RESEARCH LABORATORY FOR FISH PROCESSING AUTOMATION

This paper outlines the organization, resources, and research and development activities of a newly established laboratory for industrial automation at a major Canadian university. The laboratory has been established in the Department of Mechanical Enginering primarily to support the research and development activities associated with the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC) Chair of Industrial Automation. The research is focused on the development of advanced and low-cost technology for flexible automation of the fish processing industry. The main objective is to upgrade the technology used in the mechanical processing of fish, thereby reducing wastage of the primary product, improving efficiency, and making the local industry more competitive in export markets. Establishment of an infrastructure in industrial automation within the university and local training/retraining of engineers with control and automation expertise for local industries are related objectives. As a specific task, an experimental workcell for fish processing is being developed in the laboratory. The theme of the activities of the laboratory is the integration of advanced control, high-level computer vision, and robotic manipulation and devices, for application in the area of fish processing.