Method and apparatus for assessing or predicting the characteristics of wood

An apparatus for determining a characteristic of a portion of a wood specimen comprising:

• an acoustic signal generator;
• an acoustic transmitter device configured to provide an acoustic signal from the acoustic signal generator to the wood specimen;
• at least one receiver configured to sense acoustic signals within the wood specimen including a reverberation from at least one end;
• a processor electrically connected to the receiver;
• and
• wherein the processor is configured to determine a characteristic of a portion of the wood specimen from the sensed acoustic signals.

An apparatus for determining a characteristic of a portion of a wood specimen comprising:

• a harvester head;
• an acoustic signal generator;
• an acoustic transmitter device attached to the harvester head and adapted to provide an acoustic signal from the acoustic signal generator to the wood specimen;
• at least one receiver attached to the harvester head and configured to detect acoustic signals within the wood specimen including a reverberation from at least one end;
• a processor electrically connected to the receiver;
• and
• wherein the processor is configured to determine a characteristic of a portion of the wood specimen from the sensed acoustic signals.