Controlled defrost for chilled environments

A system for controlling defrost of a chilled environment, comprising:

• a camera configured to capture images of one or more objects located in the chilled environment;
• and
• a defrost control unit configured to:
• receive an image of the one or more objects from the camera;
• analyze the image of the one or more objects to quantify an amount of frost formation on the one or more objects;
• obtain data that indicates an accumulated amount of frost formation on the one or more objects based on an amount of frost formation detected in a sequence of previous images of the one or more objects;
• determine a difference between the amount of frost formation detected on the one or more objects in the image and an amount of frost formation detected on the one or more objects in a previous image;
• update the data that indicates the accumulated amount of frost formation based on the difference;
• determine when to initiate a defrost cycle in the chilled environment based on the amount of frost formation on the one or more objects;
• and
• in response to determining to initiate the defrost cycle, initiating the defrost cycle by sending a defrost control signal to a defroster, wherein the defroster is configured to perform the defrost cycle within the chilled environment in response to receiving the defrost control signal.

A method for controlling defrost of a chilled environment, comprising:

• receiving, at a defrost control unit, an image of one or more objects located in the chilled environment from an infrared camera that is configured to capture images of the one or more objects by detecting light within a particular range of wavelengths within an infrared wavelength spectrum;
• analyzing, by the defrost control unit, the image of the one or more objects to quantify an amount of frost formation on the one or more objects, wherein quantifying the amount of frost formation on the one or more objects includes analyzing a brightness level of light reflected off the one or more objects in the infrared wavelength spectrum and inversely proportionally correlating the amount of frost formation to the brightness level of the one or more objects as a result of frost being less reflective in the particular infrared wavelength spectrum than the one or more objects without frost, such that a low brightness level of the one or more objects in the image correlates to a high amount of frost formation and a high brightness level of the one or more objects in the image correlates to a low amount of frost formation, the low brightness level being lower than the high brightness level and the high amount of frost formation being greater than the low amount of frost formation;
• determining when to initiate a defrost cycle in the chilled environment based on the amount of frost formation on the one or more objects;
• and
• in response to determining to initiate the defrost cycle, initiating the defrost cycle by sending a defrost control signal to a defroster, wherein the defroster is configured to perform the defrost cycle within the chilled environment in response to receiving the defrost control signal.