The fingerprint approach : using data generated by a 3D log scanner on debarked logs to accomplish traceability in the sawmill's log yard

Technological advances in the area of optical scanning have made sophisticated equipment such as three-dimensional (3D) log scanners available to the sawmill industry. In a typical Swedish sawmill, the measurements obtained from the 3D log scanner placed at the log sorting station is used exclusively for scaling and sorting the sawlogs. In the same way, the information obtained from the 3D log scanner placed at the saw intake is used exclusively for optimal positioning of the sawlog into the headrig. Meanwhile, large knowledge gaps regarding the flow and the origin of the sawlogs persist in the sawmill's daily routine. For the Swedish sawmills performing presorting of sawlogs, the most critical information gap exists between the log sorting station and the saw intake, where the forest log batch identity disappears, and the logs are mixed according to various sorting criteria. This study attempts to use the data generated by 3D log scanners together with advanced recognition algorithms to develop a traceability system, marking/reading free, between the log sorting station and the saw intake when working with debarked logs. The originality of the fingerprint approach rests on the hypothesis that logs are separate entities with individual features. Measuring these features with the same type of measuring device at both the log sorting station and at the saw intake and then connecting the data to a common database will permit each individual sawlog to be tracked within the sawmill and will thus make it possible to develop an advanced raw material flow control.Validerad; 2004; 20061017 (cira