Farming information management method, farming information management system, and program

Abstract

To provide information indicating a work area with little deviation from the actual area where a work device has worked.SOLUTION: A farming information management method includes: selecting a determination method for determining a work area of a work device from a plurality of methods capable of determining an area from a point cloud based on a plurality of pieces of positioning information indicating a positioning position of the work device under operation; determining the work area based on the plurality of pieces of positioning information using the selected determination method; and outputting output information related to the determined work area. The selection of the determination method may include determining a first index value for a distribution mode of the work area and determining the first operation of the first method out of a plurality of methods when the first index value satisfies a first condition.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 7

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a farming information management method, a farming information management system, and a program.

Background Art

[0002] In recent years, as the informatization of agriculture progresses, a technology has been developed to generate information on the geographical range where a working device has worked based on the position information of the working device that can operate in the field. For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a technique for determining the convex hull of the position of a working device operating in the field as the working area of the working device.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0003]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] Generally, the convex hull of a plurality of point positions is a polygon that does not have concave or hole parts. On the other hand, the working area of a working device in the field may have a shape different from the convex hull depending on the shape of the field and the working content. Therefore, when determining the convex hull of the positioning position of the working device as the working area using the technique of Patent Document 1, it may be different from the actual working area.

[0005] In view of the above situation, one of the objectives of the present disclosure is to provide information indicating a working area with little deviation from the area where the working device has actually worked. Other objectives can be understood from the following description and the explanation of the embodiments.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0006] The means for solving the problems will be described below using the numbers and symbols used in the embodiments for carrying out the invention. These numbers and symbols are added in parentheses for reference to show an example of the correspondence between the description in the claims and the embodiments for carrying out the invention. Therefore, the claims should not be construed in a limiting manner by the description in parentheses.

[0007] The farming information management method according to the embodiment includes selecting a determination method for determining the working area of the working device (30) from among a plurality of methods capable of determining an area from a point cloud based on a plurality of positioning information respectively indicating the positioning positions (P_1 to P_5) of the working device (30) during operation, determining the working area based on the plurality of positioning information using the selected determination method, and outputting output information regarding the determined working area.

[0008] The farming information management system (1) according to the embodiment includes a method determination unit (120) that selects a determination method for determining the working area of the working device (30) from among a plurality of methods capable of determining an area from a point cloud based on a plurality of positioning information respectively indicating the positioning positions (P_1 to P_5) of the working device (30) during operation, determines the working area based on the plurality of positioning information using the determination method selected by the method determination unit (120), and an information output unit (140) that outputs output information regarding the determined working area.

[0009] The program (P1 to P3) according to the embodiment causes a computer (14, 24) to select a determination method for determining the working area of the working device (30) from among a plurality of methods capable of determining an area from a point cloud based on a plurality of positioning information respectively indicating the positioning positions (P_1 to P_5) of the working device (30) during operation, determine the working area based on the plurality of positioning information using the selected determination method, and output output information regarding the determined working area.

Effect of the Invention

[0010] According to the above embodiment, it is possible to provide information indicating a work area with little deviation from the area where the work device actually worked.

Brief Description of Drawings

[0011]

Figure 1

Figure 2A

Figure 2B

Figure 2C

Figure 2D

Figure 3

Figure 4

Figure 5

Figure 6

Figure 7

Figure 8

Figure 9

Figure 10

Figure 11

Figure 12

Figure 13

Figure 14

Modes for Carrying Out the Invention

[0012] (Embodiment 1) Hereinafter, the farming information management system according to the embodiment will be described with reference to the drawings. As shown in FIG. 1, the farming information management system 1 includes a farming information management device 10, one or more terminal devices 20, and one or more working devices 30 that perform work in a farm field F1 or the like. Hereinafter, when not distinguishing a plurality of farm fields (farm field F1, farm field F2, ···, etc.) from each other, they may be simply referred to as farm field F. The farming information management device 10, one or more terminal devices 20, and the working device 30 can communicate with each other via a network NT. The network NT is, for example, the Internet. Also, the working device 30 can receive a positioning signal transmitted by a positioning satellite GP.

[0013] The working device 30 may be, for example, an agricultural machine such as a tractor, a combine, or a harvester that can work in the farm field F. Note that the working device 30 may be an agricultural drone that performs work in the farm field F. Each of the one or more working devices 30 may perform agricultural work with a predetermined working width in the vertical direction of the traveling direction in one or more farm fields (for example, farm field F1, farm field F2, …, etc.). As will be described later, the working device 30 continuously measures its own position based on the positioning signal of the positioning satellite GP. Hereinafter, the position of the working device 30 measured by itself may be referred to as the positioning position, the time when the positioning position is measured may be referred to as the positioning time, and the information indicating the positioning position may be referred to as the positioning information.

