Marko Simonič

Mr. Marko Simonič

orcid

Research Focus & Metrics

Academic Career Length

3Years (2024-Present)

(Calculated once Scilit publication data is synced: current year − year of first publication + 1)

Representative Publications

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19 March 2025 in Foods
Verified
Journal Article
Open access
PDF file
Marko SimoničMarko Simonič
Marko Simonič
Mirko FickoMirko Ficko
Mirko Ficko
Simon KlancnikSimon Klancnik
Simon Klancnik
As we move toward Agriculture 4.0, there is increasing attention and pressure on the productivity of food production and processing. Optimizing efficiency in critical food processes such as corn drying is essential for long-term storage and economic viability. By using innovative technologies such as machine learning, neural networks, and LSTM modeling, a predictive model was implemented for past data that include various drying parameters and weather conditions. As the data collection of 3826 samples was not originally intended as a dataset for predictive models, various imputation techniques were used to ensure integrity. The model was implemented on the imputed data using a multilayer neural network consisting of an LSTM layer and three dense layers. Its performance was evaluated using four objective metrics and achieved an RMSE of 0.645, an MSE of 0.416, an MAE of 0.352, and a MAPE of 2.555, demonstrating high predictive accuracy. Based on the results and visualization, it was concluded that the proposed model could be a useful tool for predicting the moisture content at the outlets of continuous drying systems. The research results contribute to the further development of sustainable continuous drying techniques and demonstrate the potential of a data-driven approach to improve process efficiency. This method focuses on reducing energy consumption, improving product quality, and increasing the economic profitability of food processing.

27 October 2025 in Strojniški vestnik - Journal of Mechanical Engineering
Verified
Journal Article
Open access
Marko SimoničMarko Simonič
Marko Simonič
Iztok PalcicIztok Palcic
Iztok Palcic
Simon KlancnikSimon Klancnik
Simon Klancnik
This systematic literature review investigates advancements in intelligent computer-aided design and computer-aided manufacturing (CAD–CAM) integration and toolpath generation, analyzing their evolution across Industry 4.0 and emerging Industry 5.0 (I5.0) paradigms. Using the theory–context–characteristics–methodology framework, the study synthesizes 51 peer-reviewed studies (from 2000 to 2025) to map theoretical foundations, industrial applications, technical innovations, and methodological trends. Findings reveal that artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning dominate research, driving breakthroughs in feature recognition, adaptive toolpath optimization, and predictive maintenance. However, human-centric frameworks central to I5.0, such as socio-technical collaboration, remain underexplored. High-precision sectors (aerospace, biomedical) lead adoption, while small and medium enterprises (SMEs) lag due to resource constraints. Technologically, AI-driven automation and STEP-NC standards show promise, yet interoperability gaps persist due to fragmented data models and legacy systems. Methodologically, AI-based modeling prevails (49 % of studies), but experimental validation and socio-technical frameworks are sparse. Key gaps include limited real-time adaptability, insufficient AI training datasets, and slow adoption of sustainable practices. The review highlights the urgent need for standardized data exchange protocols, scalable solutions for SMEs, and human-AI collaboration models to align CAD–CAM integration with I5.0’s sustainability and resilience goals. By bridging these gaps, this work provides a roadmap for advancing intelligent, human-centered manufacturing ecosystems.

21 August 2025 in Applied Sciences
Verified
Journal Article
Open access
PDF file
Marko SimoničMarko Simonič
Marko Simonič
Simon KlancnikSimon Klancnik
Simon Klancnik
Corn drying is a critical post-harvest process to ensure product quality and compliance with moisture standards. Traditional optimization approaches often overlook dynamic interactions between operational parameters and environmental factors in industrial continuous flow drying systems. This study integrates statistical analysis and deep learning to predict outlet moisture content, leveraging a dataset of 3826 observations from an operational dryer. The effects of inlet moisture, target air temperature, and material discharge interval on thermal behavior of the system were evaluated through linear regression and t-test, which provided interpretable insights into process dependencies. Three neural network architectures (LSTM, GRU, and TCN) were benchmarked for multivariate time-series forecasting of outlet corn moisture, with hyperparameters optimized using grid search to ensure fair performance comparison. Results demonstrated GRU’s superior performance in the context of absolute deviations, achieving the lowest mean absolute error (MAE = 0.304%) and competitive mean squared error (MSE = 0.304%), compared to LSTM (MAE = 0.368%, MSE = 0.291%) and TCN (MAE = 0.397%, MSE = 0.315%). While GRU excelled in average prediction accuracy, LSTM’s lower MSE highlighted its robustness against extreme deviations. The hybrid methodology bridges statistical insights for interpretability with deep learning’s dynamic predictive capabilities, offering a scalable framework for real-time process optimization. By combining traditional analytical methods (e.g., regression and t-test) with deep learning-driven forecasting, this work advances intelligent monitoring and control of industrial drying systems, enhancing process stability, ensuring compliance with moisture standards, and indirectly supporting energy efficiency by reducing over drying and enabling more consistent operation.

