Final Report on the Performance of the Style Instruments

Abstract

Previous reports have described trials of the performance of the CSIRO-developed Style instruments. A further trial was deemed necessary to compare the performance of the CSIRO Style instruments over a broad range of wool types with a view to determining the commercial potential of the instrument for use in AWTA Ltd.  A suitable trial was designed incorporating three instruments, Style A & Style C at AWTA Ltd’s Melbourne Laboratory and Style B at CSIRO. This paper reports the results of this trial.

The style instrument consists of three major components:

• automated sample feeding and removal;
• measurement hardware; and
• processing and controlling software.

The instrument provides quantitative estimates of Staple Length, Tip Length, Crimp Frequency, Crimp Definition, Greasy Wool Yellowness, Wool Area, Dust Area and Dust Colour, all of which have some bearing on subjective assessment of style. 

This report analyses a trial comparing the performance of the CSIRO Style instruments over a range of wool types.

No overall significant differences were found amongst the instruments for six of the 10 traits. For the other four traits, one instrument was divergent, possibly due to lighting differences. There were significant level dependencies for nine of the 10 traits, but it is difficult to be conclusive about the significance of these level dependencies given the small number of instruments involved in the trial.

Sensitivity analysis suggests that the instruments measure characteristics that could be used to discriminate between commercial sale lots.

However, considerably more work would be required to ensure the instruments are sufficiently robust for commercial operation, and an initial evaluation of the likely value of the additional information that could be supplied suggests that the commercial viability of the instrument is likely to be dependent on testing charges applied.

Citation

"Final Report on the Performance of the Style Instruments", AWTA Ltd, CSIRO & The Woolmark Company, Report RWG 03, Raw Wool Group, Nice Meeting, November 2001.