Verification technique for a photo-optical volume measuring system for stacks of timber logs

doi:10.3832/ifor4869-019

Verification technique for a photo-optical volume measuring system for stacks of timber logs

Asta Meškuotiene , Paulius Kaškonas, Benas Gabrielis Urbonavičius, Gintautas Balčiunas, Justina Dobiliene, Edita Raudiene, Darius Gailius

iForest - Biogeosciences and Forestry, Volume 19, Issue 5, Pages 352-358 (2026)
doi: https://doi.org/10.3832/ifor4869-019
Published: Sep 05, 2026 - Copyright © 2026 SISEF

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Accurate volume measurement of stacked timber logs is essential for the timber industry. Photo-optical Automated Volume Measuring Systems (AVMS) offer efficient alternatives to manual methods but require verification to ensure reliability. This paper presents a simple, reliable, and easily implementable verification method for AVMS, based on measuring the wood stack front surface area. The proposed method utilizes reference models, calibrated using traceable working standards, to simulate timber log stacks with defined contours. This involves comparing the AVM’s measured area to the reference model’s area, enabling the determination of area measurement errors. The study investigates the selection of reference instruments, proposes a comprehensive AVMS verification procedure, and evaluates the method’s metrological characteristics. Laboratory tests involving 110 AVMS units revealed a repeatability of 0.46% and a total uncertainty of approximately 1.1%. The method successfully identified shortcomings in commercially available AVMS, including non-compliance with manufacturer-declared errors and design imperfections related to camera limitations. The developed method can be used in industry, metrological supervision, and scientific research to ensure accurate and reliable measurements of wood stacks and the long-term reliability of AVMS. This study also highlights the need to further improve photo-optical measurement systems to increase their reliability and accuracy.

Keywords

Photo-optical Measuring Systems, Volume, Stacked Timber Logs, Verification, Standards Calibration, Conformity Assessment

Authors’ address

(1)

0000-0002-0044-7035
0000-0002-6218-6432
0000-0002-4779-101X
0000-0001-9749-5780

0000-0003-0368-0825

Institute of Metrology, Kaunas University of Technology, Studentu 50, Kaunas LT-51368 (Lithuania)

Corresponding author

Asta Meškuotiene
asta.meskuotiene@ktu.lt

Citation

Meškuotiene A, Kaškonas P, Urbonavičius BG, Balčiunas G, Dobiliene J, Raudiene E, Gailius D (2026). Verification technique for a photo-optical volume measuring system for stacks of timber logs. iForest 19: 352-358. - doi: 10.3832/ifor4869-019

Academic Editor

Luigi Todaro

Paper history

Received: Apr 10, 2025
Accepted: Jul 06, 2026

First online: Sep 05, 2026
Publication Date: Oct 31, 2026
Publication Time: 2.03 months

Open Access

This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license, and indicate if changes were made.

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