The ability of CCD cameras to withstand the extremely cold temperatures encountered in supermarket distribution centers-yet still accurately read information-is being tested by U.K. food retailer J. Sainsbury PLC. The retailer operates more than 450 Sainsbury's Supermarkets in the U.K. and Shaw's Supermarkets and Star Markets in the U.S.
The cameras were recently incorporated-as part of a test-in an automatic sorting system at the firm's Elstree, U.K., frozen food distribution center. The Accu-Sort Systems AV3700 CCD camera was subjected to temperatures as low as -21°C. Previously, the distribution center had been using Accu-Sort laser scanners. The rationale for the test? Even though the scanners were delivering read-rate percentages in the high nineties, an improvement of just one percentage point through the use of CCD cameras translates into thousands of dollars of savings.
Besides, cases of product that could not be instantly decoded with laser scanners delayed the sortation process, with some ultimately needing to be manually scanned. The problem grew exponentially with the cumulative effect of the multiple products-the stores stock more than 23,000 products-involved in just one week's throughput, says Dave Haddon, systems and sortation manager at the Elstree facility.
Accu-Sort, Telford, Pa., initially considered enclosing the camera in a sealed and heated cabinet, but rejected this approach as too cumbersome. Instead, thermostatically controlled heat pads were installed within the camera. The Elstree plant used dehumidifiers to keep the air dry, so there was no danger of the camera lens icing up.
During the trials, the camera was able to read more than 90% of Sainsbury's worst no-reads. In the initial trial, Haddon deliberately selected a difficult commodity to test the camera's capabilities. The product was very small, the label often crinkled and the color contrast was bad.
"It's a commodity item that is certainly not suited to automated sorting," said Haddon. But the AV3700 read it the first time with no problems. The camera was then left running and continued to successfully decode all other case codes including point-of-sale and EAN codes, and through plastic as well.
Since the camera system allows all no-reads to be archived, the information can be captured and read on any PC. This eliminates any guesswork as to why a supplier's code does not scan with case- or label-specific evidence supplied.
