Automated leather-grading could turn heads at Fashion World Tokyo
New Zealand-based technology provider Mindhive has developed a leather-grading robot to demonstrate its automated hide-grading process at Fashion World Tokyo, which will take place in the Japanese capital from October 27-29.
Using machine vision and artificial intelligence technology, Mindhive has developed a wet blue hide grading solution. This has already been deployed at tanneries in New Zealand, enabling them to halve their percentage of rejects and allocate hides more accurately. It is now developing similar solutions for raw hides and finished leather to help tanneries grade at any stage of the tanning process. These will be available from January 2021.
In Tokyo, the robot, which it is calling the Grading Demobot, will be on show at the stand of Mindhive’s partner, machinery manufacturer Juki. Demonstrations will involve having the Grading Demobot scan a piece of leather, displaying any feature, defect and mark instantly on screen.
In the build-up to the event, Mindhive said it expected that visitors seeing what its Model V Grading software system can do would recognise its potential to improve speed and accuracy in the process of grading hides in a tannery. It added that this would, in turn, create opportunities for optimising production.
The business is now exploring ways to set up a Model V Grading solution in Italy for the European market to trial. Tanners would be able to come and see the entire Model V set-up and try out the equipment with their own hides.
It has described this as an ambitious plan, but has said it knows there is a high level of demand among leather manufacturers in Europe for accuracy in grading.
