International Journal of Mineral Processing 96 (2010) 1–13

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International Journal of Mineral Processing

j o u r n a l h o m e p a g e : w w w. e l s ev i e r. c o m / l o c a t e / i j m i n p r o

Online monitoring and control of froth flotation systems with machine vision:
A review
C. Aldrich a,⁎, C. Marais a,1, B.J. Shean b,2, J.J. Cilliers b,2
a
Department of Process Engineering, University of Stellenbosch, Private Bag X1, Matieland, 7602, South Africa
b
Department of Earth Science and Engineering, Imperial College London, SW7 2AZ, United Kingdom

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: Research and development into the application of machine vision in froth flotation systems has continued
Received 8 August 2009 since its introduction in the late 1980s. Machine vision is able to accurately and rapidly extract froth
Received in revised form 21 April 2010 characteristics, both physical (e.g. bubble size) and dynamic (froth velocity) in nature, from digital images
Accepted 25 April 2010
and present these results to operators and/or use the results as inputs to process control systems. Currently,
Available online 11 May 2010
machine vision has been implemented on several industrial sites worldwide and the technology continues to
benefit from advances in computer technology. Effort continues to be directed into linking concentrate grade
Keywords:
Machine vision
with measurable attributes of the froth phase, although this is proving difficult. As a result other extracted
Image analysis variables, such as froth velocity, have to be used to infer process performance. However, despite more than
Flotation 20 years of development, a long-term, fully automated control system using machine vision is yet to
Process control materialise. In this review, the various methods of data extraction from images are investigated and the
Modelling associated challenges facing each method discussed. This is followed by a look at how machine vision has
been implemented into process control structures and a review of some of the commercial froth imaging
systems currently available. Lastly, the review assesses future trends and draws several conclusions on the
current status of machine vision technology.
© 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Contents

1. Background . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
2. Feature extraction from froth images . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
2.1. Physical features . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
2.1.1. Edge detection algorithms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
2.1.2. Watershed algorithms. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
2.1.3. Froth colour . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
2.1.4. Other physical features . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
2.1.5. Challenges in the extraction of physical features . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
2.2. Statistical features . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
2.2.1. Fast Fourier transforms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
2.2.2. Wavelet transforms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
2.2.3. Fractal descriptors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
2.2.4. Co-occurrence matrices and their variants . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
2.2.5. Texture spectrum analysis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
2.2.6. Latent variables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
2.3. Dynamic features . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
2.3.1. Mobility . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
2.3.2. Stability . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

⁎ Corresponding author. Tel.: + 27 21 808 4496; fax: + 27 21 808 2059.

E-mail addresses: ca1@sun.ac.za (C. Aldrich), j.j.cilliers@imperial.ac.uk (J.J. Cilliers).
1
Tel.: + 27 21 808 4496; fax: + 27 21 808 2059.
2
Tel.: + 44 20 7594 7360; fax: + 44 20 7594 7403.

0301-7516/$ – see front matter © 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.minpro.2010.04.005
2 C. Aldrich et al. / International Journal of Mineral Processing 96 (2010) 1–13

3. Process control strategies for froth image analysis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

3.1. Identification of froth structures representative of known operational states . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
3.2. Inferential estimation of operational variables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
3.3. Use of process control charts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
3.4. Classical control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
4. Commercial systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
5. Future trends. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
6. Conclusions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

1. Background The need to overcome these problems, coupled with rapid

An understanding of processes occurring in the froth phase has
long been held key to understanding the overall behaviour of froth
flotation systems (Pryor, 1965; Glembotskii, 1972; Cutting et al.,
1986; McKee, 1991; Mathe et al., 1998). The structure of froths
developed on the pulp surfaces of industrial scale froth flotation cells
has a significant effect on both the grade and recovery of valuable
minerals in the concentrate. These effects are well known at the
process operation level, so that in practice, experienced plant
operators are able to visually classify froth types into different
categories, to each of which is associated a typical operating strategy
(Moolman et al., 1996a; Holtham and Nguyen, 2002). Although
experienced process operators are able to infer some states of the
flotation system from the appearance of the froth, they may not be
able to diagnose conditions associated with more subtle structures in
the froth, or be able to control the system with consistent reliability.
For example, the differences between the two froth structures shown
in Fig. 1 may not be easily detected with the naked eye, but are readily
detected by a machine vision system, where three features (L1, L2 and L3)
extracted from the froth images are projected into a nonlinear feature
space, where their differences are automatically detected. The two
platinum group metal flotation froths were generated under different
process conditions and the grade associated with the froth on the left is
124 ppm, as opposed to the grade of the froth on the right of only
11.1 ppm.
improvement in instrumentation and computer infrastructure has led
to the development of machine vision systems for froth image analysis
early in the previous decade. Since the initial work done by Symonds
and De Jager (1992) and Moolman et al. (1994), these systems have seen
rapid growth and commercialization. Fig. 2 gives an indication of the
application of froth imaging systems in the mineral processing industry,
based on an analysis of the open literature conducted by the authors.
The majority of applications (approximately 48.2%) have been reported
in the base metals (BM) industry, which mostly includes copper, lead
and zinc, with a few papers related to nickel, magnesium and tin.
Application in the coal industries (30.4%), particularly in China, is
second, followed by application (12.5%) in the platinum group metal
(PGM) industry, mostly in South Africa. The balance of the applications
reported in the literature (8.9%) is associated with oxides, such as P2O5,
SiO2 and CaO. In this paper, these advances are reviewed and future
trends in process control applications are considered.
2. Feature extraction from froth images
For analytical purposes, a froth colour image can be viewed as a
three-dimensional array of data, as illustrated in Fig. 3. As a special case
when colour is not considered, the array associated with an image
reduces to a matrix of pixel intensities. Hyperspectral images on the
other hand, can lead to high-dimensional arrays of data, accommodating
thousands of wavelengths. In Fig. 3, the digitized froth image is

