Sherlock Belt – 360° inspection engineered for industrial efficiency

 

Sherlock Belt introduces a new approach to high-performance optical sorting of French fries by combining a curved belt geometry, tilted lens architecture and true 360° product inspection without physical backgrounds (patent pending).

The curved belt stabilises, separates and optimally presents each product before releasing it into the inspection zone. Combined with strategically positioned tilted optics, this enables an unobstructed in-air, full-surround view of the product – including areas conventional belt sorters can struggle to inspect reliably.

This innovative architecture delivers more precise defect detection and ejection while reducing false rejects, helping processors retain more good product and reduce unnecessary food waste. At the same time, positioning the lower optical components away from the main product and debris flow and using virtual, AI generated backgrounds for the image processing, significantly extends cleaning intervals and reduces maintenance and operator intervention.

The result is higher operational efficiency, increased uptime, improved yield and lower maintenance requirements – delivering more consistent product quality and a significantly improved total cost of ownership (TCO) throughout the machine’s lifetime. In high volume French fry lines, this will translate into considerable cost savings overall.

Date of market introduction in Belgium (if still in development: expected date of launch)
29th November 2026

Briefly describe what is NEW. This explanation will be submitted to the expert group and will be decisive in the evaluation and selection of the most newsworthy entries. (max. textarea: 600 characters)
A new concept for an optical french fry sorting machine featuring a curved feed belt and a unique "tilted lens" principle for the cameras, enabling them to capture clearer images (patent pending). This allows the product to be inspected 360° while in free flight. Furthermore, there are no physical backgrounds in the inspection zone; the image backgrounds are generated using AI.

Added value for the user (in commercial terms, user-friendliness ...)
The improved bottom-camera setup and inspection in-flight (rather than on the belt) result in significantly less contamination within the inspection area. This ensures more consistent sorting efficiency over long production runs and noticeably longer cleaning and maintenance intervals. As a result, the customer benefits from reduced waste, improved operational efficiency, and lower maintenance and operating costs.

Added value for the further sustainability and professionalization of the potato sector.
This innovation addresses the ever-increasing pressure regarding manual inspection and maintenance costs, bringing us a step closer to the 'lights-out' factory of the future. Moreover, the loss of high-quality product is minimized, which also benefits the environment.