Fully Automatic Faulty Weft Thread Detection using a Camera System and Feature-based Pattern Recognition

In this paper, we present a novel approach for the fully automated detection of faulty weft threads on airjet weaving machines using computer vision. The proposed system consists of a camera array for image acquisition and a classification pipeline in which we use different image processing and machine learning methods to allow precise localization and reliable classification of defects. The camera system is introduced and its advantages over other approaches are discussed. Subsequently, the processing steps are motivated and described in detail, followed by an in-depth analysis of the impact of different system parameters to allow chosing optimal algorithm combinations for the problem of faulty weft yarn detection. To analyze the capabilities of our solution, system performance is thoroughly evaluated under realistic production settings, showing excellent detection rates.