Method and apparatus for efficient automated production of deboned and other meat cuts utilizing an ultrasonic knife and coupled controller

An automated computer controlled system for performing a meat cut comprising:

• a three dimensional vision system coupled to a computer, where said vision system and computer captures a three dimensional image of a meat item where the computer generates point cloud data with a point cloud engine processing at the computer, where said point cloud data is representative of the captured three dimensional image of the meat item;
• a cropping function that executes at the computer to thereby crop the generated point cloud data, thereby providing a cropped version of the point cloud data and said computer having stored thereon said cropped version of the generated point cloud data for use in defining distinctive local features;
• a transformation function that executes at the computer with the point cloud engine to thereby transform the cropped version of the point cloud data to include a set of distinctive local features each representing a region and characterizing each of the set of distinctive local features with descriptors containing local surface properties, thereby creating a derived point cloud data set having the set of distinctive local features each with descriptors;
• a categorization function using feature-based image registration that executes on the computer with the point cloud engine to thereby categorize parts of the derived point cloud data set based on the distinctive local features and descriptors containing local surface properties, thereby determining structures and corresponding locations;
• a template comparison and selection engine that processes at the computer, to thereby compare the derived point cloud data set with one or more point cloud template data sets stored in a database and select a selected point cloud template data set that matches the derived point cloud data set based on determining the best match of the distinctive local features and descriptors and the determined structures and corresponding locations;
• an alignment and cut path adjustment engine that processes at the computer to thereby align the selected point cloud template data set with the derived point cloud data set based on determining the best match of the distinctive local features and descriptors and the determined structures and corresponding locations thereby defining alignment adjustments and retrieving cut path control data that corresponds to the selected best matching point cloud template data set;
• a cut path control engine that processes at the computer to thereby calculate a final cut path control data from the retrieved cut path control data corresponding to the selected best matching point cloud template data set based on the defined alignment adjustments;
• said cut path control engine thereby controls and articulates a blade of an ultrasonic knife, in relation to a predetermined axis of the ultrasonic knife, with the final cut path control data along a final cut path with multiple degrees of freedom while cutting a meat item, where articulating along the final cut path includes vibrating the blade at an ultrasonic frequency;
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• a robotic arm controller having a control function that controls the ultrasonic knife implement to cause a blade of the ultrasonic knife implement to vibrate at an ultrasonic frequency.