Fig. 1. Platinum flotation froth images obtained from a laboratory cell, generated under different operating conditions. Typical images are shown on the left, while features of sets of
the images are shown on the right.
 C. Aldrich et al. / International Journal of Mineral Processing 96 (2010) 1–13
Fig. 2. Application of machine visions systems in the metallurgical industries, as
reported in the literature. Percentages are indicated in the figure.
characterized by a matrix of pixel intensities, as well as three spectral
features (red, green and blue or RGB). The size of the array depends on
the resolution of the image, which can range from a few thousand to a
few million pixels. It is from a series of such images that the state of the
flotation system can be analysed.
In Fig. 4, the types of features that can be extracted from these
images are summarized. These include the extraction of physically
meaningful features, such as bubble size and shape, statistical features
facilitating pattern recognition and dynamic features representing the
movement and stability of the froth. Unlike the first two groups, the
latter group of features is derived from sequences of images.
The analytical procedures for extracting these features are
described in more detail below and an overview of these methods is
given in Table 1.
2.1. Physical features
The physically meaningful features of the froth are the bubble size
distributions and bubble shapes of the froth, as well as the colour of the
froth, which could be indicative of the quantity and type of mineral
loading on the bubbles. These features can be computed directly from
digitized images of the froths by use of methods in which the image is
segmented in order to explicitly identify individual bubble films on the
froth surface. Variants of edge detection algorithms, in which seg-
mentation of the image is based on the detection of sharp transitions in
the brightness (pixel intensities) of the image are commonly used for
analysis of the bubble morphology, as well as other approaches, such as
those based on the watershed algorithm (Yang et al., 2008).
2.1.1. Edge detection algorithms
In a recent study, Wang et al. (2003) have found that the gradients of
the pixel intensities between bubbles in froth images are too small to be
Fig. 3. A single digital froth image as a three-dimensional array of data. (For interpretation
of the references to colour in this figure legend, the reader is referred to the web version of
this article.)
3
Fig. 4. Approaches to feature extraction from flotation froth images.
detected reliably by classical edge detection functions. Moreover, the
gradients of the pixel intensities on the white spots or specularities on
the top of the bubbles are large, which leads to further confounding of
classic methods, such as discussed by Cany (1986), Fu and Mu (1981)
and Pal and Pal (1993). As a consequence, Wang and Stephansson
(1999) and Wang et al. (2003) have proposed the use of valley edge
detection and valley edge tracing to segment froth images. With valley
edge detection, the focus is on the detection of valley edges between the
bubbles, disregarding the edges of the texture on a bubble. Images are
preprocessed to filter out noise and then image pixels are evaluated as
possible edge candidates, by checking to see if they are the lowest points
in valleys in certain directions. This is followed by a cleanup procedure
based on valley edge tracing to ensure that there are no gaps between
valley edges. The authors have concluded that this approach is
significantly more reliable and orders of magnitude faster than previous
methods to segment froth images. Another improvement in image
segmentation was proposed by Citir et al. (2004) based on iterative
application of a two-stage procedure to identify local minima in pixel
intensities, followed by border thinning, after which bubble diameters
are calculated. This approach was more accurate for the larger the
bubble sizes, i.e. like other algorithms it works better with higher
resolution images, not taking the increased computational time into
account.
2.1.2. Watershed algorithms
Watershed algorithms are morphological approaches based on a
simulation of water rising from a set of markers, as indicated in Fig. 5.
In this figure, three minima are shown (a, c and e), where a and e are
identified as starting points (black markers). Points b and d are
maxima. Moreover, d is identified as a watershed point, since it does
not flood from the two markers. The approach therefore identifies
regional maxima by locating trends in pixel intensities along different
scan lines. Although the approach is robust in the sense that it is not as
dependent on uniform lighting as other methods, the positions of the
markers evidently play a critical role in the performance of the
technique. Preprocessing, in which the marker image is determined, is
therefore of crucial importance. Since each bubble displays a localized
reflection, often as a result of the spotlights that are used on industrial
camera setups or other sources of lighting, they can be used as bubble
markers. In this context, Sadr-Kazemi and Cilliers (1997) have
proposed a robust method based on histogram equalization, correc-
tion and reconstruction of images to construct markers. This
facilitated both the extraction of bubble size and shape distributions.
2.1.3. Froth colour
The froth colour can be quantified through extraction of the red,
green and blue (RGB), hue, saturation and intensity (HSI) or hue,
saturation, and values (HSV) from colour images. This could in principle
give useful information on the loading of the bubbles, especially when
the minerals loaded have a distinctive colour.
4 C. Aldrich et al. / International Journal of Mineral Processing 96 (2010) 1–13

Table 1
Overview of feature extraction from froth images.

Type Froth variables or features Methods used References

Physical Bubble size and shape Edge detection Banford et al., (1998); Wang and Stephansson (1999); Wang et al. (2000, 2003);
Banford and Aktas (2004); Forbes and De Jager (2004b); Wang and Li (2005);
Forbes et al. (2006); Forbes (2007) Lin et al. (2007a,b,c)
Watershed Sadr-Kazemi and Cilliers (1997); Ventura-Medina and Cilliers (2000);
Forbes and De Jager (2004a); Yang et al. (2008)
Colour RGB levels (colour spectrum) Gebhardt et al. (1993); Oestreich et al. (1995); Hargrave et al. (1996, 1998);
Hargrave and Hall (1997); Wang et al. (2002); Duchesne et al. (2003); Bonifazi et al. (2005a,b);
Haavisto et al. (2006, 2008); Vathavooran et al. (2006); Morar et al. (2005);
Saghatoleslam et al. (2004).
Statistical FFT coefficients FFT analysis Moolman et al. (1994)
Wavelet coefficients Wavelet analysis Bartolacci et al. (2006); Liu and MacGregor (2007, 2008)
Textural variables Localized pixel intensities Holtham and Nguyen (2002); Hargrave and Hall (1997); Lin et al. (2008)
Co-occurrence matrix variables Co-matrix methods Moolman et al. (1994, 1995a,b,d 1996); Aldrich et al. (1995, 1997);
Bezuidenhout et al. (1997); Aldrich and Feng (2000); Feng and Aldrich (1999, 2000, 2005);
Yang and Aldrich (2005, 2006)
Fractal descriptors Fractal analysis Hargrave et al. (1998); Hargrave and Hall (1997); Liu et al. (2002a,b); Wang et al. (2006);
Bonifazi et al. (2000a,b)
Latent variables Principal component analysis Liu et al. (2005); Bartolacci et al. (2006); Liu and MacGregor (2007, 2008)
Neural network models Moolman et al. (1995c); Niemi et al. (1997); Hyötyniemi and Ylinen (2000);
Kaartinen and Hyötyniemi (2005); Jeanmeure and Zimmerman (1998);
Zimmerman et al. (1996), Estrada-Ruiz and Perez-Garibay (2009),
Rughooputh and Rughooputh (2009).
Dynamic Mobility Bubble tracking Botha (1999); Botha et al. (1999); Francis and De Jager (2001)
Block matching Moolman et al. (1994); Holtham and Nguyen (2002); Forbes and De Jager (2007);
Barbian et al. (2007); Supomo et al. (2008)
Pixel tracing Nguyen and Holtham (1997)
Stability Average pixel Moolman et al. (1995a); Moolman (1995)
Bubble dynamics Barbian et al. (2003, 2005, 2006); Morar et al. (2006)

