Meat processing at Kilcoy Pastoral Company took a step into the future this week with the introduction of artificial intelligent carcase carving.
The system has a small footprint, operates on artificial intelligence, and was installed in March following Australian Meat Processing Corporation (AMPC) investment into advanced manufacturing. The system works by first stabilising the carcase. An artificial intelligence system then analyses an image of the carcase and instructs a robotic cutting saw on where to make the appropriate cuts.
“It’s one of the first AI-driven automated beef scribing systems in Australia. The benefits include improving yields, greater consistency in scribing operations and most importantly assisting worker safety,“ AMPC chief executive officer Chris Taylor said.
“It will be trialled over a 12-month period to determine whether the technology can achieve the necessary performance benchmarks. We are upbeat about this investment which could deliver significant returns to the processing industry and look forward to seeing the results.”
The investment involves the design and manufacture of the system which is able to perform the four scribing cuts required for their operations. The project also includes testing and installation.
The system is heavily focussed on the principles of artificial intelligence. This technology relies on building data to improve the accuracy and efficiency of the operation of the equipment. Accurate scribing cuts are extremely important due to the high value primals located within the rib structure.
The industry has trialled other beef scribing applications in the past.
Kilcoy Global Foods president Jiah Falcke said, “The adoption of the new AI beef scribing system is an example of the modern practices being adopted in the industry to improve efficiency, safety and yield.
“We are thrilled to have this technology at our Kilcoy plant. Its implementation has been driven by our leadership team for a number of years and its successful adoption reinforces our position as a leader in the beef industry.
“Prior to automation this was a skilled manual task which required the use of a hazardous circular cutting saw. We will now be able to extract more value from the carcase while improving workplace safety and contribute to labour supply sustainability.”
AMPC is working together with Intelligent Robotics on this investment. Intelligent robotics electrical engineering manager Jonathan Cook said, “We are thrilled for the opportunity to develop and deliver this exciting technology to the Australian red meat industry with the support of AMPC and Kilcoy Global Foods.”
“We are passionate about engineering novel solutions to add value and improve safety for our meat industry customers, and it’s great to see all the hard work come together in bringing the IR-Scribe system to life at Kilcoy’s processing plant.”
