New research highlights Timbeter’s efficiency and precision in wood stack measurement
Accurate measurement of timber stacks is a critical issue for both forest owners and sawmills. Traditional practices often leave forest owners with no easy way to verify sawmill measurements, creating uncertainty in the value chain. A recent study conducted in Austria has now confirmed that photo-optic solutions like Timbeter can provide reliable, fast, and efficient alternatives to traditional methods.
This research was carried out at a sawmill in Leoben, Styria, by Dipl.-Ing. Lukas Moik from the University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences (BOKU), Vienna, as part of the Timbeter Academic Partnership program.
The study setup
The research focused on 22 wood stacks, primarily spruce logs with a length of 4 meters. These stacks were not perfectly aligned but instead reflected the average stacking conditions common in Austrian forests, where perfect stacking is not the norm. This ensured the results would reflect practical, real-world conditions rather than laboratory settings.
Measurements were taken from both sides of each stack to calculate gross volume (total cubic meters) and net volume (solid cubic meters). This approach was chosen specifically for the purpose of the academic comparison and to ensure maximum transparency in the evaluation.
In everyday operational use, however, this is not the standard procedure for most Timbeter users. In many practical forestry workflows, net volume is commonly estimated using established formulas that rely primarily on the small-end diameter of the logs rather than full 3D stack assessment. The study setup therefore represents a controlled benchmarking scenario rather than a typical field workflow
Efficiency in the field
A key finding of the study was how time-efficient Timbeter’s workflow is.
Taking photos of both sides of a wood stack required less than a minute on average.
Once captured, the measurements could be processed later in the office, where only small adjustments were sometimes needed to fine-tune the automatically generated polygons around the stacks.
This approach offers significant advantages for forest owners and industry professionals who need quick, reliable data without interrupting fieldwork.
Accuracy of Timbeter
The study found that Timbeter provides very accurate data regarding the gross volume of wood stacks when compared to a simulated measurement according to the German RVR. No statistically significant differences were observed in this comparison, confirming that Timbeter performs reliably in determining total stack volume.
However, when assessing net volume (solid cubic meters), where the reference data originated from the 3D measurement systems installed at the sawmill, the study identified a systematic difference of approximately 9%.
It is important to note that this figure should not be interpreted as an absolute error against a true ground truth. The sawmill’s 3D system itself represents a specific measurement methodology applied in an industrial environment, while Timbeter reflects measurement conditions and methods typically used in the forest.
The observed difference therefore highlights two key aspects: first, the lack of a universally accepted ground truth for net volume determination, and second, the inherent methodological differences between sawmill-based measurement lines and forest-side measurement approaches. Rather than indicating inaccuracy, the result demonstrates that different systems can produce systematically different outcomes depending on where and how measurements are taken
While this indicates that the two systems are not identical in their net volume results, the findings still demonstrate that Timbeter provides a consistent and transparent method for volume estimation — one that is both fast and user-friendly, making it valuable for operational use and independent verification.
Why this matters for forest owners
For Austrian forest owners — and for the wider forestry industry — this research highlights an important opportunity. Timbeter enables independent, reliable verification of sawmill measurements, something that until now has been difficult and time-consuming to achieve.
Looking ahead
The research confirms what many in the forestry sector are already experiencing: Timbeter combines accuracy with simplicity and efficiency, making it an ideal tool for modern forest management and timber trade.
Verify timber measurements with confidence.
As confirmed by the BOKU University study, Timbeter enables fast, transparent wood stack measurement directly in the forest. See how you can independently verify sawmill results and improve operational efficiency.
