Real-time defect inspection of green coffee beans using NIR snapshot hyperspectral imaging

•Snapshot hyperspectral camera was used to sort green coffee beans.•Multimodal real-time coffee-bean defect inspection algorithm (RT-CBDIA) based on deep learning is developed for sorting defective green coffee beans.•Combining the 2D-CNN algorithm and the 3D-CNN algorithm, a highly accurate 2D–3D-merged CNN was developed.•RT-CBDIA was combined with a robot arm to create an automated, real-time, and noninvasive sorting machine.