2.1.4. Other physical features
Apart from the bubble morphology and colour of the froth, other
physical features may also provide useful information on the flotation
process. This includes the use of a load algorithm (Miettunen et al.,
2001; Kaartinen et al., 2002, 2005) to measure the mineral coverage of
the bubbles. This approach is based on observations made at the zinc
flotation circuit of the Pyhäsalmi mine in Finland, where it was
noticed that bubbles with a high mineral load in the flotation circuit
did not have total reflectance points or bright spots on their tops.
Instead, these bubbles exhibited black windows on their tops, the
proportion of which could give an indication of poor loading of the
bubbles.
2.1.5. Challenges in the extraction of physical features
It is important to realise that the surface film size distribution, which
is the result from image analysis feature extraction, is not necessarily the
same as the bubble size distribution. This is a common misconception,
and can lead to significant errors if used for quantitative predictions.
Neethling et al. (2003) compared the film size from image analysis with
the bubble size required to predict correctly the concentrate flow rate
and found that the average size measured is generally too narrow. This is
not unexpected; the watershed method often over-segments large
bubbles and under-segments smaller ones. have addressed this by
relating the surface film size to the underlying bubble size; this has not
been implemented commercially.
Certain areas of the flotation froth surface consist of bubbles that
are too small to segment out. For example, in cases where fine froth
areas are present, the watershed segmentation will segment out
these fine froth areas as large bubbles, since the occurrence of
relatively bright localized reflections in fine froth is scarce. Other
approaches to image segmentation suffer from similar drawbacks, as
it is difficult to compensate for these effects. The problem can be
alleviated by capturing higher resolution images, but this can result
in prohibitive computational cost, which may compromise online
application. Evidently, this is an area that will gain significantly from
the continued increase in computer power anticipated for the
foreseeable future.
Neethling et al. (2003) raise two further issues with the extracted
froth surface film size distributions. The first concerns the averaging of
the measured distribution into a single value. The standard average is
the Sauter mean (or d32), which is the area weighted average
(Ventura-Medina and Cilliers, 2000); appropriate for phenomena
involving specific surface area, such as the loading of solids. However,
froth drainage involves linear bubble dimensions. The conversion
from one distribution to the other is not trivial. Furthermore, the
commonly observed froth behaviour where the surface bubbles are
significantly larger than those in the layers immediately below and
which form the predominant proportion of the overflowing volume
cannot be corrected for readily.
The use of quantitative bubble size measurements from image
analysis either directly for control or as the basis for model-based
control has therefore not yet satisfactorily been resolved. From a process
control perspective, this does not seem to be a serious problem though,
since it is doubtful whether information on exact bubble size
distributions would contribute meaningfully to the control of flotation
plants.

2.2. Statistical features

2.2.1. Fast Fourier transforms

More involved analyses include those based on Fourier transforms
Fig. 5. Froth image segmentation with the watershed algorithm. and wavelets. By means of Fast Fourier transforms (FFT), digitized
 C. Aldrich et al. / International Journal of Mineral Processing 96 (2010) 1–13 5

images, as matrices of grey level pixel intensities, x(n1,n2) can be the time shifted and rescaled mother wavelet ψ(x), as in Eq. (4)
transformed from the spatial or grey-scale domain to the spectral applied to a one-dimensional signal.
domain, X(ω1,ω2) according to Eq. (1)
∞  
1 x−b
∞ ∞ CWT ða; bÞ = pffiffiffi ∫ f ðxÞΨ dx: ð4Þ
−jω1 n1 −jω2 n2 a −∞ a
X ðω1 ; ω2 Þ = ∑ ∑ xðn1 ; n2 Þe e : ð1Þ
−∞ −∞

In Eq. (4), a and b are the dilation and translation parameters

In Eq. (1), ω1 and ω2 are the frequency components associated
with the Fourier transform, while X(ω1,ω2) is the two-dimensional
discrete-space Fourier transform of x(n1,n2), representing the ampli-
tude associated with the complex exponential in Eq. (1). The image
can then be reconstructed with Eq. (2)
π π
jω1 n1 jω2 n2
xðn1 ; n2 Þ = ∫ ∫ X ðω1 ; ω2 Þe e dω1 dω2 :
−π −π
From Eq. (1) it can be seen that X(ω1,ω2) is generally complex, even
though x(nl,n2), the two-dimensional discrete-space function repre-
senting the image, may be real. Therefore, it is convenient to define
respectively. The magnitude of the coefficient is maximised when the
signal frequency matches that of the corresponding dilated wavelet.
Since continuous wavelets are computationally inefficient, they are
most frequently applied in a discrete form, typically computing the
continuous wavelet at dyadic scales, a = 2j and b = 2jk.
In essence the wavelet coefficients are measures of the similarity
between the signal and the translated and dilated version of a mother
ð2Þ
wavelet. The mother wavelet is in turn related to the scaling function
φ(x) with some suitable real-valued sequence h[k], for k = 1, 2, … K.
pffiffiffi K
ψðxÞ = 2 ∑ h1 ½kφð2x−kÞ ð5Þ
k=1

the power spectrum according to Eq. (3), to enforce real number values
and the features used to represent the froth are obtained from the pffiffiffi K
φðxÞ = 2 ∑ h0 ½kφð2x−kÞ ð6Þ
coefficients of the power spectrum P(ω1,ω2), k=1

