Abstract: There is described a wood optimization system for a production line. The wood optimization system generally having a conveyor moving wood products across a handling area; a wood product selector positioned proximate to a selected wood product in the handling area; and a computer vision system along the production line having a camera imaging the handling area, a processor communicatively coupled to the camera, and a computer-readable memory having program code that when executed by the processor perform the steps of: receiving from the camera an image representing at least a portion of the handling area; finding the wood product selector in the image; identifying the selected wood product in the image as the wood product of the plurality being most proximate to the wood product selector; receiving an instruction associated to the selected wood product; and implementing the instruction into optimization data associated to the selected wood product.

Abstract: There is described a method of labeling wood products moved across a handling area of a production line. The method generally has, using a camera, generating an image representing a wood product moving across the handling area at a first moment in time; using a controller, determining coordinates of the wood product at the first moment in time based on the image; and anticipating coordinates of the wood product at a second moment in time assuming an incremental movement of the wood product at a given speed from the determined coordinates of the wood product at the first moment in time; and using a light projector, projecting, at the second moment in time, a wood product label at the anticipated coordinates of the wood product at the second moment in time.

Abstract: The wood tracking system for a production line generally has a wood product optimizer; a wood product trimmer downstream from the optimizer in the production line; a conveyor for moving wood products from the optimizer to the trimmer and across a handling area therebetween, the optimizer being configured to scan each of the wood products in a given order and to generate optimization data for each wood product; and a computer vision system positioned proximate the handling area along the production line, the computer vision system having a camera, a processor in communication with the optimizer and with the trimmer and a computer-readable memory for storing the optimization data, the processor being configured to acquire images of the handling area from the camera, the processor being configured to associate the optimization data of a given wood product across each of the images until it arrives at the trimmer.