Meat Processing Automation

摘要

This paper describes automation in the meat processing industry. The current level of automation, the latest research in this field and future applications are discussed. True automation is almost non-existent in todays meat industry, most processing operations requiring at least some form of manual assistance. The development and introduction of sophisticated automatic equipment has been impeded by the variation in carcass size and the non-homogeneous structure of the carcass. Increased computer power at reasonable cost is now enabling the development of automated equipment and advances in robotics and sensor technology are carrying this development even further. Australian and New Zealand research institutions are producing innovative equipment which is equal to, if not better than, any in the world today. Some of this research will be discussed in detail.