Patent ID: 9091623
Filing Date: 2015-07-28
Classification: G01N,G06K,G06T

Abstract:
1. A method for determining characteristics for a plurality of preferred small fungible products in a volume of objects, comprising: defining an acceptable product size range and an average product size, said average product size having an average product size horizontal area; defining an acceptable morphologically eroded and dilated product area range; obtaining a monolayer sample of said volume; recording an original image, said first image including an image of said monolayer sample of said volume; generating a first alteration of the original image by morphologically eroding said original image until substantially all of said objects above said acceptable product size range appear separated; generating a second alteration of the original image by morphologically dilating said first alteration of the original image until nearly constituent with said original image, said second alteration of the original image containing a eroded-dilated image of each of said plurality of said preferred small fungible products; identifying a preliminary boundary about each said eroded-dilated image of each of said plurality of said preferred small fungible products in said second alteration of the original image; generating a third alteration of the original image by altering said intensity of said each pixel of said plurality of pixels to an altered intensity within said first intensity range by reducing said first intensity range to a second intensity range; generating a fourth alteration of the original image by reducing said altered intensity of said each pixel of said plurality of pixels in said third alteration of the original image to a reduced intensity of said each pixel of said plurality of pixels within said second intensity range; generating a fifth alteration of the original image by inverting said reduced intensity of said each pixel of said plurality of pixels within said second intensity range in said fifth alteration of the original image; defining a plurality of watershed boundaries in said fifth alteration of the original image by best fit connecting nearby said minima; generating a sixth alteration of the original image by reducing a variation of said inverted reduced intensity for said each pixel of said plurality of pixels in said fifth alteration of the original image between said each pixel of said plurality of pixels and an adjacent pixel of said plurality of pixels; identifying, using gradient analysis, an prospective product boundary for each said eroded-dilated image of each of said plurality of said preferred small fungible products found in said sixth alteration of the original image; identifying as an acceptable product boundary each said prospective product boundary within said acceptable morphologically eroded and dilated product area range not bisected by any one of said plurality of watershed boundaries; dividing any said prospective product boundary bisected by any one of said plurality of watershed boundaries into a first and a second adjusted product boundary along said any one of said plurality of watershed boundaries; characterizing as a cluster each said prospective product boundary not identified as said acceptable product boundary and not divided into said first and a second adjusted product boundary, said cluster having a cluster horizontal area; determining a likely cluster count for each said cluster by rounding to the nearest whole number a quotient of the division of said cluster horizontal area by said average product size horizontal area; and identifying a combined quantity of preferred small fungible products by the summation of a number of each said acceptable product boundary, a number of each said adjusted product boundary and a number of each said likely cluster count.