Principal investigator: Charalambos Marangos
University: Lehigh University
Industry partner: FreshPet
FreshPet is a manufacturer of refrigerated food for dogs and cats using natural ingredients. The company was founded in 2006 and is headquartered in Bedminster, New Jersey. In 2013, FreshPet opened a new manufacturing facility, FreshPet Kitchens, located in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. This facility produces three main product forms for dogs and cats—roasted meals, shredded meals, and rolls—including 50+ formulas across these product lines. This facility was fitted to conform to human-grade manufacturing standards and was expanded in 2016 to support business growth. This site has an extensive video camera system which covers their manufacturing and general facilities areas. Management is interested in utilizing AI video analytics by coupling this new technology with their existing video camera systems. They view the incorporation of AI technology into the video camera system as an opportunity to proactively improve food and personnel safety, operational consistency, product quality, troubleshooting and cost management.