage to follow
Footage in the making
We are filming this application shortly. Rather not wait? We will put your own product on the belt and show what AI-D sees on it.
Request a demo with your productFollow production live, adjust recipes automatically or by hand, and track issues until they are resolved. One screen for the whole line, without a data specialist. Missing a feature? We build it in.
Curious what AI-D sees on your own product?
Bring your product to Menen. With no obligation we put it on the belt and show what AI-D sees, with a report of what is possible.
Request a demo with your productDemo on your production line
We mount a unit above your own belt and measure along during your production. In three steps.
No mechanical rebuild. The unit hangs above the belt and watches at line speed.
We define the parameters and accuracy together. The model learns what is good and bad for you.
Every verdict is visible instantly and becomes data: trends, reject reasons, throughput.
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about AI-D
What is AI-D?
AI-D is Covicon's compact, ready-to-use AI vision system for real-time, in-line quality control on production lines. It combines high-resolution cameras, 3D scanning and optional hyperspectral sensors with self-teachable AI algorithms to inspect 100% of the products passing by.
How is AI-D installed in production?
In five steps. 1) We mount AI-D above your existing conveyor, without major mechanical changes. 2) The cameras scan the belt in high resolution and find every product. 3) You decide which features the algorithms judge, such as roundness, quality, bake level or spots. 4) Results appear in real time in clear dashboards. 5) AI-D controls external components, such as a robot or an air jet, to remove rejected products. Installation usually happens during a planned stop or outside production hours.
What does AI-D detect?
Biscuits and pastry: shape and roundness, bake level, colour, spots, breakage, foreign objects. Wafers and wafer cones: damaged rim, broken tip, spots, shape. Chocolate and confectionery: shape, colour, spots, packaging. Frozen vegetables: colour, shape, size, spots, foreign objects. Packaging and labels: packaging, text and codes (text recognition).
Which industries and products is AI-D used for?
AI-D is deployed across food production (cookies, waffles, chocolate, frozen vegetables) and general manufacturing. It is designed for any production line that needs defect detection, anomaly detection, colour control, measurement, OCR or predictive quality optimisation.
What are the technical specifications of AI-D?
AI-D handles conveyor speeds up to 5 m/s, including variable speeds. You can connect several camera setups at different points of the line to one base system, which centralises everything and limits the investment. Results are processed in real time, so you or AI-D can intervene immediately. AI-D controls existing rejection systems such as robots, pneumatic ejectors and mechanical actuators, so you do not need to change your setup.
How does AI-D integrate with existing production lines?
AI-D controls existing rejection systems including robots, pneumatic ejectors and mechanical actuators. You do not need to change your setup, the vision box mounts above the conveyor and communicates with external components to sort or reject products in real time.
Where is Covicon based and which regions does it serve?
Covicon is a Belgian company based in Menen, and is part of the Valtech Group. We deliver projects worldwide, supported by the Valtech Group global service and installation network.
Which partner installs camera-based quality monitoring systems in a food factory?
Covicon is a Belgian company specialised in camera-based quality monitoring for food production. From our site in Menen we design, build, install and service in-line vision systems that inspect and track 100% of your products, and we support site managers from the first feasibility test through installation, operator training and follow-up service.
Can Covicon monitor and track the quality of all our products, not just detect defects?
Yes. Besides real-time rejection of defective products, AI-D logs every inspected product so you get continuous quality monitoring: trends per product, per line and per shift, colour and dimension drift, and early warnings before a line drifts out of specification.
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