[0014] The farming information management system 1 provides the user with information about the working area where the working device 30 has worked in the field F based on the positioning information indicating the result of the working device 30 measuring its own position. For example, the farming information management system 1 displays on the screen S of the terminal device 20 the working area where the working device 30 has worked in the field F1.

[0015] As shown in FIG. 2A, for example, the working device 30 may work along a plurality of ridges formed linearly in the field F1. Also, as shown in FIG. 2B, for example, the working device 30 may work on only one of the linear line segments formed in the field F2, such as single-ridge work. Alternatively, when the working device 30 performs work such as perimeter mowing, as shown in FIG. 2C, it can work only on the outer periphery of the field F3. Alternatively, as shown in FIG. 2D, the working device 30 may work in a field F4 having a shape different from a convex polygon. In FIGS. 2A to 2D, the position of the working device 30 measured during work in the field F is indicated by a black circle, and the movement trajectory is indicated by a dotted line.

[0016] For example, when working evenly on the ridges provided in the convex polygon-shaped field F1, as shown in FIG. 2A, the positioning positions are also evenly distributed throughout each part of the field F1. The convex hull (for example, region A1 in FIG. 2A) with such positioning positions as a point cloud is considered to have a small deviation from the actual working area where the working device 30 has worked. Since the amount of calculation required for generating the convex hull is relatively small and the shape does not become overly complex, when the outer edge of the actual working area is a convex polygon as in FIG. 2A and positioning positions are obtained that are distributed generally throughout the inside, it may be desirable to determine the convex hull as the working area.

[0017] On the other hand, in cases such as those shown in FIGS. 2B to 2C, the convex hull of the positioning positions may be different from the area where the working device 30 actually performs work. For example, when performing single-acre work, as shown in FIG. 2B, the positioning positions are distributed on a single straight line. For such positioning positions, the area of the convex hull may be excessively small. Therefore, in some cases, instead of the convex hull, it may be desirable to determine the working area as the area A2 whose width is taken by the working width W in the vertical direction from the movement locus. Also, when performing perimeter mowing work, as shown in FIG. 2C, the positioning positions are mainly distributed on the outer peripheral part of the working area. For such positioning positions, the convex hull may include an internal area where no work is being done. Therefore, in some cases, instead of the convex hull, it may be desirable to determine the working area as the area A3 whose width is taken by the working width W in the vertical direction from the line segment of the movement locus. Also, as shown in FIG. 2D, when the positioning positions are distributed in a complex shape having a concave part, it may be desirable to determine the working area using any method for generating a concave hull. In the example of FIG. 2D, the farming information management system 1 determines the area A4, which is an alpha-shape using an α value different from 0 (for example, α = 5), as the working area.

[0018] As described above, depending on the content of the work performed by the working device 30 and the shape of the farm field F, the distribution pattern of the positioning positions of the working device 30 may not be suitable for determining the working area by a specific method. Note that the distribution pattern of the positioning positions is a concept including, for example, the geographical range where the positioning positions exist (or do not exist), the density of the positioning positions, and the positional relationship between the positioning positions. The farming information management system 1 of the present embodiment selects a method according to the distribution pattern of the positioning positions from among a plurality of methods for determining an area from a point cloud. Then, the farming information management system 1 generates information indicating the working area using the selected determination method based on the positioning information. Since the farming information management system 1 can determine the working area by a method according to the distribution pattern of the positioning positions, it can provide information indicating a working area with little deviation from the area where the working device 30 actually performs work.

[0019] The configuration of the agricultural management information system 1 will be described. As shown in FIG. 3, the agricultural management information device 10 included in the agricultural management information system 1 includes an input / output device 12, an arithmetic device 14, a communication device 16, and a storage device 18. The agricultural management information device 10 is, for example, a computer having a server function. Note that the functions of the agricultural management information device 10 may be provided in the cloud via the network NT.

[0020] Information for the arithmetic device 14 to execute processing is input to the input / output device 12. Further, the input / output device 12 outputs the result of the processing executed by the arithmetic device 14. The input / output device 12 includes various input devices and output devices, for example, a keyboard, a mouse, a microphone, a display, a speaker, a touch panel, and the like.

[0021] The communication device 16 is communicably connected to the network NT and communicates with devices external to the agricultural management information device 10 (for example, the terminal device 20 and the working device 30) via the network NT. The communication device 16 transfers the information acquired from the external device to the arithmetic device 14. Further, the information generated by the arithmetic device 14 is transferred to the external device. The communication device 16 includes various interface devices having a data communication function such as a NIC (Network Interface Card) and a USB (Universal Serial Bus).

