idw – Informationsdienst Wissenschaft

Nachrichten, Termine, Experten

Grafik: idw-Logo
Grafik: idw-Logo

idw - Informationsdienst
Wissenschaft

Science Video Project
idw-Abo

idw-News App:

AppStore

Google Play Store



Instanz:
Teilen: 
14.12.2023 12:18

Proof of origin through marker-free tracing of logs

Holger Kock, Fraunhofer IPM, Communications and Media Kommunikation
Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft

    Until now, reliably tracing logs to their origin has been difficult to achieve. Researchers at Fraunhofer IPM and their partners have now shown that logs and trunk sections can be identified based on the structure of the cut surfaces. The recent research project developed a marker-free and tamper-proof method. The optical method allows up to 100 percent recognition – even under the rough environment conditions of the timber industry.

    Timber is a valuable natural resource, and its role – particularly in the construction industry – is increasing. One objective of the EU timber regulation is to curb illegal timber trade. This is why the regulation requires wood-processing companies to ensure that timber can be traced to its origin along the entire supply chain. The numbering tags, RFID codes and simple color markings commonly used for identifying timber cannot ensure a reliable proof of origin because they are not tamper-proof. So far, alternative methods of marking logs and trunk sections have failed due to high costs and a lack of digitalization.

    Tamper-proof identification: Cut surfaces as fingerprints

    Fraunhofer IPM has been collaborating closely with the Forest Research Institute Baden-Württemberg (FVA) to develop a camera-based tracing method. The research project for the identification of logs and trunk sections has recently been concluded. The Track & Trace Fingerprint method uses the unique structures on cut surfaces like a fingerprint, meaning that no timber marking is required. High-resolution camera images of the cut surfaces are translated into a simple bit sequence, the fingerprint code. This code is matched with a unique ID and stored in a Cloud database. Tracking can thus be achieved by comparing new images of the same area with the corresponding bit sequence. This allows the tamper-proof identification of individual logs and trunk sections, even if the timber is mixed up during harvest and processing.

    Three different camera systems have been developed for wood processing applications, each to suit specific lighting conditions: a system that is integrated in a forest harvester, a system for use in a sawmill and a hand-held system. There are two reasons why the creation of fingerprint codes generates a vast amount of data: first, the specific structure of the cut surface with knots, growth rings and rough surfaces, and second, the forest environment, which makes the reproduction of log positions impossible. This is why the images are pre-selected in a two-step process using a convolutional neural network (CNN).

    High recognition rate

    In a field study, the researchers could show that the fingerprint method is reliable, even in the rough environmental conditions in the forest and the sawmill. A total of 65 cut surfaces were recorded on the forest harvester, at the timber collection point and at the sawmill. The registered sections were then identified at the collection point and at the sawmill by new images being taken at each location respectively. The recognition rate between the forest harvester and the timber collection point was 98.5 percent, in other words the system failed to recognize only a single log. Between the forest harvester and the sawmill, and between the timber collection point and the sawmill, the recognition rate was 100 percent. In the future, the researchers will be working on making the method suitable for other types of wood and for applications along the entire timber processing chain.


    Wissenschaftliche Ansprechpartner:

    Dr. Tobias Schmid-Schirling, Fraunhofer IPM, tobias.schmid-schirling@ipm.fraunhofer.de


    Weitere Informationen:

    http://www.ipm.fraunhofer.de/en.html


    Bilder

    Merkmale dieser Pressemitteilung:
    Journalisten, Wirtschaftsvertreter, Wissenschaftler
    Bauwesen / Architektur, Biologie, Tier / Land / Forst, Umwelt / Ökologie, Wirtschaft
    überregional
    Forschungsergebnisse, Forschungsprojekte
    Englisch


     

    Hilfe

    Die Suche / Erweiterte Suche im idw-Archiv
    Verknüpfungen

    Sie können Suchbegriffe mit und, oder und / oder nicht verknüpfen, z. B. Philo nicht logie.

    Klammern

    Verknüpfungen können Sie mit Klammern voneinander trennen, z. B. (Philo nicht logie) oder (Psycho und logie).

    Wortgruppen

    Zusammenhängende Worte werden als Wortgruppe gesucht, wenn Sie sie in Anführungsstriche setzen, z. B. „Bundesrepublik Deutschland“.

    Auswahlkriterien

    Die Erweiterte Suche können Sie auch nutzen, ohne Suchbegriffe einzugeben. Sie orientiert sich dann an den Kriterien, die Sie ausgewählt haben (z. B. nach dem Land oder dem Sachgebiet).

    Haben Sie in einer Kategorie kein Kriterium ausgewählt, wird die gesamte Kategorie durchsucht (z.B. alle Sachgebiete oder alle Länder).