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CURRENT PUBLICATIONS PoultryTech (ATRP)
- Automation Issue, Spring 2008 The
Food Chain (FoodPAC) - Spring 2008 UPCOMING EVENTSPoultry World International Poultry Exposition SPECIAL INTERESTGeorgia Tech's New Food Processing Technology Building Georgia Tech's state-of-the-art Food Processing Technology Building – more than 36,000 square feet of laboratory and office space dedicated to the development of new and emerging technologies for the food processing industry. Building Brochure Online or PDF 6.1 Mb Directions to the building : Word document Developing a Washable Robot for Poultry Processing Georgia Tech Research Horizons Magazine
Robots have begun to be deployed in many areas of food production, but their use for handling fresh meat has been hampered because such machines would also have to withstand cleaning with high-pressure water spray and corrosive sanitizing chemicals. At GTRI’s Food Processing Technology Division, research engineer Jonathan Holmes led a project to develop a robot that would pack fresh meat into trays, but with a design and construction able to withstand the harsh conditions created by routine washing in a way more consistent with how other equipment is cleaned.
Taking Aim at Preventing Worker Injuries Georgia Tech Research Horizons Magazine
Nearly 10 years ago, scientists from the Georgia Tech Research Institute (GTRI) collaborated with Georgia Tech’s School of Applied Physiology to create the Ergonomic Work Assessment System (EWAS) to track the positioning and arm movements of workers as they deboned poultry. The idea was to identify and then avoid the factors leading to repetitive-stress injuries. The improved EWAS, developed in cooperation with the poultry industry, provides a more accurate and detailed assessment by taking advantage of technology that wasn’t available in the ‘90s – namely position-tracking technology typically used to create computer animation.
Georgia Tech Research NewsManual RPM placement is not only risky for personnel, but it is also expensive and time-consuming. A typical RPM placement operation includes four vehicles and a six-person crew. All the vehicles must stop at each marker location, so there is tremendous wear on the equipment and increased fuel use. The Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT) believed there was a better way to do it and funded the Georgia Tech Research Institute (GTRI) to develop a first-of-its-kind system capable of automatically placing RPMs along the lane stripes while in motion.
A Pandemic Upon Us: Researchers battle avian flu threats to poultry industry and humans Georgia Tech Research NewsDetermining the feasibility of using an optical waveguide sensor to find the avian influenza on poultry farms before it spreads.
Georgia Tech Research NewsResearchers are building a computer-vision system that identifies plastic and other unwanted elements in finished food products.
Missing Link: Augmented Reality Technology May Bridge Communication Gap in Poultry Processing Plants Georgia Tech Research NewsTwo augmented reality systems improve communication between an automated poultry inspection system and workers who trim birds on the processing line. |
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The Food Processing Technology Division (FPTD) is a division of the Georgia Tech Research Institute at the Georgia Institute of Technology. All inquiries for project information should be made to the appropriate personnel (project directors) or administrator. See the Directory of Personnel for the correct contact information. Comments pertaining to the website may be made to Steven Thomas. Copyright © Georgia Tech Research Coporation | Legal
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Even a hard-working robot needs a good bath at the end of the day.
That was the issue facing researchers at the Georgia Tech Research
Institute (GTRI) as they delved into one of the big challenges in food-processing
automation.
New technology is positioning an old injury-prevention program at
the cutting edge of the poultry industry.
ATLANTA—Bettcher Industries, Inc., an innovative world
leader in the design and manufacture of food processing equipment
and cutting tools, has made a donation of $125,000 toward the
construction of Phase II of the Georgia Tech Research Institute’s
Food Processing Technology Building. 
The
Food Processing Technology Division's Agricultural Technology
Research Program received a 2008 APEX Award of Excellence in
the Newsletters-Print category for its PoultryTech Summer
2007 Environmental issue. Sponsored by Communication Concepts,
Inc., the APEX Awards for Publication Excellence is an annual
international competition that recognizes excellence in publications
work by professional communicators in categories ranging from
newsletters and magazines to annual reports, brochures, and
web sites. APEX awards are based on excellence in graphic design,
editorial content, and the ability to achieve overall communications
excellence. 
Researchers with Georgia Tech’s Food Processing Technology
Division, with funding from Georgia’s Traditional Industries Program
for Food Processing, have developed an innovative computer vision system
for on-line screening of individual meat and poultry portions for both
volume and visual quality.
Further processed products are the mainstay of the poultry industry, with
the key player usually being deboned fillets. However, missed bones, particularly
the clavicle and fan, in these fillets continue to be of concern to processors.
Current screening techniques are labor-intensive and can be expensive, not
to mention, they are not as accurate as desired. 
Researchers are developing a sensor-guided, automated transfer system for
moving carcasses from an immersion chiller to a shackle line for second and
further processing. Currently performed by four to eight plant workers per
line, the task is labor-intensive. Automating the process will not only move
workers away from a mundane task but save the poultry industry millions of
dollars in related labor costs.