Developed and built in-house, the DiscBot uses a robot to move sawn wood discs past different energy sources to extract information on the wood's chemical makeup, density, spiral grain angle and microfibril angle.

The DiscBot can test multiple discs quickly and efficiently, to provide a more complete picture of the full extent of variation that exists within a tree. The information will be used to better understand the quality of wood that’s been laid down throughout the whole tree, how this is affected by genetics, silviculture and site, and the implications for end product quality.

• Watch DiscBot go through its paces in this video made by the team