Inspection and Grading of Surface Defects of Fruits by Computer Vision

Computer vision is a rapid, consistent and objective inspection technique, which has expanded into many diverse industries. Its speed and accuracy provide one alternative for an automated, non-destructive and cost-effective technique to accomplish ever-increasing production and quality requirements. This method of inspection has found applications in the agricultural industry, including the inspection and grading of fruits. This paper provides an introduction to main defection and grading approaches of fruit external defects, including image processing and pattern recognition methods based on fruit two-dimensional (2D) and three-dimensional (3D) information, and hyperspectral and multispectral imaging. In addition, their advantages and disadvantages are also discussed.