Netherlands: Sorting phalaenopsis flawlessly

Nursery Piet Vijverberg switched to the SmartScan 3D system to sort phalaenopsis. Utilizing new camera techniques developed by TNO and WPS, the plants can be sorted almost faultlessly with the SmartScan 3D. When sorting, the SmartScan 3D system maps the number of flowers and buds, the number and length of branches, and branchings. "Only the plants that meet the strictest requirements are eligible for the brand name 'Star Quality By5'," says co-owner Sander Vijverberg.

Increased reliability
Nursery Piet Vijverberg aims for high reliability toward clients, for which tight sorting is essential. In 2013, the company already took a big step in camera sorting. Through remote plant evaluation, 'illegible' photos were manually evaluated through video footage in the Philippines. While this was a very innovative system at the time, better techniques are available today. Nursery Piet Vijverberg is the first in the world to implement the SmartScan 3D, greatly improving service and reliability.

Decreased workload
Following a careful and rigorous trial period at Nursery Piet Vijverberg, where at least 98% reliability has been demonstrated, they decided to purchase the system. It is capable of processing 2400 plants per hour. Unripe plants are singled out by the camera and sent back to the greenhouse. This system also eases and lowers the workload during packaging, realizing better and higher packing performance, and greatly improving working conditions.

Partnership with TNO
Because market demands surpassed the techniques in use so far, WPS started looking for new techniques. In conjunction with TNO, they opted for 3D modeling of plants. In this case, the technique is applied to orchids, but WPS sees a lot of potential for other plant varieties to map more features.

The SmartScan series starts with a simple 1D altimeter, and goes up to very accurately mapping all possible plant features using 3D techniques. Every week, WPS maps out 10 million plants at clients.

For more information:
WPS
Kijckerweg 115
2678 AC De Lier
T +31 (0)174 671 371
F +31 (0)174 671 372
E: info@wps.eu
www.wps.eu/nl