Classifying Wood Veneer

Steelcase Computer Science, 2015-16

Liaison(s): James Huey, Ed Vander Bilt, Joe Noto, Mark Schild, Steve Royce, Vince Palazzolo
Advisor(s): Jim Boerkoel
Students(s): Jennifer Rogers (PM-S), Perry Holen (PM-F), Jenner Felton, Rachel Wilson

Steelcase is the world’s leading manufacturer of high-quality office furniture, some of which is finished with thin slices of wood, called veneer. Since wood is a natural product, this veneer may look significantly different from one log to the next. Our goal is to maximize customer satisfaction by minimizing the perceived variation among the pieces of veneer in furniture. To accomplish this goal, we built a model that sorts veneer into categories based on its color and grain characteristics.