Automated measuring

FPInnovations, in collaboration with government scalers and industry members, is designing an automated log scaling system. Over the past few months, a team built a visible-light camera system to scan logs and populate a 3D image of each. In British Columbia and Quebec, logs of various species, sourced from different sawmills, have been successfully scanned. These logs were also measured by certified log scalers from British Columbia, Ontario, and Quebec. Both defects and dimensions were recorded for various species (Douglas fir, lodgepole pine, black spruce, balsam fir, and hemlock in British Columbia; black spruce, larch, jack pine, and balsam fir in Quebec).

The last logs were scanned mid-May in Quebec. The vertical automation team is currently compiling the results. The next step is to finalize preparations to engage the certified measurers already involved, among others, to perform measurements using 3D images on a computer screen. The various measurement results (standard on-site measurements, software-based measurements, and on-screen measurements) will then be compared in order to validate the technology. Validation documentation and a call for collaboration with equipment manufacturers will then be published. This collaboration aims to develop and validate a prototype that can be marketed in an industrial setting. It will then be possible to initiate the federal and provincial certification processes for this prototype.

This project has been made possible [in part] by the Natural Resources Canada’s Forest Innovation Program.