Hatchery managers and incubation technicians have a good sense of how many eggs will hatch from day to day, but not which specific eggs will hatch. During the 2021 Poultry Tech Summit Webinar Series that began on November 2, Dr. Pedro Gomez, CEO, Orbem GmbH explained how his company is using a MRI powered system to help answer that question.
The Orbem technology exists in a white cleanable box after installed into the process flow (before the incubator), with a conveyor belt moving through the system. The system contains an MRI camera that can identify internal and external features of each egg without touching them at a 98% accuracy rate.
While the existing prototype scanner is not able to keep up with current industry line speeds, the March 2022 prototype should scan 9,000 eggs per hour.
“That’s exactly what we want to provide with AI powered technology,” stated Gomez. “By looking inside the egg, we can predict which egg will develop into a healthy chick, which eggs are infertile, which eggs are contaminated, and more.”
“If an egg is not fertilized, there is no point in incubating it, we can just send to egg market and not waste any energy,” explained Gomez.
Some of the variables the camera system can scan for include fertility, inner quality, position, double yolks, yolk volume, white volume, air cell volume, shell fractures, dirt, hairline cracks, wrinkles and ridges.
“MRI is a really relevant and interesting thing because we can see inside the egg, and with AI everything is automatic, so we can automatically identify infertile eggs,” Gomez continued. “Because the poultry industry is being driven by data, and decisions are being made from data. We hope that this camera system provides new sources of information, and that waste can be reduced by using it.”
After the data is collected, it is uploaded into the Cloud. This allows producers to analyze their data real time.
Orbem is an AI company that originated in Munich, Germany and is funded by the European Union. Based on scientific research concerning AI and imaging technology, Orbem was founded in 2019 as a spin-off from the Technical University of Munich.
What’s next
For more on the technologies set to advance the poultry industry, join industry-changing innovators, researchers, entrepreneurs, technology experts, investors and leading poultry producers at the Poultry Tech Webinar Series, scheduled for November 2, 4, 10, 11, 17, 30 and December 2.
During the webinar series, industry experts will preview what’s coming next – from prospective solutions to developing technology – for the poultry industry.
This webinar series is proudly sponsored by: Arm & Hammer, Aviagen, Baader, Boehringer Ingelheim, Cargill, Ceva, Chore-Time, Cobb, Evonik, Marel, Phibro Animal Health, Staubli, and Zoetis.
Visit our website for more details on the webinar series, topics and speakers.
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