Automated imaging broiler chicksexing for gender-specific and efficient production

Extending the previous two years of research results (Mizarch, et al, 2012, Tao, 2011, 2012), the third year’s efforts in both Maryland and Israel were directed towards the engineering of the system. The activities included the robust chick handling and its conveyor system development, optical system improvement, online dynamic motion imaging of chicks, multi-image sequence optimal feather extraction and detection, and pattern recognition. Mechanical System Engineering The third model of the mechanical chick handling system with high-speed imaging system was built as shown in Fig. 1. This system has the improved chick holding cups and motion mechanisms that enable chicks to open wings through the view section. The mechanical system has achieved the speed of 4 chicks per second which exceeds the design specs of 3 chicks per second. In the center of the conveyor, a high-speed camera with UV sensitive optical system, shown in Fig.2, was installed that captures chick images at multiple frames (45 images and system selectable) when the chick passing through the view area. Through intensive discussions and efforts, the PIs of Maryland and ARO have created the protocol of joint hardware and software that uses sequential images of chick in its fall motion to capture opening wings and extract the optimal opening positions. This approached enables the reliable feather feature extraction in dynamic motion and pattern recognition. Improving of Chick Wing Deployment The mechanical system for chick conveying and especially the section that cause chicks to deploy their wings wide open under the fast video camera and the UV light was investigated along the third study year. As a natural behavior, chicks tend to deploy their wings as a mean of balancing their body when a sudden change in the vertical movement was applied. In the latest two years, this was achieved by causing the chicks to move in a free fall, in the earth gravity (g) along short vertical distance. The chicks have always tended to deploy their wing but not always in wide horizontal open situation. Such position is requested in order to get successful image under the video camera. Besides, the cells with checks bumped suddenly at the end of the free falling path. That caused the chicks legs to collapse inside the cells and the image of wing become bluer. For improving the movement and preventing the chick legs from collapsing, a slowing down mechanism was design and tested. This was done by installing of plastic block, that was printed in a predesign variable slope (Fig. 3) at the end of the path of falling cells (Fig.4). The cells are moving down in variable velocity according the block slope and achieve zero velocity at the end of the path. The slop was design in a way that the deacceleration become 0.8g instead the free fall gravity (g) without presence of the block. The tests showed better deployment and wider chick's wing opening as well as better balance along the movement. Design of additional sizes of block slops is under investigation. Slops that create accelerations of 0.7g, 0.9g, and variable accelerations are designed for improving movement path and images.