P ðω1 ; ω2 Þ = jX ðω1 ; ω2 Þj :
2
ð3Þ and

k
For example, Moolman et al. (1995b) correlated the sum of the h1 ½k = ð−1Þ h0 ½1−k: ð7Þ
coefficients in the power spectrum with the average bubble sizes of
froth images obtained from a copper flotation plant. Fourier With these relations, the discrete wavelet transform (DWT) can be
transforms have not been used extensively in froth image analysis, performed at composition level j without recourse to the explicit
since unlike Fourier transforms, wavelet transforms allow the forms of the mother wavelet and scaling function, i.e.
decomposition of signals with respect to both frequency and space h i
j=2 j
(or time). φj;l ðkÞ = 2 h0 k−2 ð8Þ

h i
2.2.2. Wavelet transforms j=2 j
ψj;l ðkÞ = 2 h1 k−2 : ð9Þ
With wavelets, the image x(n1,n2) is convolved with a low and a
high pass filter associated with a mother wavelet and then down-
From which the DWT approximation (aj[l]) and detail dj[l]
sampled afterwards. This yields four images, each one half the size of
coefficients of signal f(x) can be computed as
the original, corresponding to the high pass filter applied in a
horizontal direction and the low pass filter applied in the vertical
aj ½l = 〈f ½k; φj;l ½k〉 ð11Þ
direction (HL), the high pass filter applied in a vertical direction and
the low pass filter applied in the horizontal direction (LH), the high
and
pass filter applied in both horizontal and vertical directions (HH) and
the low pass filter applied in both directions as well (LL). LL is a low
dj ½l = 〈f ½k; ψj;l ½k〉: ð12Þ
pass version of the original image and is usually referred to as the
approximation image, while the other images are detail images.
The two-dimensional wavelet transform is a direct extension of
The above procedure can be repeated for each approximation image
the one-dimensional discrete wavelet transform, where it is applied
at each resolution 2j, using a dyadic scale. In general this gives four
to a matrix instead of a vector. In this case, the signal is the row or
images denoted by W2hj ; W2vj ; W2dj , and A2 j , respectively corresponding to
column vectors (x) of the pixel intensities of the images. The rows in
HL, LH, HH and LL, as indicated in Fig. 6. If wavelets are applied up to a the image are first passed through a series of low pass (H0) and high
scale
n of 2 J, theno the original image can be reconstructed from A2 J , and pass (H1) filters. Wavelet coefficients are calculated for every pixel
W2 j ; W2v j ; W2dj for j = 1, 2, … J.
h
and a columnwise decimation is performed on both matrices, so that
The continuous wavelet transform can be interpreted as a only one in two columns is retained. The two columnwise decimated
correlation between the data (pixel intensities in the image) and matrices are then filtered again as before, but row-wise, retaining one

Fig. 6. Image decomposition with the two-dimensional discrete wavelet transform (2D-DWT).
6 C. Aldrich et al. / International Journal of Mineral Processing 96 (2010) 1–13

