Marvel FAQ: straight answers on accuracy, pricing, and fit
Straight answers to the questions operators actually ask. Authored and reviewed by Dr. Behnam Rahimi, Director, AI and Intelligent Systems.
Marvel overview
What is Marvel?
Marvel by Twister is the world's first AI cannabis grading and sorting machine, built by Keirton Inc. It automates the visual quality control of finished cannabis flower: deep learning grades every flower, then sorts it into your defined outputs.
How does Marvel work?
Flower goes in a single input and waterfalls off the conveyor past high-speed cameras that capture the top, bottom, and back of each flower in under 50 milliseconds. Images are classified against cannabis-specific criteria, then flower sorts by air puff into output streams based on your settings.
How many output streams does Marvel have?
Two, three, or four, configured to your operation. Good flower always passes straight through untouched; up to three air-sorted streams route everything else by the conditions you set. Your best product is never blasted or handled.
Who is Marvel for?
Producers who care about flower quality and brand reputation, want better margins and lower cost, or want their post-harvest yield back; buyers and brokers who need objective batch grades; and service providers processing for multiple clients.
Can service providers run Marvel across multiple clients?
Yes. Criteria and recipes are set per run, reports are per lot, streams (2 to 4) map to each client's grade structure, and strain separation keeps client genetics from cross-contaminating. One machine, many standards - each one held exactly.
Who's behind Marvel?
Keirton Inc., the company behind the Twister trim line - building post-harvest equipment since 2007, with more than 80 million pounds processed on its machines across four continents. Marvel's engineering is led by Josh Evans, P.Eng., VP of Product Management, and Dr. Behnam Rahimi, Director of AI and Intelligent Systems. Marvel itself has processed over three billion flowers across the installed fleet. It isn't a startup's prototype; it's the newest machine from a company whose equipment probably already runs somewhere in your building.
Who is Marvel NOT for?
A few honest disqualifiers. If your yield already runs above the high 70s, the yield guarantee isn't on the table - the ceiling is real, and we say so. If your monthly volume makes the per-pound math thin, the discovery call will tell you plainly; under the managed model we only take on operations the model clears. If you want a machine with no ongoing relationship - no fees, no data, no service - Marvel isn't built that way: the intelligence is the product. And nothing here fixes cure, drying, or cultivation problems; Marvel starts where dried flower does.
What are the primary benefits?
Brand protection (off-spec flower gets flagged before packout, not by a customer review), lower post-harvest cost through intelligent control of the trimming process, reduced manual sorting labor, higher yield with lower trim ratio, validated bulk flower sales through per-flower analysis of the whole lot, and consistency without the drift of human graders.
What Marvel grades and detects
What does Marvel grade for?
Stem length, leaf length, leaf number (untrimmed leaves on the flower), crow's feet (petioles from fan leaf removal and at the base of the flower), structural stems, flower size, flower color and discoloration, flat spots (flower flattened or damaged in handling), infections (the visible presence of mold), and strain: trained on your genetics, Marvel detects and separates different strains.
Can Marvel sort by size?
Yes, true size: width and length measured from multiple angles, so cone-shaped and round flowers both size accurately, which one-dimensional mechanical sorters cannot do. Set it to pass everything except flowers under half an inch and that is exactly what happens.
Can it grade multiple criteria at once?
As many as you want in a single run: long stems, long leaves, infections, and undersized flower simultaneously.
Can the sensitivity be adjusted?
Yes. Each criterion carries sensitivity classes, up to 7 levels on some. A Class 0 stem is cut clean to the bud; higher classes tolerate progressively longer stems. Conditions combine criteria and classes into endless grading schemes: pass large flowers with short stems and no crow's feet, fail long stems regardless of size, reject anything moldy, all at once.
What criteria are most recommended?
Most operations reject long stems, long leaves, high leaf concentration, long crow's feet, and infections, since these defects mark a batch as lower value fastest.
Does Marvel come pre-programmed?
Yes, with the most common configurations, and Keirton's AI engineers work with your team to build custom configurations for your strains and seasonal conditions.