[0022] The storage device 18 stores a program P1 and the like that include various data and instructions for the agricultural management information device 10 of the present embodiment to execute the processes described later. The storage device 18 is used as a non-transitory tangible storage medium that stores these data and instructions. The program P1 may be provided as a computer program product recorded on a computer-readable storage medium M1. The storage medium M1 may be a portable physical medium such as a CD (Compact Disc), a DVD (Digital Versatile Disc), or a USB (Universal Serial Bus) memory. Alternatively, the storage medium M1 may be a storage device of an external server that stores the program P1. In this case, the program P1 can be provided as a computer program product that can be downloaded from the server.

[0023] The arithmetic unit 14 reads and executes the program P1 that includes instructions and data for executing at least a part of the processes described later from the storage device 18. The arithmetic unit 14 includes, for example, a central processing unit (CPU; Central Processing Unit).

[0024] As shown in FIG. 4, the terminal device 20 included in the agricultural management information system 1 includes an input / output device 22, an arithmetic unit 24, a communication device 26, and a storage device 28. The terminal device 20 is, for example, a mobile device such as a tablet or a smartphone. Note that the terminal device 20 may be a desktop personal computer or a notebook computer.

[0025] Information for the arithmetic unit 24 to execute processing is input to the input / output device 22. Further, the input / output device 22 outputs the result of the processing executed by the arithmetic unit 24. The input / output device 22 includes various input devices and output devices. Further, the input / output device 22 includes a touch panel or a display that functions as a screen S on which the locus of the working device 30 is displayed. When the terminal device 20 is a personal computer, the input / output device 22 may include a keyboard, a mouse, a microphone, etc.

[0026] The communication device 26 is communicably connected to the network NT and communicates with a device external to the terminal device 20 (for example, the farming information management device 10) via the network NT. The communication device 26 transfers the information acquired from the external device to the arithmetic unit 24. Further, it transfers the information generated by the arithmetic unit 24 to the external device. The communication device 26 includes various interface devices having a communication function, such as a transceiver used for wireless communication such as a wireless LAN (Local Area Network) or a cellular network.

[0027] The storage device 28 stores a program P2 and the like including various data and commands for the farming information management system 1 of the present embodiment to execute the processes described later. The storage device 28 is used as a non-temporary storage medium for storing these data and commands. The program P2 may be provided as a computer program product recorded on a computer-readable storage medium M2. The storage medium M2 may be a portable physical medium such as a CD, a DVD, or a USB memory. Or, the storage medium M2 may be a storage device of an external server that stores the program P2. In this case, the program P2 can be provided as a computer program product downloadable from the server.

[0028] The arithmetic unit 24 reads out and executes a program P2 including commands and data for executing at least a part of the processes described later from the storage device 28. For example, the arithmetic unit 24 includes a central processing unit (CPU) and the like.

[0029] As shown in FIG. 5, the working device 30 includes an input / output device 32, an arithmetic device 34, a communication device 36, a storage device 38, and a positioning device 39.

[0030] Information for the arithmetic device 34 to execute processing is input to the input / output device 32. Further, the input / output device 32 outputs the result of the processing executed by the arithmetic device 34. The input / output device 32 may include various input devices and output devices such as, for example, a speaker, a touch panel, a keyboard, a mouse, a microphone, and a display.

[0031] The communication device 36 is communicably connected to the network NT and communicates with a device external to the working device 30 (for example, the farming information management device 10) via the network NT. The communication device 36 transfers the information acquired from the farming information management device 10 to the arithmetic device 34. Also, the information generated by the arithmetic device 34 is transferred to the farming information management device 10. The communication device 36 includes various interface devices having a wireless communication function, such as, for example, a transceiver for a cellular network or a wireless LAN.

[0032] The storage device 38 stores a program P3 including various data and instructions for the farming information management system 1 of the present embodiment to execute the processes described later. The storage device 38 is used as a non-transitory storage medium for storing these data and instructions. The program P3 may be provided as a computer program product recorded on a computer-readable storage medium M3. The storage medium M3 may be a portable physical medium such as a CD, a DVD, or a USB memory. Alternatively, the storage medium M3 may be a storage device of an external server that stores the program P3. In this case, the program P3 can be provided as a computer program product downloadable from the server.

[0033] The positioning device 39 continuously measures the position of the working device 30. The positioning device 39 is, for example, a receiver of GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite System), which receives a positioning signal from the positioning satellite GP to measure the positioning position and positioning time of the working device 30. Alternatively, the positioning device 39 may measure the position of the working device 30 by self-position estimation using a quantum compass.

