Potential of Measure App in Estimating Log Biometrics: A Comparison with Conventional Log Measurement

Abstract

Wood measurement is an important process in the wood supply chain, which requires advanced solutions to cope with the current challenges. Several general-utility measurement options have become available by the developments in LiDAR or similar-capability sensors and Augmented Reality. This study tests the accuracy of the Measure App developed by Apple, running by integration into Augmented Reality and LiDAR technologies, in estimating the main biometrics of the logs. In a first experiment (E1), an iPhone 12 Pro Max running the Measure App was used to measure the diameter at one end and the length of 267 spruce logs by a free-eye measurement approach, then reference data was obtained by taking conventional measurements on the same logs. In a second experiment (E2), an iPhone 13 Pro Max equipped with the same features was used to measure the diameter at one end and the length of 200 spruce logs by a marking-guided approach, and the reference data was obtained similar to E1. The data were compared by a Bland and Altman analysis which was complemented by the estimation of the mean absolute error (MAE), root mean squared error (RMSE) and normalized root mean square error (NRMSE). In E1, nearly 86% of phone-based log diameter measurements were within ±1 cm compared to the reference data, of which 37% represented a perfect match. Of the phone-based log length measurements, 94% were within ±5 cm compared to the reference data, of which approximately 22% represented a perfect match. MAE, RMSE, and NRMSE of the log diameter and length were of 0.68, 0.96, and 0.02 cm, and of 1.81, 2.55, and 0.10 cm, respectively. Results from E2 were better, with 95% of the phone-based log diameter agreeing within ±1 cm, of which 44% represented a perfect match. As well, 99% of the phone-based length measurements were within ±5 cm, of which approximately 27% were a perfect match. MAE, RMSE, and NRMSE of the log diameter and length were of 0.65, 0.92, and 0.03 cm, and 1.46, 1.93, and 0.04 cm, respectively. The results indicated a high potential of replacing the conventional measurements for non-piled logs of ca. 3 m in length, but the applicability of phone-based measurement could be readily extended to log-end diameter measurement of the piled wood. Further studies could check if the accuracy of measurements would be enhanced by larger samples and if the approach has good replicability. Finding a balance between capability and measurement accuracy by extending the study to longer log lengths, different species and operating conditions would be important to characterize the technical limitations of the tested method.