ITS Wins a £200K+ Optical Barcode/Character Recognition System Project for Sellafield

Industrial Technology Systems Ltd (ITS) has today announced it has won a £200,000+ order from INS Innovation, one of the UK’s largest providers of specialist nuclear engineering and design services.

ITS, a leading-edge solution provider with extensive experience in the nuclear industry, is to supply the hardware and engineering for the implementation of the Sellafield Product and Residue Store (SPRS) Optical Barcode/Character Recognition System (OBCR). This system will allow the tracking of fuel cans in a more efficient and controlled manner.

The key purpose of the OBCR System is to read the barcode and alphanumeric identifications on the cans as they are transferred into and, occasionally, out of the SPRS. It will also read the identifications of the transport mode providing minimum operator intervention, as the OBCR System will interface with the SPRS control system, which will verify that the correct item is being processed.

ITS’ solution incorporates the use of intelligent cameras, of particular use in reading the numerical codes where there is little contrast between the text and the background. These smart cameras, equipped with logical image processing algorithms, will be mounted in fixed positions around the plant to establish identity when required and feed back information. The new system will also allow regulatory bodies to take sample data from the cameras in the process of auditing the tracking systems via a duplicate OPC server.

The cameras are from the Cognex DVT range which have comprehensive pre-processing morphology algorithms and OCR software tools for reading the alphanumeric text: the DVT 554 is a high performance, high resolution (1280 x 1024) monochrome camera for reading the alphanumeric codes of the cans; the DVT XS incorporates DSP technology into a powerful code-reading scanner up to eight times faster than previously available readers, and the DVT 545 is ideal for real-time inspection at high speed.

The interface between the OBCR system and the SPRS control system will be provided by an OPC server running on the OBCR supervisory PC which will receive requests from the SPRS control system, initiate camera triggers, receive camera results, and provide results to the SPRS control system.

The supervisory PC will be connected to the smart cameras via an Ethernet ring main. Provision will be allowed for connection of certain cameras on a second ringmain, allowing the SPRS regulators, to monitor the cameras.

ITS considers strong effective project management as an important factor in the success of any project, together with a balance of design, experience and creativity. Project Manager Graham Ives said: “As Project Manager, I shall be heading up a project team which has the skills and commitment to provide a system to meet INS Innovation’s specifications and the scalability to meet future requirements.”