in two rows. The four resultant matrices have half the sizes of the
original matrix.
The coefficient matrix generated by the two low pass filters is the
approximation matrix (aj). The three remaining decimated matrices
are referred to as details (dj), and they contain the horizontal, vertical
and diagonal details of the image textures. The Froebenius norm is
often used as a statistic to summarize the features extracted from
images by use of wavelets.
Discrete wavelet transforms are readily applied to images in a two-
dimensional discrete form and there are indications that they are more
computationally efficient and robust to varying lighting conditions than
segmentation algorithms (Bharati et al., 2004). Like grey level co-
occurrence matrices, wavelet transforms are state-of-the art methods,
with performance depending on the nature of the information to be
extracted, as well as the characteristics of the images.
Fig. 7. Texture spectrum approach to feature extraction from froth images.
2.2.3. Fractal descriptors
Fractal descriptors are based on the notion of self similarity in the
bubble size distributions of the froth images. If the bubbles on the froth levels), often without undue loss of information with regard to the state
surface can be identified at different scales, then their area distribution of the froth. Since texture is usually measured in a small region, a large
follows a power law distribution. Hargrave et al. (1998) have number of entries are zero and although they need to be processed, they
investigated the use of Sierpinski fractals to characterize coal froths do not contribute to the texture description of the region.
that had exhibited bimodal fractal behaviour, which could be related to
the ratio of larger to smaller bubbles within the froth. Bonifazi et al. 2.2.5. Texture spectrum analysis
(2000a,b) experimented with copper and lead froths, and observed that With texture spectrum analysis, features are extracted by scanning
the froth structure could be characterized by two different fractal the image with a 9 pixel-matrix, as shown in Fig. 7. The 8 neighbouring
dimensions. There was no evident correlation between these fractal pixels can assume a value either less than, equal to or greater than the
descriptors of the froth and metal grades, but they could be used with value of the central pixel, giving rise to 38 which equals 6561 com-
other predictors to predict metal grades in the froth. binations. The indices of these combinations (texture unit numbers)
constitute the texture spectrum of the image. The use of texture
2.2.4. Co-occurrence matrices and their variants spectrum analysis combined with pixel tracing to evaluate the froth
A grey level co-occurrence matrix (GLCM) is defined over an image surface has been investigated by Holtham and Nguyen (2002) and
to be the distribution of co-occurring grey levels of two pixels located at implemented in JKFrothCam™ software.
a certain translation distance from each other and at a certain angle.
Alternatively, two translation distances can be used to in both spatial 2.2.6. Latent variables
directions (Δp,Δq), instead of one distance and one angle. In addition,
the number of grey levels considered can also be lower than that in the 2.2.6.1. Principal component analysis. Multivariate image analysis is a
original image. More formally, if i and j = 1, 2, 3 … L grey levels, and p versatile approach to analyse spatial and spectral correlation in
and q are the coordinates of a given pixel in the image, then I(p,q) = 1, if images, whether separately or simultaneously. In general, the
X(p,q) = i and X(p + Δp,q + Δq) = j, otherwise, I(p,q) = 0. The (i,j)th approach deals with stacks of congruent images or three-dimensional
element of the co-occurrence matrix C is then defined over an image X, data arrays, where two dimensions represent geometrical coordinates
with n × m pixels, in accordance with Eq. (5) and the complete co- and one dimension represents a spectral coordinate. If the image X′
occurrence matrix is constructed by repeating the calculations for each has dimensions (I × J × K), then it can be decomposed into an IJ × K
(i, j)th combination: matrix, X, that can be decomposed by use of principal component
analysis into the sum of outer product vectors tj (scores) and pj
n m
C ði; jÞ = ∑ ∑ Iðp; qÞ: ð5Þ (loadings) plus a residual matrix E:
p=1 q=1
T T T T
X = TP + E = t1 p1 + t2 p2 + ⋯ + tk pk + E ð6Þ
Thus, a grey level co-occurrence matrix is therefore a matrix of
frequencies, where each, element (i, j) is the sum of the number of where k is less than or equal to the smaller dimension of X. In this
times that pixel value i was some offset from pixel intensity j. case, the spatial information is lost. For example, a 256 × 256 image in
A variety of image informative features can consequently be ob- red green and blue (RGB), would give a 256 × 256 × 3 array, that will
tained from the co-occurrence matrices, such h as entropy i ε= be unfolded in to a 65,536 × 3 matrix and may decomposed into a
− ∑ ∑ ½C ði; jÞ⁎ logðC ði; jÞ, inertia, ℘ = ∑ ∑ ði−jÞ2 C ði; jÞ , energy, 65,536 × 1 score vector (T), a 3 × 1 loading matrix (P) and a 65,536 × 3
i j i j
residual matrix (E). Liu et al. (2005) discuss the application of multi-
E = ∑ ∑ ½C ði; jÞ2 , etc., each of which would define some textural
i j resolution multivariate image analysis.
aspect of the image.
Features from co-occurrence matrices have been used extensively 2.2.6.2. Hebbian learning. The generalized Hebbian algorithm extracts
to characterize image textures and several variants have been found features from images, so that the original images can be reconstructed
useful in the context of froth image analysis. These include features as a weighted sum of the components, according to Eq. (7).
from spatial and neighbouring grey level dependence matrix methods
N
(Moolman et al., 1995a,b).
f ðXÞ = ∑ φi ðX Þθi : ð7Þ
Although the computational inefficiency of co-occurrence matrices i=1
could be high when all the grey levels in high resolution images are
analysed, this need not be a serious drawback, since the problem can be The vector f(X) represents the image or some function of the
ameliorated by considering fewer grey levels (obtained by binning the image, coded in a one-dimensional structure. qi represent the N image
 C. Aldrich et al. / International Journal of Mineral Processing 96 (2010) 1–13
features, while φi(k) are the loadings of feature qi. The number of
features (N) is typically much smaller than the k elements in the
image. Examples of the application of this approach in froth image
analysis can be found in Niemi et al. (1997) and Hyötyniemi and
Ylinen (2000).
2.2.6.3. Multilayer perceptrons. Although a wide range of nonlinear
techniques to the latent variable approach described above is available,
neural networks have mostly been used for this purpose. Some of
the reasons for this are likely linked to their historical ascendance in
process engineering at the same time when an interest in machine
vision systems in froth flotation began to develop. In the form of
auto-associative neural networks or auto-encoders, multilayer
perceptrons provide a natural means to extract features from
froth images, as demonstrated by Moolman et al. (1995c). In
essence, the image is sampled or processed, by converting the two-
or higher-dimensional array into a single vector, which is then
passed to the neural network. The network attempts to reconstruct
the vector (and hence the image), by passing the data through a
bottleneck layer, that essentially extracts latent variables or
features from the image. In a different approach, Estrada-Ruiz
and Perez-Garibay (2009) have used a multilayer perceptron to
relate the bubble lumination intensities to the size distributions of
the bubbles. Despite their popularity, multilayer perceptrons have
not been applied extensively in the extraction of features from
froth images. One of the reasons for this is that neural networks
with multiple hidden layers can be difficult to train and may not
yield consistent or robust results. However, these problems may
become less significant with new advances in this area of machine
learning.
2.2.6.4. Cellular neural networks. Cellular neural networks typically
consist of a finite number of locally interconnected nonlinear process
units that collectively can show emergent behaviour. The cells are
often defined in a 2-dimensional Euclidean geometry, like a grid. A
few applications have been reported, in which these networks have
been used for their ability to rapidly process froth images (Jeanmeure
and Zimmerman, 1998; Zimmerman et al., 1996).
Clearly, many other analytical methods to extract features from froth
images remain unexplored and may play an important role in the
