External Defects and Soil Deposits Identification on Potato Tubers using 2CCD Camera and Principal Component Images

Precise recognition of potato external defects and the ability to identify defects and non-defect areas are in demand. Common scab represents a significant issue that requires detection, yet identifying the extent of common scab infection remains challenging when using a standard RGB camera. In this research, a 2CCD camera system that could obtain a set of RGB and near-infrared images, which could enhance defect detection, has been used. Image segmentation strategies based on a single principal component image and the principal component pseudo-colored image have been proposed to identify external potato defects while excluding soil deposits on the potato surface, often recognized as defects by the normal color machine vision system. Performance metrics calculation results show relatively good results, with segmentation true accuracy around 64% for both methods. Principal component pseudo-colored images were able to discriminate defects area and soil deposits in a single image. The methods presented in this paper could be used as the basis to develop further classification and grading algorithms.