[0034] The arithmetic unit 34 reads and executes a program P3 including instructions and data for executing at least a part of the processes described later from the storage device 38. For example, the arithmetic unit 34 includes a central processing unit (CPU) and the like. The arithmetic unit 34 may be, for example, an ECU (Electronic Control Unit) incorporated in the working device 30 and controlling each part of the working device 30.

[0035] Next, the functions of the farm management information system 1 will be described with reference to FIG. 6. The working device 30 realizes the functions of the sampling unit 310 and the output unit 320 in FIG. 6 when the arithmetic unit 34 in FIG. 5 executes the program P3.

[0036] As will be described later, the sampling unit 310 of the working device 30 continuously measures the position and time of the working device 30 using the positioning device 39 at a predetermined timing (for example, a one-minute cycle) while the power source of the working device 30 is in the activated state. The sampling unit 310 generates positioning information indicating the measured position and time (that is, the positioning position and positioning time of the working device 30).

[0037] The output unit 320 of the working device 30 transmits the positioning information generated by the sampling unit 310 to the farm management information device 10 using the communication device 36. The positioning information output by the output unit 320 may include information (for example, an identifier) for specifying the working device 30.

[0038] In the farming information management device 10 of the farming information management system 1, when the arithmetic device 14 in FIG. 3 executes the program P1, the functions of the information acquisition unit 110, method selection unit 120, area determination unit 130, information output unit 140, and information storage unit 150 shown in FIG. 6 are realized.

[0039] The information storage unit 150 stores information for the farming information management device 10 to execute processing. For example, the information storage unit 150 stores the work information D2 in advance before starting the processing described later. Also, the information storage unit 150 may store setting information such as a threshold value used in the processing described later. Further, the information storage unit 150 may store a map image of a geographical area including one or more fields F.

[0040] The work information D2 stores information about the work performed by one or more work devices 30 that are the processing targets of the farming information management system 1. As an example, the work information D2 stores information (for example, an identifier) for specifying one or more work devices 30 in association with information indicating the work width W of the work device 30 (for example, when the work device 30 is a combine, the width of the harvesting device).

[0041] The information acquisition unit 110 of the farming information management device 10 in FIG. 6 acquires information necessary for the processing described later from the information storage unit 150 or an external device (for example, the terminal device 20 and the work device 30). The information acquisition unit 110 may provide the acquired information to the method selection unit 120, area determination unit 130, information output unit 140, and information storage unit 150.

[0042] As described later, the method selection unit 120 selects, as a method for determining the work area of the work device 30, a method corresponding to the distribution pattern of the positioning positions of the work device 30 from among a plurality of methods for determining an area including the plurality of points located on the coordinate plane. In some cases, the method selected by the method selection unit 120 below is referred to as a determination method.

[0043] As will be described later, the area determination unit 130 determines the working area of the working device 30 using the determination method selected by the method selection unit 120 based on a plurality of positioning information acquired by the information acquisition unit 110.

[0044] As will be described later, the information output unit 140 outputs output information regarding the working area determined by the area determination unit 130 to the terminal device 20.

[0045] The terminal device 20 realizes the function of the display unit 210 shown in FIG. 6 when the arithmetic unit 24 in FIG. 4 executes the program P2.

[0046] As will be described later, the display unit 210 displays the working area of the working device 30 in a manner recognizable to the user based on the output information output by the farming information management device 10.

[0047] Next, the processing executed by the farming information management system 1 will be described. When the output unit 320 of the working device 30 outputs a plurality of positioning information indicating the positioning position and the positioning time of the working device 30 respectively, the farming information management system 1 starts the processing shown in FIG. 7. When there are a plurality of working devices 30 to be processed, the positioning information output by the output unit 320 may include information (for example, an identifier) for identifying its own device.

[0048] In the processing of FIG. 7, first, in step S1002, the information acquisition unit 110 of the farming information management device 10 acquires a plurality of positioning information output by the output unit 320 of the working device 30. The information acquisition unit 110 acquires a plurality of positioning information output by the working device 30 using the communication device 16 of the farming information management device 10.

[0049] Next, in step S1004, the information acquisition unit 110 acquires the work information D2. For example, the information acquisition unit 110 acquires the work information D2 from the information storage unit 150. When the positioning information acquired in step S1002 includes the identifier of the work device 30 that output the positioning information, the information acquisition unit 110 may selectively acquire information regarding the work performed by the work device 30 indicated by the identifier from among the work information D2 stored in the information storage unit 150.

