Color based Product Sorting Machine using Raspberry Pi 2025-2026

INTRODUCTION
In the current era of rapid industrialization and automation, the demand for efficient, reliable,
and cost-effective systems for manufacturing and processing tasks has significantly increased.
One such essential operation across numerous industries is the sorting of products based on
specific attributes such as size, shape, weight, and especially color. Traditionally, this sorting
process has been performed manually, which is not only time-consuming but also prone to
human errors, inconsistency, and inefficiency.
Color-based sorting plays a crucial role in various sectors, including food processing,
pharmaceuticals, packaging, and recycling. For instance, fruits are sorted based on ripeness
(indicated by color), pills by type, and packages by color-coded labels. However, implementing
sophisticated automated color sorting systems often involves high costs and complex machinery,
making them unsuitable for small to medium-scale industries with limited budgets.
To address this challenge, this paper proposes a Color-Based Product Sorting Machine using the
Raspberry Pi—a compact, affordable, and powerful single-board computer. The system
leverages the Pi Camera to capture real-time images of objects and utilizes OpenCV, an open-
source computer vision library, to process these images and determine the object’s color. Once
the color is identified, servo motors are actuated to sort the object into its designated category or
bin.
The solution aims to provide a low-cost, automated, and scalable system that minimizes human
intervention, reduces labor costs, and increases the accuracy and speed of the sorting process.
The use of Raspberry Pi not only brings down the hardware costs but also offers the flexibility to
incorporate additional features such as data logging, remote monitoring, and integration with IoT
systems.
Overall, this project presents a practical and efficient approach to automating one of the most
fundamental industrial processes—product sorting—by utilizing accessible hardware and
software tools.

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 Color based Product Sorting Machine using Raspberry Pi 2025-2026

PROBLEM STATEMENT
Manual color-based sorting in industries is inefficient, error-prone, and time-consuming. This
project aims to develop an automated color-based product sorting system using Raspberry Pi and
a camera module. The system will detect object colors and sort them into designated bins using
actuators, improving efficiency and reducing human effort.

OBJECTIVES
1. To develop an automated product sorting system based on color using Raspberry Pi and
OpenCV.
2. To capture real-time images of objects using a Pi Camera and process them for color
detection.
3. To classify and sort objects into different bins based on detected colors using servo
motors.
4. To create a low-cost and efficient solution suitable for small and medium-scale
industries.
5. To reduce human intervention and improve accuracy in the sorting process.

LITERATURE SURVEY

Paper 1: Title: Automatic Sorting System Using Raspberry Pi, S. V. Bhingarkar et al.,
International Journal of Innovative Research 2019, Applied OpenCV for real-time color-based
sorting; focused on improving accuracy in detection.

Paper 2: Title: Automation of Object Sorting Using Color Sensor and Arduino, A. Yadav, P.
Pawar, International Research Journal of Engineering,2016, Developed a prototype for color
sorting using Arduino and servo motors; limited processing capacity.

Paper 3: Title: Color based Product Sorting Machine using Raspberry Pi, Dr.P.Perumal, Dr.B
Mathivanam, Dr.K.Deepa, 5th International Conference on Smart Electronics and

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 Color based Product Sorting Machine using Raspberry Pi 2025-2026

Communication (ICOSEC 2024) IEEE Xplore Part Number: CFP24V90-ART; ISBN: 979-8-
3315-0440-3. Used Raspberry Pi and image processing to sort objects, improving automation at
low cost.

Paper 4: Title: Color Object Sorting Machine Using TCS230 Color Sensor and PIC
Microcontroller, M. S. Hossain et al. International Journal of Computer Applications 2013,
Demonstrated a basic color-sorting machine using a TCS230 sensor; suitable for low-cost
applications.

Paper 5: Title: Real-Time Object Detection and Sorting Using OpenCV A. Kumar, R. Joshi, IEEE
Conference Proceedings2018, Applied OpenCV for real-time color-based sorting; focused on improving
accuracy in detection.

METHODOLOGY/ BLOCK DIAGRAM

 Object Sensing: An IR sensor detects the presence of an object on the conveyor belt and halts
the belt momentarily.

