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360° Inspection. Built for Industrial Throughput.
Sherlock Belt is Insort’s high-performance belt sorting platform for precise defect and length sorting of potato products and fresh and frozen vegetable and fruit applications.
Engineered for demanding industrial production environments, the system combines curved belt technology, advanced optical inspection and AI-supported image analysis to deliver stable 360° product inspection at high throughput.
Designed around the realities of modern food processing, Sherlock Belt supports reliable inspection quality, controlled product handling and consistent operational performance. Extended cleaning and maintenance intervals help maximize uptime and keep production running efficiently.
Built around stable inspection and precise separation
Conventional belt sorters can be limited by unstable product orientation, inconsistent separation and restricted product visibility at high throughput. In demanding industrial environments, this can compromise inspection quality, defect detection and sorting precision.
Sherlock Belt addresses these challenges through its curved belt geometry and advanced optical inspection architecture. By controlling product flow and stabilising product presentation during inspection, the system enables reliable image acquisition and consistent 360° product visibility, even at industrial throughput rates.
The result is precise sorting performance in production environments where throughput, product handling and inspection stability must work together seamlessly.
Patented belt geometry and tilted lens architecture provide comprehensive product visibility, enabling more reliable defect detection, improved classification and precise sorting performance at industrial scale.
Sherlock Belt combines advanced mechanical design, optical inspection architecture and AI-supported image processing:
- curved belt geometry
- tilted lens architecture
- 360° product inspection
- AI-supported image processing
- background-insensitive inspection
- high-speed sorting capability
- advanced product segmentation
- multi-stream sorting capability
- 2- or 3-way sorting
Some Application Examples
Sherlock Belt is designed for applications where stable throughput, reliable defect detection and consistent product presentation are critical to production efficiency and final product quality.
Technology that Makes the Difference
360° Inspection at Industrial Throughput
Sherlock Belt combines advanced camera positioning with tilted lens architecture to deliver stable 360° product inspection during continuous industrial operation.
The inspection architecture enables:
- comprehensive product visibility
- reliable full-surround inspection
- stable image acquisition at high belt speeds
- precise defect detection across the entire width of the product stream
Engineered for demanding production environments, Sherlock Belt maintains consistent inspection quality where high throughput, product movement and sorting precision must work seamlessly together.
Patented Curved Belt Technology
Sherlock Belt integrates a curved belt geometry engineered for stable product presentation, controlled product separation and reliable inspection performance during high-speed operation.
The curved geometry creates:
- horizontal product intake
- controlled product stabilisation
- optimised product orientation
- clean product release at the discharge edge
- strategic positioning of the bottom optics away from the main product flow
By positioning the bottom inspection module in a debris-free zone, Sherlock Belt can operate reliably in challenging production conditions with significantly extended cleaning and maintenance intervals.
The curved belt design improves product singulation, inspection consistency, product visibility and ejection precision while reducing the need for operator intervention. The result is stable, high-performance inspection designed for continuous industrial throughput.
Tilted Lens Architecture
Sherlock Belt uses tilted lens architecture to maintain sharp, consistent imaging across the full inspection field.
This optical configuration supports:
- stable focus performance
- precise image acquisition
- reliable edge visibility
- consistent inspection quality at high processing speeds
In combination with the curved belt geometry, the optical system supports reliable inspection performance across varying product sizes, shapes and flow conditions.
Background-Insensitive Inspection
Unlike conventional systems that rely heavily on physical backgrounds, Sherlock Belt was developed as a background-insensitive inspection platform that supports consistent inspection quality over time.
This minimises:
- false positives caused by contamination
- background-related image instability
- inspection fluctuations caused by dirty surfaces
- cleaning and maintenance requirements
The bottom camera position is designed to reduce contamination on camera and illumination apertures, helping extend cleaning intervals and reduce maintenance effort. As a result, Sherlock Belt supports higher operational stability and reliable inspection performance throughout continuous industrial production.
AI-Supported Defect and Shape Sorting
Sherlock Belt combines advanced image analysis with AI-supported product classification to deliver stable, precise sorting performance at industrial throughput.
The system was specifically developed for:
- 360° defect sorting
- shape and length sorting
- product and defect classification
- multi-stream sorting applications
The inspection system is designed to identify small, complex and difficult-to-detect defects while supporting controlled good-product retention, reduced false rejects and optimised yield.
Precise Product Separation with Controlled Yield
Sherlock Belt is designed to combine accurate defect removal with maximum good-product retention.
The system enables:
- precise defect ejection
- reduced false rejects
- consistent downstream product quality
By rejecting only what needs to be removed, Sherlock Belt helps processors protect yield, maintain production efficiency and reduce unnecessary waste.
Built for High-Capacity Food Processing
Sherlock Belt was developed for high-capacity food processing environments where throughput, uptime and inspection stability directly influence production efficiency.
The system is designed to support:
- stable throughput
- reliable uptime
- precise sorting decisions
- controlled product handling
- consistent inspection quality
- reduced cleaning and maintenance requirements
Engineered for continuous industrial operation, Sherlock Belt combines robust mechanical design with advanced optical architecture to deliver reliable sorting performance under demanding production conditions.
Engineered for Industrial Precision
Modern food processing environments require more than theoretical inspection capability. They require sorting systems that can maintain performance, stability and efficiency under continuous industrial conditions.
Sherlock Belt was developed to deliver:
- stable sorting performance
- reliable defect detection
- controlled yield
- precise product handling
- consistent uptime
- inspection stability at industrial throughput
Built around the realities of high-capacity food processing, Sherlock Belt combines 360° inspection with the mechanical, optical and AI-supported architecture needed for reliable industrial performance.
360° inspection. Built for industrial reality.
FAQ about the Sherlock Belt Compact
The Sherlock Belt Compact is a compact optical belt sorting system from Insort designed for high-precision RGB inspection and defect removal in industrial food processing applications.
No. The Sherlock Belt Compact is based on high-resolution RGB imaging combined with AI supported deep learning and background-free inspection architecture.
Unlike conventional systems that inspect directly on the belt surface, the Sherlock Belt Compact uses background-free in-flight inspection. Products are inspected while airborne, reducing optical interference and improving sorting precision.
The system is suitable for potato products, chips and snacks, fresh and blanched vegetables, fresh-cut products, processed fruits and vegetables and other small-sized bulk food applications.
Yes. The compact footprint and integration-focused design make the system highly suitable for replacing older-generation optical sorters within existing production lines.
The Sherlock Belt Compact uses high-speed air ejection for precise defect and foreign material Removal.
AI-supported deep learning models improve defect recognition, product segmentation and inspection stability across changing product and production conditions.
Yes. The platform supports data extraction and process analysis functionalities to support production optimization, monitoring and quality control.