AN AUTOMATIC SURFACE INSPECTION SYSTEM INSTALLED ON A CUT-TO-LENGTH LINE PROCESSING EXPOSED AUTOMOTIVE PANELS AND OTHER SURFACE CRITICAL STEEL IS DESCRIBED. THE SYSTEM AUTOMATICALLY DETECTS SURFACE DEFECTS, DISPLAYS VIDEO IMAGES OF THE DEFECTS TO THE LINE OPERATOR, AUTOMATICALLY CATEGORIZES DEFECTS, AND CONTROLS THE SHEAR AND REJECT CONVEYORS ON THE LINE. THE SYSTEM UTILIZES HIGH-INTENSITY STROBE LIGHTS AND CCD AREA ARRAY VIDEO TECHNOLOGY FOR IMAGE ACQUISITION. THE SYSTEM PROCESSES 45 MILLION PIXELS PER SECOND THROUGH PROPRIETARY DEFECT DETECTION PROCESSORS PERFORMING MULTIPLE CONVOLUTIONS ON EACH IMAGE IN REAL-TIME. THE INSTALLATION PROVIDES A PLATFORM FOR ON-LINE VERIFICATION AND DEFECT CORRELATION STUDIES.