Out of pure curiosity, how would an industrial process engineer approach this problem, de novo?
> A study on structural quality control of Swiss‐type cheese with ultrasound is presented. We used a longitudinal mode pulse‐echo setup using 1–2MHz ultrasonic frequencies to detect cheese‐eyes and ripening induced cracks. Results show that the ultrasonic method posses good potential to monitor the cheese structure during the ripening process. Preliminary results indicate that maturation stage could be monitored with ultrasonic velocity measurements.
https://pubs.aip.org/aip/acp/article-abstract/894/1/1328/953...
https://acs-international.com/instruments/ultrasonic-pulse-e...
Now, I don't think ultrasound would work (it's a harder cheese than Swiss cheese), also the mechanical interface would be a complication (you can't gel the cheese). CT would work but be expensive
But tiny percussions and analysis of echo/transmission delays would work in principle
Ultrasound would also be a solid bet, but it depends how many points you need to sample if it would be time efficient.
> Thus operating frequency is always a trade-off between resolution and penetration. Optimal depth of subsurface penetration is achieved in ice where the depth of penetration can achieve several thousand metres (to bedrock in Greenland) at low GPR frequencies. Dry sandy soils or massive dry materials such as granite, limestone, and concrete tend to be resistive rather than conductive, and the depth of penetration could be up to 15 metres (49 ft). However, in moist or clay-laden soils and materials with high electrical conductivity, penetration may be as little as a few centimetres.
It's not only the sound, it's the sound, the bounce, the response to different strengths, the smell, the color. Humans are multimodal, machines are not, yet.
The moment we have a Michelin star level robot cook, then we can start thinking about automating this kind of stuff. For now, we have better results with humans!
Italians have absolutely zero problems replacing manual processes with technology. Creating each wheel is more science than art, everything is done in highly sterilized environments with exact temperature control, as an example.