1 July 2025
Verified
Book Chapter
Closed access
PDF file
Marko SimoničMarko Simonič
Marko Simonič
JHJernej Hernavs
Jernej Hernavs
LBLucijano Berus
Lucijano Berus
DPDavid Potočnik
David Potočnik
TPTadej Peršak
Tadej Peršak
SKSimon Klančnik
Simon Klančnik

12 June 2026 in Foods
Verified
Journal Article
Open access
PDF file
TPTadej Peršak
Tadej Peršak
Marko SimoničMarko Simonič
Marko Simonič
JHJernej Hernavs
Jernej Hernavs
Mirko FickoMirko Ficko
Mirko Ficko
Simon KlancnikSimon Klancnik
Simon Klancnik
Potato sorting in post-harvest processing relies heavily on manual visual inspection, which is physically demanding, subjective, and insufficiently scalable for modern packing lines. This study investigates the feasibility of a low-cost RGB-based optical inspection system for automated potato quality detection using deep learning-based object detection. A controlled imaging platform was constructed using commodity hardware, and a dataset of 19,805 manually annotated instances across 1361 images was collected from two geographically distinct farm locations in Slovenia. A systematic benchmark of 25 model configurations spanning five YOLO architecture families—YOLOv8, YOLOv9, YOLOv10, YOLOv11, and YOLO26—was conducted across three practical quality classes (Edible, Feed, Rotten) using a strict cross-location evaluation protocol in which models were trained on one location and tested on a completely unseen second location. All models achieved strong in-distribution performance (F1 ≥ 0.906), but showed considerable variation under cross-location conditions, with external F1 ranging from 0.792 to 0.918. The yolo26_l configuration achieved the best cross-location performance (F1 = 0.918, mAP@0.5:0.95 = 0.816, ΔF1 = 0.029), demonstrating that transferable representations are achievable under a standard supervised training protocol. Per-class analysis identified feed detection as the primary generalization bottleneck. The results confirm that affordable RGB-based sorting systems are technically feasible and highlight cross-location evaluation as an essential protocol for assessing real-world deployment readiness.

29 November 2025
Verified
Journal Article
Open access
PDF file
Marko SimoničMarko Simonič
Marko Simonič
GMGoran Munđar
Goran Munđar
RFRudolf Leon Filip
Rudolf Leon Filip
Introduction: The growing demand for efficient real-time object detection algorithms has led to the development of the YOLO (You Only Look Once) architecture, which has revolutionized the field of machine vision. This research introduces a user-friendly interface designed for students and researchers to easily train, validate, and deploy YOLO models. Aim: The aim of this research is to develop a user-friendly software interface that enables data import, hyperparameter configuration, model training, and object detection on images, on videos, and in real-time via webcam, with a focus on educational and research applications. Materials and Methods: The software was developed using Python with Ultralytics YOLO, OpenCV, and PyQt5 libraries for the user interface. It consists of four modules: a training module, an image detection module, a video detection module, and a real-time detection module. Development included testing on Windows platforms with NVIDIA GPU support, using public datasets like COCO for validation. Results: The developed interface achieved high efficiency, with detection speeds up to 30 FPS in real-time. The modules were tested on various datasets, showing precision up to 95% on validation sets. The user interface enables intuitive navigation, and implementation on the recommended hardware configuration ensures reliable performance. Conclusion: This research demonstrates the potential of the user-friendly interface to facilitate work with YOLO models in educational and research environments. By automating processes, the system reduces barriers for users and improves access to advanced machine vision techniques. Future work will focus on integrating newer YOLO variants and support for multiple operating systems.