--- title: "Empty conveyor belt detection with AI | BionicAdri" description: "Detects empty conveyor belts on food production lines, measures idle time by line and shift. Camera and artificial intelligence are tailored to needs." url: https://bionicadri.com/en/deteccion-cintas-vacias.html markdown: https://bionicadri.com/en/md/deteccion-cintas-vacias.md language: en updated: 2026-11-09 index: https://bionicadri.com/en/llms.txt publisher: "BIONICADRI SOLUTIONS S.L. · info@bionicadri.com · +34 604 87 17 35" translations: es: https://bionicadri.com/md/deteccion-cintas-vacias.md en: https://bionicadri.com/en/md/deteccion-cintas-vacias.md ro: https://bionicadri.com/ro/md/deteccion-cintas-vacias.md fr: https://bionicadri.com/fr/md/deteccion-cintas-vacias.md de: https://bionicadri.com/de/md/deteccion-cintas-vacias.md it: https://bionicadri.com/it/md/deteccion-cintas-vacias.md pt: https://bionicadri.com/pt/md/deteccion-cintas-vacias.md --- # Empty conveyor detection: how much your line runs without material On a lettuce, broccoli or other bulk product line, a conveyor with no material is lost capacity and hardly anyone records it. A camera above the conveyor and an AI detect when it is empty and measure how long for, by line and by shift. Tailored: we install and test it at your plant [Tell us about your line](https://bionicadri.com/en/contacto.html#formulario) · [See all cases](https://bionicadri.com/en/ia-para-fabricas.html#casos) Packaging lines · example **Afternoon shift** Conveyor 2 Empty now Infeed Conveyor 2 Packaging Conveyor 1 Conveyor 2 Conveyor 3 Alert to whoever feeds the line: conveyor 2 is empty. Conveyor 1 and conveyor 3 have material. Illustrative example ## What a camera above the conveyor measures Designed for bulk or trayed product, with the conveyor as the area to watch. Tailored: we install and test it at your plant ### Empty conveyor in real time It alerts when a conveyor has been empty for longer than you decide, so whoever feeds the line knows straight away. Tailored: we install and test it at your plant #### Empty time per line It adds up the time each conveyor runs without material and compares one line with another. Tailored: we install and test it at your plant #### Empty time per shift You see in which shift and at what times it happens most, to look for the cause. Tailored: we install and test it at your plant #### Empty or low on material It distinguishes an empty conveyor from one with little material, because it is not the same problem and it is not fixed the same way. Tailored: we install and test it at your plant #### Normal empty periods and ones that are not It separates expected empty periods, such as a product changeover or cleaning, from those that are not. Tailored: we install and test it at your plant #### Where the flow breaks When a conveyor empties, it checks whether the previous one has product or is stopped, to identify where the flow is failing. ## From the data to the person who can act An alert that does not reach whoever can fix it is useless. That is why we design it from the end backwards. 1. **The camera watches the conveyor** A fixed camera, above or beside the conveyor, sees whether it is carrying product. It is calibrated with your actual product, which looks like no other. 2. **Counts the empty time** Each time the conveyor runs empty for longer than a few seconds that we set with you, it starts counting. That way it does not trigger on a normal gap between two boxes. 3. **Alerts and summarises** Alerts whoever feeds the line and, at the end of the shift, gives you the empty time per conveyor and per line. ## What works today and what is tailored Available today - **Control room** with stoppages and their reason, and the shift OEE. - **Status and count sensors** on the machine. - **Kiosk** where the operator logs the stoppage and its cause. What already works is covered in [production control](https://bionicadri.com/en/produccion-mes.html). Tailored: we install and test it at your plant - **Camera above the conveyor** that detects an empty conveyor in real time. - **Empty time** per conveyor, line and shift. - If a **presence sensor** on the conveyor is enough, we fit a sensor: it is simpler. - GPU server at your plant or in Europe. ## Cameras on the plant floor, with clear rules A camera at work comes with rules. We explain how we approach it and what you need to do, so you can review it with your adviser from the outset. ### How we approach it - It detects the station, the conveyor or the area, **not the person**. - **No facial recognition**: the system does not know who anyone is. - **No ranking or scoring** of workers, and no comparing one with another. - **No inferring emotions**: at work this is prohibited under Article 5 of Regulation (EU) 2024/1689, except for medical or safety reasons. - No sound and no cameras in changing rooms, toilets or canteens. - Images are processed **on your own server**, at the plant or in Europe, and are stored only briefly. What is kept are alerts and figures. ### What's down to you, and we'll review it with you - **Inform the workforce in advance**, expressly, clearly and concisely, and their representatives if there are any (art. 89 of Organic Law 3/2018). - If there is a works council, its prior report on work organisation and control systems and the information on algorithms or AI systems that affect working conditions (art. 64 of the Workers' Statute). - Carry out the **data protection impact assessment** where applicable (art. 35 GDPR). - Watch the purpose: an AI system for monitoring and evaluating the performance and behaviour of people at work is considered high-risk (Annex III of the Regulation). That is why we don't set it up that way. LOPDGDD art. 89 ET art. 20.3 and 64 GDPR art. 35 Regulation (EU) 2024/1689 art. 5 and Annex III We review it with you and with your employment and data protection adviser. This is not legal advice or a guarantee of compliance: every plant is different. We cover it in more detail in [Cameras and AI in the factory: what the law allows in Spain](https://bionicadri.com/en/blog/camaras-ia-fabrica-ley-espana.html). ## One line first, and then you decide 1. **We choose one line** The one that loses the most material or the one that stops the most. We look at the belts and where the camera would fit. 2. **Pilot with real product** We test it with your lettuce, your broccoli or whatever you run, with whatever light and humidity there is. 3. **We tune and expand** We pin down how empty "empty" really is, remove false alarms and take the system to other lines. ## What people usually ask us **Does it work for other products?** Yes, but it is calibrated for each one. A belt with lettuce and a belt with boxes don't look the same. That is why the pilot is done with your product. **What if I already have sensors on the belts?** We can use them. A presence sensor works too and is simpler. A camera is justified when you need to see more than presence. **Do you have to stop the line to install it?** The cameras are placed outside the product's path. Depending on the line, fitting them may call for a short stop, and we plan it with you. **How much empty time is a problem?** You decide, based on your line. We give you the measurement: how much, when and on which belt. ## More on this topic ### [All use cases](https://bionicadri.com/en/ia-para-fabricas.html) The twenty-odd use cases, by plant area and with their label. Read ### [Quality control with machine vision](https://bionicadri.com/en/control-calidad-vision-artificial.html) Defects, labels and real counting with a fixed camera. Read ### [Empty belts: how to measure the time your line runs with no product](https://bionicadri.com/en/blog/cintas-vacias-medir-linea-sin-material.html) How it is measured, what is done with the data and which mistakes to avoid. Read ## Tell us about your line and we'll tell you what we'd build A short video call to understand what is stopping you, where and why. Then a written proposal setting out what we would do, where the AI would run and what it would cost. No obligation. [Tell us about your line](https://bionicadri.com/en/contacto.html#formulario) [info@bionicadri.com](mailto:info@bionicadri.com) · [+34 604 87 17 35](tel:+34604871735)