A system for identifying defects in hardwood lumber that uses AI methods

The authors describe attempts to create a computer vision system that will power an automatic cutup system for use in the rough mills of the hardwood furniture and fixture industry. There are a number of factors that make the development of such a vision system a challenge. First, there is the innate variability of the wood material itself. Secondly, there is a good deal of variability in the definition of what constitutes a removable defect. The vision system must be such that it can be tailored to meet each of these needs, preferably without any additional program modifications. It is argued that artificial intelligence methods provide a natural mechanism for attacking this computer vision application. The basic components of the proposed system are described, and the segmentation and recognition in detail