External and Internal Defect Detection to Optimize Cutting of Hardwood Logs andLumber. Transferring Technologies for Industry No. 3

摘要

The report addresses one facet of the industry's technological needs, the currentand prospective mechanisms for detecting external and internal defects in hardwood. The author examines various aspects of detecting the external defects of lumber: (1) current practices and problems; (2) technology constraints and specifications; (3) market potential for new technologies; (4) U.S. and foreign technologies recently entering the market but not widely adopted by the industry; and (5) uncommercialized technologies, a review of the status of current research and development at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University and West Virginia University. He also discusses the aspects of detecting internal defects in hardwood logs, including current practices and problems, market potential for innovations, and uncommercialized technologies, particularly three types of technologies: (1) those developed for medical, oil, and aerospace industries; (2) others where the developmental work has improved the technology; and (3) several novel approaches to detecting defects, including the x-ray tomosynthesis technique used in dentistry and NASA's enhanced pattern recognition using an edge amplifier derived from the model of the human visual system.