Identification of maize kernel embryo based on hyperspectral imaging technology and PCA

To segment the embryo from the maize kernel, a hyperspectral imaging system has been built for acquiring reflectance images from maize kernels in the spectral region between 500 and 950 nm. Hyperspectral images of maize samples were evaluated using principal components analysis (PCA) with the goal of selecting several effective wavelengths that could potentially be used in a multispectral imaging system. The second principal component images using three effective wavelengths 510, 555 and 575 nm in the visible spectral (VIS) had good identification results under investigation. For the investigated independent test samples, 97.0% of embryos on samples were correctly separated from the maize kernels.