development of improved relationships between image and other plant
variables of interest. These could include methods based on the
nonlinear extension of principal component analysis, methods used in
subspace or manifold learning, as well as other machine learning
methods that can be used for feature extraction from high-dimensional
data sets, such as random forests. However, a more in-depth discussion
of these methods is beyond the scope of this investigation.
Fig. 8. Bubble tracking (left) and block matching (right) motion analysis (after Botha, 1999).
7
2.3. Dynamic features
Dynamic features refer to descriptors designed to capture the
movement or dynamic behaviour of the froth, such as the froth
mobility (speed and direction of movement), as well as stability
(bubble burst rate, fraction of air overflowing or some notion of the
rate of change of the appearance of the froth).
2.3.1. Mobility
Motion estimation in froths is difficult, owing to the smoothness of
the images, as well as the effects of bubbles bursting and merging.
Furthermore, although the froth as a whole has an average motion, it
is relatively stagnant in the centre of flotation cell, while moving
rapidly where it overflows into the launder.
2.3.1.1. Bubble tracking. In bubble motion analysis, the movement of the
localized reflections of light on the bubble surfaces is tracked. Bubble-
based motion analysis calculates a motion vector for each bubble
marker. Although this is useful in motion tracking of individual bubbles
over extended periods of time, calculating statistics on this information
can be problematic, as the motion information is extracted at irregular
intervals associated with the movement of the bubbles in the image. In
addition, detailed mobility information is sometimes required for
predetermined sub-regions of the froth surface (Botha, 1999).
2.3.1.2. Block matching. With block matching algorithms motion vectors
can be calculated at regular intervals in predetermined regions of
interest. This is accomplished by partitioning the source image into non-
overlapping blocks and then attempting to match each of these blocks to
the corresponding block in the target image. Each source block is then
cross-correlated with all the possible overlapping target blocks in its
search region. The position of the matching block is identified as the
position at which maximum cross correlation is achieved. Fig. 8 gives an
indication of typical results obtained with bubble and region based
approaches to froth motion analysis.
Using this method, Barbian et al. (2007) describe an algorithm
whereby a normalised height map is produced and the location of the
maximum value shows the image displacement needed to maximise the
image correlation. The normalised peak is the cross correlation peak
measurement, and gives a value of between unity and zero — where a
high value would represent a ‘mobile’ froth and conversely a lower value
would indicate a more ‘viscous’, dry froth. The cross correlation peak
was found to be related to concentrate grade.
2.3.1.3. Cluster matching. The algorithm clusters two successive frames
of an image sequence based on position and intensity. Displacement
estimates are subsequently obtained by matching the cluster centres
8 C. Aldrich et al. / International Journal of Mineral Processing 96 (2010) 1–13
between successive frames using cluster features such as position,
intensity, shape and average grey-scale difference (Kottke and Sun,
1994). Francis (2001) concluded that although cluster based motion
estimation algorithms were fast, they performed comparatively
poorly on froth images.
2.3.1.4. Pixel tracing. The algorithm was developed by Nguyen and
Thornton (1995) and is used in JKFrothCam produced by JKTech. In
essence, it is a correlation based algorithm, where a block in the centre
of an image is compared with corresponding blocks in a subsequent
image. The motion vector is determined by the blocks with the highest
correlation. It is fast, since it does not search the entire motion search
space, but may sacrifice accuracy in the process. The algorithm was
used by Nguyen and Holtham (1997), as well as Holtham and Nguyen
(2002).
2.3.2. Stability
Stability measurements provide an indication of the appearance and
disappearance of bubbles from the froth. As with velocity measure-
ments, these methods are also based on the analysis of sequences of
froth images. One of the first approaches proposed by Moolman et al.
(1995a) was the calculation of the average intensity of an average image
of a sequence of images. The more rapid the change in the images, the
more blurred the average and the more its intensity would approach an
intermediate value. This crude approach was confounded with the
velocity of the froth as well, and more sophisticated approaches were
subsequently considered by various authors.
In these methods, the images are first aligned, so as not to confound
calculations with the froth velocity. The images are then pair-wise
subtracted from one another, after which the residual values could be
further analysed.
More recently, Zanin et al. (2009) have made use of Metso's
Visiofroth software to infer the stability of flotation froths from digital
images of the froth bubbles in porphyry copper plants.
Several authors, such as Barbian et al. (2003, 2005, 2006), have
proposed methods whereby the froth stability can be inferred from
other measured features of the froth. These will be discussed in the
next section.
3. Process control strategies for froth image analysis
Process control strategies based on the online availability of froth
features can be grouped into four categories. The first is based on the
Fig. 9. Time line of selected applications of froth image analysis in process control.
identification of froth structures, indicative of specific process condi-
tions with which specific control actions can be associated. The second
can be termed inferential control, where the froth features are used to
infer operational variables in the process, such as the reagent con-
centration in the froth, or the recoveries and grades in flotation cells.
The third strategy is based on the use of process maps or control
charts, which can be used to detect deviations in the process and
possibly identify the nature of these conditions and control actions
required to rectify these conditions. Finally, in a more recent devel-
opment, froth image variables have been included in what can be
termed classical control strategies. Fig. 9 is a time-line representation of
a selection of studies conducted with regard to image-based flotation
control. As indicated by Fig. 9, the earliest approach was based on froth
classification, followed by inferential estimation of operational vari-
ables, while automated control applications have been proposed very
recently. These approaches are discussed in more detail below.
3.1. Identification of froth structures representative of known
operational states
One of the first applications of machine vision systems was to
identify froth structures, in accordance with plant practice, where
operators identify froth structures as an indication of the condition of
the plant. The froth features are typically used as predictor variables to
identify the froth classes, which are in turn determined by heuristic
experience from plant staff. Since it is a classification problem, any of a
large number of classifiers can be used, such as linear discriminant
analysis, learning vector quantisation neural networks, nearest neigh-
bour methods, multilayer perceptrons, etc. Apart from assisting process
operators, this approach also lends itself to supervised control by means
of expert or knowledge-based systems (e.g. Cipriano et al., 1997a,b,
1998). Aldrich et al. (1997) have shown that such classifiers can also be
automated for inclusion in fuzzy control systems by use of inductive
trees and genetic algorithms. Guarini et al. (1995) and Cipriano et al.
(1998) have reported the use of a machine vision system (ACEFLOT) to
extract an array of features from froths in copper flotation rougher cells,
which are then used by a knowledge-based system with IF–THEN rules
to identify the operational state of the flotation cell and the
corresponding control action required. Bonifazi et al. (1999) have
used a combination of features reflecting froth colour and bubble
morphology to define froth classes based on mineral content. Zhu and
Yu (2008) have reported the use of leaning vector quantization neural
networks and rough sets to identify the state of a haematite flotation
 C. Aldrich et al. / International Journal of Mineral Processing 96 (2010) 1–13
plant based on textural features extracted from digital images of the
froth.
3.2. Inferential estimation of operational variables
A key froth control issue is the question of which variables are the
