JBS to classify hides in Brazil with artificial intelligence

Mindhive Global, a New Zealand-based company specializing in artificial intelligence (AI) for hide grading, has signed an agreement with JBS Couros to assess the quality of production at its 21 units in Brazil. The New Zealand technology, capable of “certifying” the quality of JBS’s bovine hides, can process up to 360 hides per production line per hour, with an accuracy rate above 91%, Mindhive told Valor.

The AI system inspects and grades hides in just four seconds, mapping defects that are automatically classified into 25 categories, Mindhive explains. Implementation of Mindhive in Brazil is expected to be completed between June and July, with two new machines installed per month until a total of 10 grading machines and three hide selection machines are operating in JBS facilities. The value of the agreement between the two multinational companies has not yet been disclosed.

Hide inspection involves manual labor in processing units. Each year, JBS Couros processes over 7 million hides.