Integrated optical quality control
Fraunhofer IGD has developed its quality control system with the support of Mewa Textil-Service, where it will be in daily use at two locations from 2020. After washing and drying, the garments on individual hangers pass through a special recording box in which photos are taken of the front and back. The Fraunhofer software analyzes them in real time and transmits the result to a control software, which sends the garments to further stations in the quality control process. The results of the inspection are stored in the system - a valuable collection of data that is available to Mewa to analyze and optimize the system as well as internal processes such as the washing process.

Testing becomes faster and more accurate
Until now, qualified employees have carried out the quality inspection of high-visibility clothing manually. Among other things, they check the washed garments for the brightness and color fastness of the warning color and the integrity of the reflective stripes. The automated solution from Fraunhofer IGD can support the employees in this visual inspection and also speeds up the process.

"With the help of automatic evaluation, we can ensure even better and more precisely that the high-visibility clothing meets the high safety requirements even after washing," says Uwe Schmidt, Head of Engineering at Mewa. The Mewa sites in Weil im Schönbuch near Stuttgart and Groß Kienitz near Berlin are now gaining initial experience with the Fraunhofer IGD system in trial operation, and there are plans to equip other sites.

Testing system transferable to other industries
The Fraunhofer IGD testing system is available for implementation as a software module. This technology could also support other sectors. Automatic classification of returns in the mail order business or use in textile recycling would be conceivable. Seamless embedding in existing systems and processes is crucial here. The development team at Fraunhofer IGD is currently working on carrying out quality checks not only on the basis of individual photos, but also using video recordings and their real-time evaluation. The significantly increased number of product views will cover all aspects of the inspection even more precisely. as