most important and should be measured, and how they affect the
flotation performance. While it is evident that bubble size and froth
velocity are significant, the effect of their manipulation and interac-
tions is not obvious. Froth models have been developed and can be
explored to identify the key variables. Two model types for the froth
have been developed: fundamental CFD-type models based on the
froth physics, and semi-empirical models, such as proposed by Zheng
and Knopjes (2004). The latter often use simplified equations derived
from the former. Cilliers (2009) has recently reviewed physics-based
froth simulation and some of the simplified equations from that
approach.
An understanding of the fundamental phenomena occurring in the
froth phase is essential for forming generic relationships between
froth features and the flotation performance. Kinetic froth models
must include the bubble size and froth velocity (mobility). These can
therefore be regarded as the minimum requirement for any froth
imaging system.
More recently, the air recovery, the fraction of air entering the cell
that overflows into the concentrate rather than bursting on the surface,
has become more widely recognised as being important. This is a form of
froth stability measurement. The air recovery has not routinely been
measured industrially. It is interesting that its importance was only
identified as a result of the development of kinetic and fundamental
models of the froth.
In the fundamentally-based froth models of Neethling et al., the air
recovery is a necessary boundary condition to calculate the froth flow
lines. Further, a number of simplified flotation relationships have been
derived from the full differential equations: overflowing liquid rate
(Neethling et al., 2003), froth recovery (Neethling, 2008) and
entrainment (Neethling and Cilliers, 2009). All these relationships
include the air recovery explicitly, further confirming its importance in
theory.
The overflowing liquid rate model (Neethling et al., 2003) is based
on foam drainage theory and, for unstable froths such as in roughers
and scavengers, depends strongly on the air recovery. This model was
demonstrated to accurately predict the water recovery in two-phase
foam systems, and, with some calibration, also three-phase froth
systems (Zheng et al., 2006).
The semi-empirical froth-based flotation model by Woodburn
et al. (1994) combines a conceptual froth structure with the kinetics
of flotation. They base the flotation kinetics on the flux of bubble
surface area overflowing from the cell:
ΨB = αQ a Sb ≈ðζvf hwÞSb :
In this model the flux of bubble surface area (ΨB) is calculated
from the volumetric air flow rate into the cell (Qa), the specific bubble
area (Sb) and the air recovery, α. This is approximately the same as
relating ΨB to the specific bubble area, froth velocity (vf), froth height
(h), weir width (w) and the volume fraction of the froth that is air (ζ),
usually taken as unity. Although they do not directly measure the air
recovery, they estimated it from still images.
Ventura-Medina and Cilliers (2002) attempted to relate ΨB to the
mass flows of valuable material, gangue and water — based on the
froth structure (Murphy et al., 1998; Neethling and Cilliers, 1998,
2000). Experimental data did not, however, correlate well with the
model and this was attributed to varying froth stability. Realising this,
Barbian et al. (2003) suggested that α could be used as a quantitative
indication of the froth stability. The value of α can be calculated by
Eq. (9), where froth image analysis is used to determine the velocity of
9
the froth at the surface. The height of the froth overflowing the weir
can be measured conveniently using a laser distance device, or also by
image analysis.
α≈ζvf hw = Q a : ð9Þ
Note that the froth recovery includes the air rate entering the
flotation cell. This is not a simple measurement; gas flow meters are
available for forced aeration cells but determining the rate for self-
aerated cells is significantly more difficult. Elegant in-cell measuring
devices have been developed by Torrealba-Vargas and Finch (2006)
which have the potential of being used online.
Barbian et al. (2005, 2006, 2007) measured air recovery at
laboratory and industrial scales using image analysis to measure the
froth velocity and identified experimentally that a peak in air recovery
exists as a function of air rate.
It was noted that variation of air rate, froth depth and frother
concentration all directly affected the flotation performance due to
the direct effect of these parameters on the froth stability. It was also
observed that greater air recovery values resulted in improved
flotation performance. Recently Hadler and Cilliers (2009) showed
that varying the air rate to individual cells in a bank to maximise the
air recovery produces the highest recovery. Froth image analysis is a
simple method of determining the air flow to obtain this peak in air
recovery, by measuring the froth velocity and, potentially, the depth
overflowing the cell lip. This has important implications for control as
a single quantitative variable can be measured and maximised.
Cruz and Adel (1998) have investigated the application of video-
based sensors to analyse the ash content of coal in flotation cells,
while Wang et al. (2001) have likewise reported satisfactory results
with regression models used to relate the ash content of floated coal
to image features.
Duchesne et al. (2003) from the mineral research consortium
COREM, in collaboration with Agnica-Eagle/La Ronde, have reported a
correlation between the froth colour and zinc grade. Likewise, in a
separate long-term study, Kaartinen et al. (2006a,b) and Kaartinen
and Koivo (2002) focused on the control of the zinc flotation process
at the Pyhäsalmi Mine in Finland. Using a multi-camera system
proved to be very helpful in the analysis of the process. A strong
correlation between image variables and concentrate grades was
evident. Some of the image variables reacted 15 min earlier on
disturbances than the online X-ray analyser and could in principle be
added to the control strategy for significantly improved process
performance and prognostic process monitoring via the forecasting of
incipient process disturbances. Runge et al. (2007) have shown that
the concentrate tonnage flow on a copper flotation plant is highly
correlated with the froth velocity, while the grades in the cells were
related to the velocity, as well as the froth stability.
ð8Þ 3.3. Use of process control charts
Apart from the identification of specific froth classes as an
indication of process conditions, the operator can also be assisted by
use of process control charts, where the froth features, and by
implication the state of the flotation process, can be tracked online.
For example, Moolman et al. (1994) and Van Deventer et al. (1996)
used self-organizing (Kohonen) neural networks to map grey level
dependence matrix features from froth images to two-dimensional
process charts. Aldrich et al. (2004) and Jemwa and Aldrich (2006)
have discussed the monitoring of froth flotation plants from image
features by use of biplots and kernel methods, as case studies in
mineral processing. Although these charts are powerful plant
automation tools, interpretation of fault conditions are not straight-
forward, since these need to be related to the image features.
However, Liu et al. (2005) have recently reported an interesting
application, where they have demonstrated control of the plant by
10 C. Aldrich et al. / International Journal of Mineral Processing 96 (2010) 1–13
guiding the process towards a froth exemplar associated with optimal
plant performance.
3.4. Classical control
The literature on the use of image variables in flotation control is
sparse. In the Esprit LTR Project no 24931 (also widely known as the
Characterization of Flotation Froth Structure and Colour by Machine
Vision or ‘ChaCo’ project) initiated in 1995, the design of flotation
control systems exploiting froth image data from the Outokumpu
Pyhäsalmi concentrator, Boliden Garpenberg concentrator and Boli-
den Aitik concentrator in Finland, was investigated. Based on this
work, it is reported that the flotation processes were so complicated
that ordinary model-based control design methods could not be
applied. The dynamics of the process was sufficiently slow so that
froth stability did not appear to be a major problem in control. Instead,
the more important issue was to identify a control configuration,
which would guarantee satisfactory operation and enable process
optimisation. For the majority of the output variables it was difficult to
find the best possible reference values in different operating
conditions. Therefore the reference values had been replaced by
