{"id":5946,"date":"2021-11-24T12:27:13","date_gmt":"2021-11-24T10:27:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogit.lab.fi\/labfocus\/?p=5946"},"modified":"2023-09-28T09:30:15","modified_gmt":"2023-09-28T06:30:15","slug":"identifying-textiles-using-computer-vision-in-a-mobile-app","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogit.lab.fi\/labfocus\/en\/identifying-textiles-using-computer-vision-in-a-mobile-app\/","title":{"rendered":"Identifying textiles using computer vision in a mobile app"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Different ways of utilizing artificial intelligence for sorting and identifying textiles is being researched in the AI-mill project<\/a>. A new method to improve the sorting of textile pieces based on their structure and color was developed with the help of LAB University of Applied Science\u2019s Textile research team (in Finnish)<\/a>. A dataset of around 3000 pictures of different textile pieces was gathered and used to train an image classification AI model using machine learning algorithms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With the AI model, textile pieces are classified as either weft or knit. The structure of the material affects how it can be mechanically opened into fiber and how it can be reused. In addition, the solution detects the color of the textile by counting the color pixels in the picture with a separate algorithm. Sorting by color reduces the need of recoloring the textile fibers for reuse, saving water. (LAB 2021.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Picture 1. Screen capture from the Textile Identifier-app while it\u2019s scanning the textile and after it has finished scanning (Picture: Ville Ter\u00e4v\u00e4inen)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Mobile app<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

In June 2021, a free test version of the Textile Identifier app (in Finnish)<\/a> was released in the Play Store for Android devices. The app uses the phone\u2019s camera to classify textile pieces in real time and can also produce a more accurate analysis from the average of multiple pictures as in picture 1. The app is meant as a useful tool for textile recycling done by humans, for example in a recycling center.  Sorters could use the app to scan the textile pieces being sorted and recycle them based on the results like in Video 1. The goal is to improve the recycling accuracy and make sorting easier for the workers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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