Human and Machine Vision Timber Colour Inspection

Machine vision systems offer greater accuracy and inspection rates than human inspectors. Human inspectors are subject to fatigue and human assessment of colour is affected by the visual context.

Timber mills currently rely on human inspectors for most inspection tasks. However, human inspectors are limited in their inspection rate, accuracy and consistency, are subject to fatigue, and may be unable to perform 100% inspection on timber being processed at current mill rates.

Furthermore, the human visual system is not designed for colour measurement. The figure illustrates how the human visual system is context dependent - the apparent colour of an object is influenced by the surrounding area.

A machine vision system is preferable for inspection because it provides consistent and accurate colour measurements over extended periods, maintaining objective quality standards. Machine vision systems are less affected by environmental variations and can perform 100% inspection at high processing rates.