upper and lower alarm limits and the purpose of the control was to
maintain the output between these limits. The final optimisation was
based on learning during normal operation. These control algorithms
consisted of logical IF–THEN statements and had been realised by the
PROSCON automation system.
Van Olst et al. (2000) have used FrothMaster to measure the speed
of a froth over the lip of a cell and used this information to control the
mass recovery of two flotation cells in series which were pulling
inconsistently with respect to each other, owing to differences in
hydrostatic heads between the cells. According to these authors, they
could control the speed of the froth to within 5% of its set point by
manipulating the froth level, frother addition rate and the aeration
rate.
Kaartinen et al. (2006a,b) reported the use of the red colour of the
froth, bubble size, bubble collapse rate, as well as reagent addition rates
to control a zinc rougher flotation circuit. Similarly, Miettunen et al.
(2001) reported the use of an automatic control system for a zinc
flotation plant. Brown et al. (2001) have reported the use of froth speed,
level, frother addition rate and aeration rate in a simple scheme to
control a flotation circuit. More recently, Liu and MacGregor (2008)
have proposed the use of a causal model to predict future froth
appearance based on manipulated and process variables. Their results
suggest the possibility of using advanced model-based approaches to
control flotation circuits based on the appearance of the froth.
Supomo et al. (2008) have discussed a control strategy to improve
mass pull in PT Freeport's copper–gold rougher circuit in Papua,
Indonesia, reporting an increase in recovery of 3.4%. The main control
variables in the rougher circuit are reagent dosage and flotation cell pulp
level, which drive concentrate mass pull, subject to changing copper
grades and variable amounts of sulfide gangue. The adaptive control
strategy is customised around Metso Minerals' VisioFroth system, which
is used to measure the surface froth velocity in individual rougher cells.
The froth velocity is directly related to the mass pull and the control
system is then used to adjust the froth depth, to optimise the froth
velocity and the mass pull.
Table 2
Commercial flotation froth imaging systems.
System ACEFLOT FrothMaster
Company/institution Chile Outokumpu, Finland
Year of launch 1994 1996
Major installations Chile Finland, Cadia Valley, Australia
(Moore, 2006)
However, the measurable control variables such as colour, grey
scale, bubble size and shape do not always correspond with a unique
metallurgical situation, especially in a dynamic environment of the
flotation plant. Different ores and cell operating conditions may
produce similar froth images, while the colour of the froth may not be
a reliable an indication of froth grade (Reddick et al., 2009) in copper
flotation cells, as had been observed earlier (Francis, 2001). Although
interpretation of froth image by a machine vision system can be
simplified by classifying the froths into different groups such as ideal
froth, runny froth and sticky froth used by Moolman et al. (1996a,b),
such an approach still has a number of practical limitations. The
reference froths need to be derived for each individual cell and the
acceptable/optimum range of froths in an individual cell relative to
those in the other cells in the circuit need to be clearly defined in the
control system (Supomo et al., 2008).
Zu and Yu (2008) have investigated the use of textural froth
features from a haematite flotation process to control reagent addition
to the plant. A learning vector quantisation neural network, as well as
rough sets was used to estimate the state of the process and hence the
required adjustment to the reagent dosage.
More recently, Núñez and Cipriano (2008, 2009) have discussed
the development of dynamic models for control of flotation plants.
These state space (autoregressive moving average) models were
based on the analysis of sequences of froth images and could be used
to predict the froth dynamics, including froth speed, satisfactorily.
These predictions could be used as virtual measurements for expert
control.
4. Commercial systems
The following table gives an overview of the major commercial
froth imaging systems, viz. VisioFroth (Metso), SmartFroth (UCT),
JKFrothCam (JKMRC), ACEFLOT (Chile), FrothMaster (Outokumpu).
Several of these systems have had their origin in cooperation between
academia and industry.
For example, SmartFroth was developed by the University of Cape
Town and Stone Three in South Africa, JKFrothCam between the
University of Queensland and JKMRC in Australia, Frothmaster was
originally developed at the University of Stellenbosch in South Africa,
while some parts of the prototype testing of Frothmaster 2 were
carried out in cooperation with the Control Engineering Laboratory at
the Helsinki University of Technology. ACEFLOT had its origins at the
Catholic University of Chile. All these systems are capable of
estimating bubble size distributions, typically by means of segmen-
tation algorithms, froth colour, froth speed and stability, as well as a
wide array of other froth statistics, and as such there appears little that
differentiates the software on the basis of analytical capabilities. In
commercial installations, these systems are often integrated with
plant-wide process control software (Table 2).
5. Future trends
Although there is still considerable scope for more extensive
extraction of useful information from froth image data, the more
immediate challenge at present is the exploitation of these systems in
advanced control systems. Having said this, considerable progress has
JKFrothCam SmartFroth VisioFroth
JKMRC, Australia UCT, South Africa Metso
1999 2000 2001
Australia Anglo Platinum (South Africa) Escondida (Chile),
Freeport (Indonesia), Australia
 C. Aldrich et al. / International Journal of Mineral Processing 96 (2010) 1–13
been made in the modelling of froth systems; this has indicated those
parameters that are essential to be measured accurately, and has
identified new parameters that are significant.
Advances in computer technology are also unquestionably a
significant driver in the continued development of flotation machine
vision systems. For example, deflation in the cost of data storage has
been nothing short of spectacular, decreasing from approximately US
$16,000/GB in the early 1990s to US$0.11/GB today. This means that it is
now becoming feasible to store raw froth images sampled regularly over
prolonged periods, in conjunction with other operational data. This in
itself should constitute a valuable resource for data mining purposes.
Likewise, as far as processing speed is concerned, if exponential
growth has been maintained, as it has been for decades, it would be
possible to process high resolution images online and at low cost in
ways not possible today. This will open up new possibilities in the
analysis of froth image data and will enhance advanced control
strategies.
6. Conclusions
• The dynamic analysis of froths based on machine vision continues to
benefit from improved and cheaper computing capabilities. This
should, and has, also proved beneficial for use in control applica-
tions; an example being the use of image data to measure mass pull.
• Statistical feature extraction too should benefit from developments
in machine learning and pattern recognition, as well as advances in
hardware. This should lead to better identification of operational
variables required for automated process control, such as concen-
trate grade.
• Although some work has been done with regard to the relationship
between concentrate grade and froth image features, conflicting
results were obtained. This suggests the requirement for a thorough
study involving different froth systems to assess the predictability of
froth grade from froth image features.
• Until concentrate grade can be directly determined by machine
vision, indices of performance will need to remain inferred from
other image characteristics and operational variables. Some
advances have been made on this front, with initial studies noting
that models predicting air recovery could be a potential indication of
froth stability, and hence, overall performance. Models such as this
have been constructed through an increased understanding of froth
systems. Estimation of bubble size distributions in froths by use of
machine vision has played a major role in this respect.
• However, despite these recent improvements, and more than
20 years of research and development, implementation of long-
term fully automated control systems using machine vision has not
yet materialised.
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