The present work reports the development of a biologically inspired analytical system known as Electronic Eye (EE), capable of qualitatively discriminating different tequila categories. The reported system is a low-cost and portable instrumentation based on a Raspberry Pi single-board computer and an 8 Megapixel CMOS image sensor, which allow the collection of images of Silver, Aged, and Extra-aged tequila samples. Image processing is performed mimicking the trichromatic theory of color vision using an analysis of Red, Green, and Blue components (RGB) for each image’s pixel. Consequently, RGB absorbances of images were evaluated and preprocessed, employing Principal Component Analysis (PCA) to visualize data clustering. The resulting PCA scores were modeled with a Linear Discriminant Analysis (LDA) that accomplished the qualitative classification of tequilas. A Leave-One-Out Cross-Validation (LOOCV) procedure was performed to evaluate classifiers’ performance. The proposed system allowed the identification of real tequila samples achieving an overall classification rate of 90.02%, average sensitivity, and specificity of 0.90 and 0.96, respectively, while Cohen’s kappa coefficient was 0.87. In this case, the EE has demonstrated a favorable capability to correctly discriminated and classified the different tequila samples according to their categories.

The present work reports the potential of a bio-inspired system based on spectrometry, also known as Electronic Eye (EE), capable of detecting different Tequila samples. The reported system analyzes small volumes of Tequila Reposado and Blanco by calculating samples’ absorbances, using a low cost and portable instrumentation employing a CCD camera. The absorbance imaging method consisted of exciting samples with light passes through an 8MP camera connected to a Raspberry Pi Card. The camera’s image data are analyzed using MATLAB 2018b to be represented in Red, Green and Blue (RGB) components for each pixel, in order to get an approximation of the absorbance and the Surface Color Index (Isc) associated with sample concentration. Using the developed EE, it was possible to identify seven different kinds and brands of Tequila. From the obtained results, it was observed that the average absorbance of the Tequila Reposado was greater than the absorbance of the Tequila Blanco. Otherwise, with the Isc, the Tequila Blanco color index is lower concerning the Tequila Reposado’s. Finally, the EE allowed the identification of Tequila samples with reproducibility and repeatability.