Can Marvel detect mold?
External mold, yes: its color and texture are distinguishable from flower. Internal mold, no. Marvel detects external, visible defects only, though tell-tale discoloration around the stem often signals internal mold, and Marvel can flag that.
Can Marvel measure THC or terpenes?
No. Marvel grades what's visible - trim quality, size, color, structure, mold - at line speed. Potency comes from your lab. What we did verify: machine processing doesn't change potency, within ±1% across 34 lab tests at 20 producers in 4 countries.
Can Marvel separate mixed strains?
Yes. Trained on your genetics, Marvel detects and separates different strains - so a lot that got mixed in harvest, drying, or handling gets unmixed instead of sold as undifferentiated blend. It's also why service providers running many clients' genetics on one machine use it: mixed genetics get flagged at grading, not discovered by a customer. In one documented recovery, a producer's lots mixed across multiple harvests were separated back to original cultivars at an accuracy their team measured at 97%. Closer genetics are harder; validation on your strains sets the bar. Ask for a separation demo at our Vancouver lab; it's the most convincing ninety seconds we have.
What else can Marvel identify?
If it shows on the outside of the flower and Marvel has been trained for it, Marvel grades it: light green undeveloped flower, dead and burned yellow leaves, white flower from light stress, flat spots from rough handling, even a lack of purple where your genetics should show it. And because it can tell strains apart once trained on them, a mixed lot gets unmixed instead of downgraded - which is also why service providers running many clients' genetics on one machine care about it.
How Marvel works in your facility
Where does Marvel sit in the line?
It is designed for dried flower, so after drying is best. Some producers run it directly after dry trimming with a T-Zero, others after curing just before shipping to contract buyers, and some at multiple points. Placement depends on your process and automation level.
Does Marvel work with my trimmer brand?
Yes - any brand. Marvel sits downstream of whatever trims your flower (Twister, Mobius, GreenBroz, CenturionPro, or hand trim) and closes the loop around it. The machine judges flower, not equipment. Your line layout gets designed and validated in solutions engineering, like every install.
How do operators control it?
A 19-inch high-definition HMI touchscreen with user-friendly software. Once dialed in, select a configuration and hit go.
Do I need new IT infrastructure or integration work?
No. Marvel needs power (a standard 120V, 15A circuit (240V, 8A in 50Hz markets)), compressed air (7 CFM at 120 psi), and a 50 Mbps network connection. The Portal is cloud-based - there's no server to stand up, no software project to run, and no integration with your existing systems required to operate.
Does Marvel damage the flower?
No. Flower rides a conveyor through the inspection zone and is sorted with a puff of air - no grippers, no mechanical contact at the grading step. Operations selling hand-finished premium flower run Marvel precisely because the handling doesn't cost them the finish - and you'll see it on your own flower at the demo.
How is Marvel different from a mechanical size sorter?
A mechanical sorter sizes flower in one dimension - it can tell big from small, and nothing else. Marvel images every flower from multiple angles and grades size plus quality simultaneously: trim quality, discoloration, mold, structure. That's why round and cone-shaped flowers both size correctly, and why Marvel catches what a size sorter ships. The full three-way comparison - people, mechanical sorters, Marvel - is on the how-it-works page.
How is Marvel different from an optical or color sorter?
A color sorter makes one decision, color, usually from one angle. Marvel images every flower from multiple angles and grades trim quality, structure, size, discoloration, and mold simultaneously, then routes each flower by the conditions you set. A color sorter can pull green from brown; it cannot tell an over-trimmed flower from a well-finished one, or a long stem from a clean cut.
How fast is a single flower processed?
Under 50 milliseconds from the moment it waterfalls off the conveyor to graded and sorted.
Specs and utilities
How large is Marvel?
40 inches wide, 80 inches long, and 80 inches tall, weighing 750 lbs on four casters, so it rolls where the line needs it.
What utilities does Marvel require?
