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Hello everyone.
I’ve been wondering about how I should scan a material.
This is not a “Do I press this button\Do I hold it in this angle” kind of question.
I don’t know how to explain it simply, so I will use an example. Please do not hesitate to say if it is still not clear enough.Let’s say I want to collect data about an Apple.
In the examples and videos, you state that scanning three times is enough, and the pictures suggest scanning one spot on the edge of the apple.
However, is this really enough?
1. Apples of the same kind can have multiple colors (such as red body and yellow top). Should I scan each color a few times?
2. Apples are coated with some sort of wax. Unless you pick it off a tree, it is hard to know the real age and how “pure” it is. Should I follow some sort of procedure to clean it off (of course, scan both clean and non-clean forms, since I mi8ght want to check an apple in the store, I might want to know if it’s organic or waxed).
3. This brings me to another point – How do extremely clear substances affect the scan? Can washing the apple (making sure there are no droplets) affect the scan?
4. The apple may be different in many areas. The skin, the body, the core, the skin that surrounds the seed, the seed itself and the maybe the stem and it’s surrounding. Should I scan each of them? Should I also try and do the same for different ages (of the apples)?
5. In your opinion – If I follow all of this, and there really are differences between the scanned areas, can I use SCiO to scan an apple juice and determine if it might have mashed seeds, or skin in it?Basically, I want to know how deep I should scan my objects. I can (and probably will) try some of that, but I want to know if there’s a tested\professional solution\opinion to this.
On another topic – I’ve seen your video about the grounded meat with fat.
You’ve made different mixes of fat and meat.
Was it not possible to scan pure fat, and pure meat, and use this information to derive how much fat a ground meat has?
Or was it just for the sake of an example?
Thank you very much for your time.Hi Adam,
We have some experience in fruit and vegetables analysis as well as raw meat analysis.
I transferred the question to our application R&D team and I will let you know soon what are the best practices in these fields.
Regards,
Ayelet
The Consumer Physics Team
Well, I was using the fruit as an example, since it is used as one of your own examples…
But I would still love an answer.
I do not have a background into chemistry, biology or physics (light) – So I am not sure exactly how much information I need to gather for accurate results.
Answer will be much appreciated, thanks.Hi,
1. First, note the color should not affect the measurements.
Generally speaking, colors may change the IR spectrum, making it impossible to identify black plastics, for example, since they might practically have no spectral signature for SCiO to measure.
However, this is not the case with fruits.
2. Waxed apples were measured in our laboratory, and it seems that the wax layer has no significant affect on the results.
However, the wax can be washed off the apple sample, if you wish so, as part of your experiment preparation.
3. Since moisture’s molecular signature is very intensive, it is recommended to dry up the samples before scanning.
4. We recommend scanning in different locations in order to reach a sufficient variance in sugar content, for example, within the sample.
We recommend populating the attributes regarding the different locations during the experiment for further analysis.
5. Please note that in order to develop an Apple juice application, the samples and scans which are collected for this manner, should be juice samples as well.
As long as the juice is squeezed, the seeds or pill should not affect the results and will not be detectable by SCiO.
The video presented grounded meat with fat for demonstration purposes.
I hope it was helpful.
Ayelet,
The Consumer Physics Team
Hi,
I am currently trying to develop a standardized method for sample scanning to reduce the variance of the spectra readings within a sample (i.e. I scan the material 10 times, I want the 10 resulting spectra to have less variance).
My goal is to measure the dry matter composition of plant material. The material is fairly heterogeneous. Do you have a recommendation to standardize the scanning process? Could a glass or glass like material be used to put pressure on the sample to reduce the variance? What type of glass would be ok (and easy to find?).
Any other ideas to reduce the variance caused by particle size of the heterogenous material?
Thank you,Laurie
Dear Laurie,
We strongly recommend conducting an optimization test in order to to improve the data collection quality and future model performance.
In order to reduce the variance, we would recommend the following:
1. Consistent experimental set up: using identical distance from the sample during the scanning process, constant temperature and ambient light.
2. Grinding or chopping the samples in order to increase homogeneity.
3. Pressure: the suggestion to put pressure on the sample may be effective, but glass will cause specular reflection. You can try to press the sample and then release.
Keep us updated!
Ayelet,
The Consumer Physics Team
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