Fisheye freshness detection using common deep learning algorithms and machine learning methods with a developed mobile application

Abstract Fish is commonly ingested as a source of protein and essential nutrients for humans. To fully benefit from the proteins and substances in fish it is crucial to ensure its freshness. If fish is stored for an extended period, its freshness deteriorates. Determining the freshness of fish can be done by examining its eyes, smell, skin, and gills. In this study, artificial intelligence techniques are employed to assess fish freshness. The author’s objective is to evaluate the freshness of fish by analyzing its eye characteristics. To achieve this, we have developed a combination of deep and machine learning models that accurately classify the freshness of fish. Furthermore, an application that utilizes both deep learning and machine learning, to instantly detect the freshness of any given fish sample was created. Two deep learning algorithms (SqueezeNet, and VGG19) were implemented to extract features from image data. Additionally, five machine learning models to classify the freshness levels of fish samples were applied. Machine learning models include (k-NN, RF, SVM, LR, and ANN). Based on the results, it can be inferred that employing the VGG19 model for feature selection in conjunction with an Artificial Neural Network (ANN) for classification yields the most favorable success rate of 77.3% for the FFE dataset. Graphical Abstract