A standard 120V, 60Hz single-phase circuit at 15A (no three-phase electrical work), clean, dry compressed air at 7 CFM and 120 psi, and a network connection of 50 Mbps - Ethernet recommended, WiFi supported. In 50Hz markets: 240V, 8A, single-phase. The air line and internet are the only real facility requirements. Heat load is approximately 3,000 BTU/hr - a number your HVAC engineer can budget in one line. Noise is around 70 dB, conversation volume.
Does my product data leave my facility?
Grading happens on the machine in real time, with no cloud connection required for the grading itself. Afterward, a sample of flower images plus grade data and telemetry transfers, encrypted, to secure cloud storage; full image streams are never transferred. How machine data is handled, owned, and protected is set out in the Marvel Data Usage and AI Processing Policy at /data-policy/.
Capacity, speed, and accuracy
What is Marvel's capacity?
Up to 150 lbs of finished flower per hour.
How accurate is Marvel?
Average accuracy above 80%, with peaks up to 98%, and the models keep learning. That is real grading, and it is also why Marvel is positioned as your QC system's first screen, with humans on final judgment.
How does that compare to human QC?
Human trim technicians grade at roughly 60 to 80% accuracy and drift as the shift wears on. In a measured head-to-head on our own line, an experienced manual QC pair graded at 76.7% accuracy; Marvel graded the same flower at 87%, at 53% higher line speed. By hour nine of a shift, the gap widens further.
How do I know it works on my genetics and my standard?
The models start from a base trained on 1.2 million labeled flowers, then criteria and sensitivities are set per operation and the models train on your genetics where needed (strain separation is an example). Solutions engineering validates on your flower before any number goes on paper. The guarantee floor exists because the validation happened first.
When Marvel's call is wrong, who catches it?
Your people - by design. Marvel is the tireless first screen; flower it flags routes to human judgment, not the trash. Every call is logged in the Portal - graded, timestamped, in your lot reports, with sampled images riding along - so a wrong call isn't a mystery: it's visible, auditable, and tunable, and each criterion's sensitivity adjusts until the machine's line matches yours. That's also why the accuracy floor is a written guarantee, not a hope.
How many people does Marvel need?
A maximum of three with a steady flower stream: one double-checking passes, one double-checking separated flower, one running setup and supervision. Site-wide rate claim: equivalent to five to fifteen people, depending on throughput and line design.
Pricing, ROI, and guarantee
What is the ROI on Marvel?
Two numbers, two questions. Payback - when you've earned back what you spent - is guaranteed inside six months under the managed model, and the number is set with a safety factor, not hope; the fastest published payback was two weeks, at Grip Cannabis. ROI - what you make on the spend - floors at 2x your first-year cost under that same guarantee, with 5x as the design goal. One producer's 36% A-grade increase alone justified the investment.
How does pricing work?
Two structures. The managed model: a small upfront implementation fee, a refundable performance deposit, and monthly fees that begin once Marvel is running. Or outright purchase with a smaller monthly intelligence fee, since no Marvel runs without one. Numbers on a call, straight.
Can I lease Marvel?
There's no lease program. Marvel comes two ways: the managed model - deposit, implementation fee, monthly service, and the six-month payback guarantee - or outright purchase with a monthly intelligence fee. The managed model is the low-capital path, and it's the one that carries the guarantees.
What happens after the guarantee period ends?
The payback guarantee is a one-time clock - once Marvel has paid for itself, that promise is kept. The performance guarantee doesn't expire: for as long as you're on the managed model, if Marvel doesn't perform as specified, the fees stop. Your rate is locked for the term you signed, and the machine keeps improving - every model upgrade ships to your machine for as long as the fees run. Hardware warranty: fully covered under the managed model; two years on outright purchase.
Is my operation big enough for Marvel?
The math is volume-driven, so run the calculator first. Cost lands around $1 to $2 per pound for most mid-to-large operations, under a dollar at high-volume outdoor, higher for small complex indoor grows. If your volume makes the math thin, the discovery call will say so honestly - under the managed model we only take on operations the model clears.
What if I'm not satisfied?
