Advanced robotic decoring module for Iceberg lettuce

Coring iceberg lettuce is precision work - often done manually - making it both expensive and time consuming. The Advanced Robotic Lettuce Corer, developed by Food Technology Noord-Oost Nederland and Lacquey, eliminates manual processing, speedily and accurately removing cores; reliably and consistently. The equipment can process 900 iceberg lettuces per hour, with c. 95% of the product remaining after coring.

The system, a global first in the food-processing world, incorporates a cabinet in which the lettuce is scanned by five separate cameras. Powerful digital imaging combines the images into a single 3D model. Intelligent feature detection is then applied to precisely define the core’s position. This data is fed to a robot, which rotates the lettuce and places it precisely into the corer.

The robotic coring module was introduced onto the market in Spring 2016. Applications for other types of lettuce will follow soon.