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Automatic classification of granite tiles through colour and texture features

This paper is about the development of an expert system for automatic classification of granite tiles through computer vision. We discuss issues and possible solutions related to image acquisition, robustness against noise factors, extraction of visual features and classification, with particular focus on the last two. In the experiments we compare the performance of different visual features and classifiers over a set of 12 granite classes. The results show that classification based on colour and texture is highly effective and outperforms previous methods based on textural features alone. As for the classifiers, Support Vector Machines show to be superior to the others, provided that the governing parameters are tuned properly.

Highlights

We discuss the development of an expert system for automatic classification of granite tiles. We propose new approaches to granite classification based on combined colour and texture analysis. We evaluate the performance of different visual descriptors and classifiers. Combination of colour and texture features proves highly effective in discriminating granite appearance. Classification based on SVM support vector classification outperforms the other methods.

People have used granite for thousands of years. It is used as a construction material, a dimension stone, an architectural stone, a decorative stone, and it has also been used to manufacture a wide variety of products.

Granite is used in buildings, bridges, paving, monuments, and many other exterior projects. Indoors, polished granite slabs and tiles are used in countertops, tile floors, stair treads and many other design elements. Granite is a prestige material, used in projects to produce impressions of elegance and quality. Some interesting and common uses of granite are shown in the photo collection below.

The definition of “granite” varies. A geologist might define granite as a coarse-grained, quartz- and feldspar-bearing igneous rock that is made up entirely of crystals. However, in the dimension stone trade, the word “granite” is used for any feldspar-bearing rock with interlocking crystals that are large enough to be seen with the unaided eye. By this classification, rocks such as anorthosite, gneiss, granite, granodiorite, diabase, monzonite, syenite, gabbro and others are all sold under the trade name of “granite.”

The quality control process in stone industry is a challenging problem to deal with nowadays. Due to the similar visual appearance of different rocks with the same mineralogical content, economical losses can happen in industry if clients cannot recognize properly the rocks delivered as the ones initially purchased. In this paper, we go toward the automation of rock-quality assessment in different image resolutions by proposing the first data-driven technique applied to granite tiles classification. Our approach understands intrinsic patterns in small image patches through the use of Convolutional Neural Networks tailored for this problem. Experiments comparing the proposed approach to texture descriptors in a well-known dataset show the effectiveness of the proposed method and its suitability for applications in some uncontrolled conditions, such as classifying granite slab under different image resolutions.

These ceramic and granite tiles from Italian company Cerdomus are unusual, modern and effortlessly beautiful. The ceramic-granite made tiles mimic gorgeous wood flooring. Their unique appearance brings dynamic contrasts into a modern interior design, offering practical, convenient flooring. Wood-like floor tiles are a timeless choice that turns living spaces into luxurious and unique rooms, filled with comfort, warmth and timeless elegance.

These modern floor tiles are excellent for creating an original interior design, adding a contemporary touch to home decorating. Suitable for decorating almost all home interiors, from bathrooms, laundry rooms and entryways to kitchens and living rooms. The nature of granite ensures durability and practicality, exceeding over marble or man-made stone.

The durable and attractive floor tiles are made of ceramic-granite. Encouraging to experiment and create fresh and sophisticated floor decor. Designed for few stylish collections, ideal for different interior design and home decorating styles. From country home style to classic, contemporary and eco style. Numerous tile colour shades reflect natural wood yellowish to bleached white and brown colours of natural wood.

Monochromatic colour schemes make it easy to create a sleek and modern design for your floor decoration. The tiles come in more vibrant colour combinations for something a little different.

All collections from Cerdomus are 100% original, blending nature-inspired themes with contemporary home decorating material.

Have a browse through our Granite collection.

Flooring is an important part that can determine the appearance of your house. Therefore, the selection of material to be used as a floor must be thoroughly considered. In general, ceramics and granite are often used as floor material. Both have strong characteristics, can last a long time, and have several other aspects that can make it difficult for you to choose.

If you are that type of person who likes to play with style and color, ceramic tiles are the right choice for you. This is because ceramic tiles have a large selection of colors, motifs, shapes, styles, and finishing. In conclusion, ceramic tiles have a variety of endless variations.

Unlike ceramic tiles, granite grey tiles have limited variation. Granite tiles, which were made from natural stones, tend to have irregular patterns with a limited choice of colors and motifs. In addition, granite tiles only have two kinds of finishing.

In terms of maintenance, ceramic tiles are easier to care for because they are not easily scratched, and are not easily imprinted if exposed to stains, dirt, or liquid. In other hand, granite tiles are more porous, which can give you a hard time to remove any stains on them.

However, granite tiles are one step ahead of ceramic tiles in terms of strength. They are more resistant to impact and friction, which makes them one of the most durable flooring options.

In recent years, the manual recognition and classification of natural stones have become a multifaceted challenge due to the similar patterns and visual appearance. Therefore in the current study, a robust and more effective system has been developed for an automatic classification of natural stones i.e. black granite wall tiles using the Convolutional Neural Networks (CNNs). This approach is based on fine-tuning pre-trained networks such as AlexNet and VGGNet. The techniques of data augmentation such as reflection and rotation are incorporated to reduce the probability of overfitting. Efforts have been made to distinguish the performance of training from scratch and fine-tuning pre-trained models. It is observed that the classification, based on CNNs incorporating color and texture both at the same time, is highly reliable, effective and better than the other conventional methods using visual features separately. The research findings also demonstrated that transfer learning based on fine-tuning a network produced better results in accuracy for the classification task of granite tiles.

Gorgeous and tough, granite makes a great countertop material. Unfortunately, greatness has its price: Granite slab countertops start at about $100 per sq. ft. But you can have granite countertops for half that cost (or even less) by using granite tile instead of professionally installed granite slabs. Budget-conscious builders and homeowners have done this for decades—and now there are red granite floor tiles designed especially for countertops.

This article will show you how to install these special tiles. Since a countertop sits just a couple of feet below eye level, minor mistakes are easy to see. So we’ll show you how to set your tiles flat, even and perfectly aligned.

The materials bill for our countertop and backsplash was less than $50 per sq. ft., including everything from screws and backer board to the tiles themselves. The number of inside and outside corners has a big impact on the total cost: Corners cost us about $40 each. Standard bullnose tiles cost $20 and field tiles just $10 each.

This is a two-weekend project for a typical kitchen. You’ll spend about half that time tearing out your old countertop and creating a solid base for the tile. A countertop requires a bit more skill and precision than a wall or floor, so we don’t recommend this as a first-time tile project. In addition to standard tile tools, you’ll need to rent a tile saw for a day. You can’t cut the tiles with a manual cutter. Aside from the tile, all the tools and materials you’ll need are at home centers. Tiles are available at tile stores or online (search for “modular granite tile countertop.”)

A few weeks before you tear off your old countertops, pull out a pencil and pad and calculate the number and types of tiles needed. Measure, then sketch your countertop on graph paper, including the sink. Label the tiles (bullnose, field, corners) to assess what’s needed where.

When you arrive at a final count, you’re almost ready to place your order. Because the tiles are color-matched before shipping, order a few extra to allow for cutting mistakes. Three extra field tiles and two extra bullnose tiles is a safe allowance for a simple job, but for a complex project, you might want extra insurance.