Subscriptions include a Performance Guarantee. On the Charter Program - the four-seat launch offer on the managed model: your deposit returns, your fees stop, and you have 90 days for operating claims - and the payback guarantee is assessed at month three - your actual run rate extrapolated to six: if the trajectory doesn't clear the bar, same consequence, and you know early rather than after six months of fees.
What accuracy does Marvel guarantee?
At least 80% grading and sorting accuracy, specified for your operation by our applications engineering team and built into the performance guarantee as a floor, not a ceiling: averages run above 80% and peak at 98%.
Results
Why is my yield low after machine trimming?
Usually the process, not the machine: without an inspection layer, the only safe setting is tight enough that nothing needs a human touch, and that process turns good flower into trim. Most operations running blind finish below 70% yield. The recovery play is running lighter with an inspection layer catching what needs rework - the same trimmer, run with judgment, stops costing you points.
What is a good cannabis trim yield?
The practical ceiling is 80%. Documented recoveries run 3.6 to 8.2 points across production evaluations, and operations below 70% typically have 5 to 8 points on the table.
What if my yield is already above 70%?
Then yield isn't your headache, and we won't pretend it is - the calculator's top band routes you to the quality story for exactly this reason. The case above 70% is everything else Marvel does: holding your grade on every flower, retiring inspection labor, strain separation, and the per-lot documentation. Several of the best-run operations we work with came for exactly that.
We hand-trim. Is Marvel still relevant?
More than ever, and differently: one premium greenhouse kept its hand-trim crew and used Marvel to direct it - grading every flower first, so hands go where they're needed instead of touching everything. Hand-trim speed rose 62% with the same crew and the same standard. Marvel doesn't have to replace hand trimming to pay for itself; aiming it is enough.
Why are some of your published results anonymous?
Because post-harvest numbers are competitive information, and many customers participate in evaluations only if their name stays off the page - the same confidentiality every Marvel customer's data gets by default. Anonymous doesn't mean unverifiable: ask on a discovery call and we'll connect you with a reference customer in a non-competing market, including a site visit.
Does machine processing hurt potency?
Tested: across 34 verified lab tests spanning 20 producers in four countries, properly processed automated flower landed within plus or minus 1% potency of hand-trimmed controls.
Is Marvel GMP compliant?
Marvel operates inside GMP-certified facilities and is validated within GMP quality systems, with full validation documentation available to your quality team. Full compliance detail, written for QA teams: Marvel in GMP and EU-GMP facilities (/gmp/).
Cleaning, maintenance, and service
How is Marvel cleaned?
Blow residue off with compressed air, wipe down with clean towels and isopropyl. A deep clean takes one person 10 to 20 minutes.
What maintenance is required?
Mostly cleaning plus six-month checkups. The machine has no moving parts in the grading path, so maintenance is minimal.
What is in the service contract?
Installation, commissioning, training, unlimited operation, 12/7 support, software and hardware updates, and regular servicing with onsite optimization sessions over the life of the contract.
Lead time, installation, and training
What is the lead time?
One to four months depending on demand; contact us for current timing.
How long does installation take?
Installation and commissioning typically complete within a few days.
How long does training take?
Onsite training in one to two business days, with remote sessions as needed.
Demos, availability, and contact
Where can I see Marvel in action?
Tradeshows, live virtual demos, lab demos at our Vancouver, BC headquarters, onsite at qualified facilities, and by visiting a Marvel customer in a non-competing market.
Does the demo cost anything?
Yes - and it credits in full toward your package when you proceed. The demo runs on your flower with weights recorded jointly, so what you're paying for is the number, not a show.
Where is Marvel available?
Worldwide, directly from Keirton. Outside the US and Canada, outright purchase is the standard model.
How can I learn more?
Book a discovery call, dig into the Marvel AI Guide Center, or call 1-888-254-3204.
Are there testimonials and references?
Yes, named and published: see the proof page (/proof/), and ask on a call for reference customers in your profile - you can talk to them without us on the call, if you prefer. Their numbers, their words.
Question not here?
Ask it on a discovery call, or email Support@keirton.com.