International competition demands that European finished products, and Italian ones in particular, have an added value to justify the higher cost at which they are put on the market. Undoubtedly the introduction of new technology can offer the possibility of reducing costs, but it is unthinkable that we can become competitive with the Asians or Latin Americans in cost terms. The technology to be introduced must therefore aim to qualify the finished product by providing added value. The visual appearance is the fundamental value-giving characteristic of an ornamental rock and is what is sought by the customer. CEN standards and the technicians of the industry are very attentive to the physical mechanical characterisation of the finished product, but one wonders how often a consignment has been disputed because the specific weight or the compressive strength do not comply with what has been declared. One wonders whether a customer chooses a Carrara marble or a Chinese marble because they have different thermal shock resistances or different costs; whether a Brazilian Green has been preferred for a paving because of its frost-resistance or its aesthetic appearance. Still today product specifications (EN 12058) for defining a method for measuring the homogeneity of tiles do not use a “scientific”, impartial, objective method for evaluating such a complex characteristic as the visual appearance of a material and in fact EC marking ignores aesthetic quality. Image analysis, by means of a normal camera, a normal computer and appropriate software, may not be “satellite” technology or nanotechnology, but can provide a valid help to the stone industry, operationally, at a low cost and from all viewpoints: technical, economic and commercial. Some examples: the qualification of the finished product requires a series of tests to be carried out on samples and at given time intervals, e.g. every two years. Only two characteristics are checked on each batch of production: a) the geometric characteristics; b) the aesthetic characteristics. It is well known how these measurements are carried out. It is also well known what happens if a particularly demanding customer wants to check what he is buying. Here image analysis technology comes into play with automatic selection and the virtual warehouse. The possibility of measuring objective and other characteristics “of aesthetic assessment” is provided by methods of self-learning and definition of classes of variability, which have been illustrated for some time in scientific conferences. In fact the well-known labelling, “as this is a natural material, the finished product may have different colours/markings from the images shown here” could change to “as this is a natural material, the finished product supplied may have characteristics varying between a minimum and maximum of colour as thus defined”. There are already two experimental models in operation at the Verbano-Cusio-Ossola Stone Service Centre and at the University of Bologna, which by the use of a linear colour camera can offer the benefit of memorization of the image for commercial purposes (on-line sales, cataloguing) and for selection purposes in homogeneous classes specified by the user. The models are connected to a selector able to direct the materials onto three different conveyor belts for packing. The technology used has been established for years in other industries for product quality control (e.g. ceramic), while application in the stone industry must be considered as a value added to the material for the purposes of product certification, both on the customer assistance side (it is possible to view the entire lot on sale) and on the guarantee side of the product, which is assured as homogeneous for defined classes. Entering into detail, we shall examine the technical/economic/commercial advantages of the introduction of a system of on-line image analysis, on the production line of finished materials such as tiles or smal...
Analisi di immagine per la qualificazione del prodotto e l’incremento della competitività / Image Analysis to Qualify the Product and Increase its Competitiveness
BONDUA', STEFANO;BRUNO, ROBERTO;MARTORO, FRANCESCA
2009
Abstract
International competition demands that European finished products, and Italian ones in particular, have an added value to justify the higher cost at which they are put on the market. Undoubtedly the introduction of new technology can offer the possibility of reducing costs, but it is unthinkable that we can become competitive with the Asians or Latin Americans in cost terms. The technology to be introduced must therefore aim to qualify the finished product by providing added value. The visual appearance is the fundamental value-giving characteristic of an ornamental rock and is what is sought by the customer. CEN standards and the technicians of the industry are very attentive to the physical mechanical characterisation of the finished product, but one wonders how often a consignment has been disputed because the specific weight or the compressive strength do not comply with what has been declared. One wonders whether a customer chooses a Carrara marble or a Chinese marble because they have different thermal shock resistances or different costs; whether a Brazilian Green has been preferred for a paving because of its frost-resistance or its aesthetic appearance. Still today product specifications (EN 12058) for defining a method for measuring the homogeneity of tiles do not use a “scientific”, impartial, objective method for evaluating such a complex characteristic as the visual appearance of a material and in fact EC marking ignores aesthetic quality. Image analysis, by means of a normal camera, a normal computer and appropriate software, may not be “satellite” technology or nanotechnology, but can provide a valid help to the stone industry, operationally, at a low cost and from all viewpoints: technical, economic and commercial. Some examples: the qualification of the finished product requires a series of tests to be carried out on samples and at given time intervals, e.g. every two years. Only two characteristics are checked on each batch of production: a) the geometric characteristics; b) the aesthetic characteristics. It is well known how these measurements are carried out. It is also well known what happens if a particularly demanding customer wants to check what he is buying. Here image analysis technology comes into play with automatic selection and the virtual warehouse. The possibility of measuring objective and other characteristics “of aesthetic assessment” is provided by methods of self-learning and definition of classes of variability, which have been illustrated for some time in scientific conferences. In fact the well-known labelling, “as this is a natural material, the finished product may have different colours/markings from the images shown here” could change to “as this is a natural material, the finished product supplied may have characteristics varying between a minimum and maximum of colour as thus defined”. There are already two experimental models in operation at the Verbano-Cusio-Ossola Stone Service Centre and at the University of Bologna, which by the use of a linear colour camera can offer the benefit of memorization of the image for commercial purposes (on-line sales, cataloguing) and for selection purposes in homogeneous classes specified by the user. The models are connected to a selector able to direct the materials onto three different conveyor belts for packing. The technology used has been established for years in other industries for product quality control (e.g. ceramic), while application in the stone industry must be considered as a value added to the material for the purposes of product certification, both on the customer assistance side (it is possible to view the entire lot on sale) and on the guarantee side of the product, which is assured as homogeneous for defined classes. Entering into detail, we shall examine the technical/economic/commercial advantages of the introduction of a system of on-line image analysis, on the production line of finished materials such as tiles or smal...I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
