Version 1.0 of a hand-held device developed by the US Forestry Service was shown to Timber Trade Federation (TTF) members in London on Wednesday.
It was designed by the Service’s Forest Products Laboratory as a system to improve compliance and enforcement of the EU Timber Regulation, US Lacey Act and the Australian Illegal Logging Prohibition Bill.
The Machine Vision Automated Wood ID system comprises a camera and image processing unit. It uses advanced combinations of sensors and software to mimic human perception of wood.
The prototype has been used to develop a library of Central American timber species and is now ready to be applied to commercial wood from other regions. This month the Forestry Service will begin work on Brazilian species.
The device has built on existing technologies to integrate wood sampling techniques and digital recognition hardware and software, and is designed to be used with minimal training.
"By improving the ability of wood processors, customs officials and civic organisations to more quickly and accurately identify wood, the prototype will enable more efficient compliance with and enforcement of the Lacey Act, EUTR and the Australian Illegal Logging Prohibition Bill," a spokesperson for the TTF said.
The TTF added that the tool was a prototype. "Obviously additional work will be needed to scale up the technology and cover all timber species worldwide, produce and distribute devices and provide training.
"At the TTF we believe that tools such as these have the potential to add a more scientific perspective to a member’s due diligence system."
