Smart Phone Camera based Weighing Scale for Kitchens in Household Applications

Abstract

Measurement of physical variables is the most important task in manufacturing, production and trading of each and every produce. E.g. our clothes cannot be stitched properly without taking bodily measurements by a tailor. Household furniture if produced oversize cannot be brought inside homes if the measurement's of door at entry was not considered in prior. Kitchen food cooked by every fellow Indian sisters, mothers, and daughters can produce some mouthwatering tastes, only if all cooking ingredients were mixed in the right proportion's, else many have experienced the odds, with special attention to salt, sugar, chili powder, turmeric powder, and other spices. Cooking food is an art and science both and the ingredients to be added in proportion are measured in prior using tools such as measuring spoons, cups and sometimes using weighing scales. Often measurements are carried with confidence of eyes and hands without use of tools, with special attention if one does not have a measuring tool. Not many have access to measuring scales in our society. However it is estimated that 60 % of people in India have access to Smart Phones. Modern Smart Phones are built using at least a 10's of sensors, among which the Camera is the most popular. A modest weight measuring device can be developed based on very simple algorithms from the wide spectrum of image processing tools. This paper attempts to discuss the use of smart phones to quantify (estimate) the weight of at least one cooking ingredient used in every household. The same device can be used to estimate to identify the quality of the same ingredient in terms of size, color, nutrition, etc.