Carlsberg Photometry application

The protein and carbon hydrates in sealed beer bottles sometimes combine into visible particles called floaters due to extended temperature changes and mechanical stress of the beer.

While these particles are harmless, the bigger floaters pose a serious consumer concern. Carlsberg is one company that was facing this problem, which led to a required inspection of particles inside individual beer bottles. Previously, trained personnel could classify the beers in different categories. However, the classification was subjective and dependent on many factors like light, bottle colour, bottle condition (scratches, irregularities, etc).

To solve this problem in a more objective and unbiased manner, Carlsberg asked us to develop a vision system to inspect for floaters. This system was developed based on photometry, classifying the beer based on the number of detected particles and the distribution of big and small particles.

To see the particles using vision technology, the bottles need to be rotating and illuminated with a uniform backlight to observe the particles float fully unfolds. With this vision system, we were thus able to detect developments of impurities and haziness by calculating the particle size distribution and amount, which improves manual product control previously applied in the beer production process.