 Color Detection: The TCS34725 color sensor reads the RGB values of the object under a
fixed light source.

 Data Processing: Raspberry Pi compares the RGB values to preset thresholds to determine the
color category.

 Sorting Mechanism Activation: Based on the detected color, the Raspberry Pi activates the
corresponding servo motor to push or drop the object into its assigned bin.

 Display and Count: The LCD screen updates the count for each color category. After sorting,
the conveyor belt resumes movement for the next item.

 Repeat: The cycle continues for every new object detected by the IR sensor.

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Color based Product Sorting Machine using Raspberry Pi 2025-2026

Fig1: Block Diagram of Proposed System

Raspberry pi is a processing and controlling unit used to drive different component.

Camera connecting with the raspberry pi to take image for the object. Also, we use 3
servo motor for different color connected to raspberry pi to drive the object to the box.
the power supply connected with raspberry pi. The Dc motor connected to conveyor belt
which is used to drive the object to sort it. and connected with power supply to power dc
motors. The circuit diagram in Figure 2 shows all the components that are mainly used to
develop this project. The function of each component in the circuit is discussed below.
The aim of our project is to sort objects automatically. It consists of Raspberry pi
3B+, camera, motor driver, DC motor and three servo motor. The camera is connected
with raspberry pi will scan the object and send it to raspberry pi to detect the color. Then,
DC motor will drive the object to sort it by servo motor which is connect with motor
driver and drop it in a box

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 Color based Product Sorting Machine using Raspberry Pi 2025-2026

REQUIREMENTS

HARDWARE

 Raspberry Pi 4 (acts as the main controller)

 Pi Camera Module (for capturing object images)

 Servo motors (to sort objects into bins)

 LCD Display (to show real-time status and count)

 Wi-Fi module (for optional cloud connectivity)

 Power supply (for powering the system)

 Connecting wires and breadboard

 Conveyor belt or a simple tray mechanism to move objects

SOFTWARE

 Raspberry Pi OS (operating system for the Pi)

 Python 3 (programming language used for logic and control)

 OpenCV (library for image processing and color detection)

 RPi.GPIO (library to control Raspberry Pi GPIO pins)

 NumPy (used for pixel data manipulation)

 Cloud service platform like Firebase or ThingSpeak (optional, for remote monitoring)

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 Color based Product Sorting Machine using Raspberry Pi 2025-2026

EXPECTED OUTCOMES
 The system should accurately detect and classify objects based on their dominant color (Red,
Green, or Blue) using real-time image processing.

 Objects will be automatically sorted into the correct bins with minimal human intervention,
improving sorting efficiency and speed.

 The LCD display will provide real-time updates on the number of objects sorted by color,
ensuring easy monitoring.

 The integration of a Wi-Fi module (optional) will enable cloud-based data logging and remote
monitoring for industrial usage.

 The final system will be low-cost, portable, and suitable for small-scale industries or
educational demonstrations in automation and machine vision.

REFERENCES
 Bhingarkar, S. V., Giri, R., & Chaudhari, V. (2019). Automatic Sorting System Using
Raspberry Pi. International Journal of Innovative Research in Technology, 6(12), 234–238.

 Hossain, M. S., Reza, M. M., Sarker, M. I., & Hossain, M. I. (2013). Color Object Sorting
Machine Using TCS230 Color Sensor and PIC Microcontroller. International Journal of
Computer Applications, 81(11), 1–5.

 Kalbande, Y. S., Deshmukh, D. V., & Padole, P. S. (2017). Color Sensing Conveyor System.
International Journal of Engineering Research and General Science, 5(2), 99–102.

 Kumar, A., & Joshi, R. (2018). Real-Time Object Detection and Sorting Using OpenCV.
Proceedings of IEEE International Conference on Inventive Research in Computing Applications
(ICIRCA), 654–658.

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 Color based Product Sorting Machine using Raspberry Pi 2025-2026

 Yadav, A., & Pawar, P. (2016). Automation of Object Sorting Using Color Sensor and
Arduino. International Research Journal of Engineering and Technology (IRJET), 3(4), 2785–
2788.

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