Model-based flaw detection and classification in web materials

This paper describes the design and implementation of an inspection system that detects and classifies flaws in uniform web materials. The paper is divided into two parts; the first part describes a general procedure for designing such an inspection system. The second part concentrates on a case study and details the specific algorithms and results. The overall inspection system design incorporates five sub-systems: (i) sensing, (ii) flaw detection, (iii) flaw characterization, (iv) feature analysis and (v) classification. The case study involves flaws consisting of blob like structural elements; a specific spatial arrangement of the blobs is the major characteristics of the flaw class under study. The emphasis of the paper is on the recognition of the flaws independently of their position, orientation and size. The study incorporates analysis on synthetically generated flaws as well as the ones acquired on the production line.