Speaker
Description
The accuracy of round wood volume determination is fundamental to planning and accounting for individual processes in the wood trade. The rapid technological development of mobile devices, including computers, digital cameras, and automated systems, has enabled the emergence of practical data acquisition tools. This also applies to various areas of forest management. One option in this regard is the measurement of wood raw material using photo-optical techniques.
The functioning of the different applications is quite similar and proceeds in the following phases:
1. Taking a series of images of a stack of medium or large-sized round wood.
2. Merging of the images into one panoramic image.
3. Analysis of the panoramic image in order to:
4. Identification of the cross-cut forehead of round wood and counting them,
5. Inscribing circles in the cross-cut forehead sections,
6. Making a diameter distribution table,
7. Inscribing the pile into the polygon and calculating the area of the polygon,
8. Determination of the replacement coefficient from the ratio of the area of the cross-cut foreheads of wood to the area of the polygon, or use of a preset coefficient.
9. Calculation of the stack volume and preparation of the report.
The State Forests had its first experience with photo-optical measurement of wood raw material between 2013 and 2015, commissioning a research project for the SF Development and Implementation Centre in Bedoń. Three applications were analyzed: iFOVEA by FOVEA GmbH, AFoRS by Scheller Systemtechnik GmbH, and sScale by Dralle A/S. Approximately 25,000 m3 of stacked wood were measured. Compared to the volume obtained from manual measurement, the values for the individual methods were -0.58%, +2.17%, and +4.07%, respectively, and the labor intensity ratio was 1:0.47:0.63:0.23. Later, only the sScale application was used more widely, measuring approximately 1.6 million m3 of stacked wood from post-hurricane areas in 2017-2018. In 2020, tests with the Timbeter application began. In 2024-2025, as part of the second phase of implementing photo-optical roundwood measurement, this application was deployed in over 100 forest districts (primarily in the Piła and Poznań regional directorates). Test results indicated that the application provides sufficient quality results and the required accuracy compared to the traditional reference. It enables seamless data transfer to the State Forests' IT system. As of October 2025, approximately 650 forest districts are using this application in production.
| Keywords | smartfone application; wood measurement |
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