[0050] Next, in step S1006, the information acquisition unit 110 extracts the positioning position at which the work device 30 is working in the field F. For example, the information acquisition unit 110 may extract the positioning position corresponding to the speed estimated to be working in the field F based on the positioning position and the positioning time. For this purpose, the information acquisition unit 110 may determine the speed at each positioning position. As an example, for each positioning position indicated by a plurality of positioning information, the information acquisition unit 110 calculates the speeds immediately before and after the positioning position based on the geographical distance and time difference from two positioning positions whose positioning times are immediately before and after. Then, the information acquisition unit 110 averages the speeds immediately before and after the positioning position to determine the speed at the positioning position. Then, the information acquisition unit 110 may extract, as the positioning position during work in the field F, the positioning position in the position information of the work device 30, where the calculated speed is included in the work speed range determined by the setting.

[0051] Next, in step S1008, the method selection unit 120 and the area determination unit 130 execute the work area determination process shown in FIG. 8.

[0052] In the work area determination process of FIG. 8, first, in step S1102, the method selection unit 120 determines a reference area. For example, the method selection unit 120 divides the geographical range (also referred to as the target area) where the positioning position exists into a plurality of small divisions. For example, if the maximum value of the X coordinate of the positioning position during work extracted in step S1006 is Xmax, the minimum value of the X coordinate is Xmin, the maximum value of the Y coordinate is Ymax, and the minimum value of the Y coordinate is Ymin, a quadrilateral with (Xmax, Ymax), (Xmax, Ymin), (Xmin, Ymax), and (Xmin, Ymin) as vertices may be determined as the target area. Each of the plurality of small divisions may be, for example, an area obtained by dividing the target area into meshes at equal intervals (e.g., 1 meter each) in the east-west and north-south directions. Note that the small divisions may have any shape other than a square, such as a regular hexagon. Then, the method selection unit 120 determines a small division that includes a predetermined number or more (e.g., one or more) of the positioning positions during work extracted in step S1006 of FIG. 7 as a reference small division. And the method selection unit 120 determines the area including all the reference small divisions as the reference area. This reference area is an area where it is estimated that the work device 30 has performed work. In addition, when information indicating the geographical range of each farm field F is available as information about the farm field F, the method selection unit 120 may determine the geographical range of the farm field F including the positioning position as the target area.

[0053] Next, in step S1104 of FIG. 8, the area determination unit 130 determines the convex hull of the positioning positions. For example, the area determination unit 130 determines a convex hull with the positioning positions during work extracted in step S1006 of FIG. 7 as a point cloud using a known method such as the Graham scan or the incremental convex hull algorithm.

[0054] Next, in step S1106 of FIG. 8, the area determination unit 130 determines an inflated convex hull based on the working width W of the work device 30. For example, the area determination unit 130 determines, as the inflated convex hull, an area obtained by expanding the convex hull determined in step S1104 from the center of the convex hull in the outward direction by the working width W of the work device 30 indicated by the work information D2 obtained in step S1004 of FIG. 7.

[0055] Next, in step S1108, the method selection unit 120 determines whether the difference between the reference area determined in step S1102 and the inflated convex hull determined in step S1106 is equal to or greater than a reference. For example, the method selection unit 120 determines, as a difference index value indicating the difference between the two, the area of the region included only in one of the reference area and the inflated convex hull (also referred to as the difference area) within the geographical range of the target area. Then, when the difference index value is greater than the difference threshold value determined by setting, the method selection unit 120 determines that the difference between the two is equal to or greater than the reference (step S1108: YES). In this case, step S1110 is then executed. On the other hand, when the difference index value is less than the difference threshold value determined by setting, the method selection unit 120 determines that the difference between the two is less than the reference (step S1108: NO). In this case, the method selection unit 120 selects, as the method for determining the work area, the method of generating the inflated convex hull in step S1106. Thereafter, step S1109 is executed.

[0056] Note that in step S1108, the method selection unit 120 may use, as the difference index value indicating the difference between the two, the absolute value of the area difference obtained by subtracting the area of the inflated convex hull from the area of the reference area. Alternatively, the method selection unit 120 may use, as the difference index value, a value obtained by using the area of the reference area as the denominator and the area of the difference area as the numerator (that is, the ratio of the area of the difference area to the area of the reference area).

[0057] In step S1109, the area determination unit 130 determines the dilated convex hull determined in step S1106 as the work area. As described above, step S1109 is executed when the difference between the reference area and the dilated convex hull is equal to or less than the reference. Therefore, when step S1109 is executed, the work area of the working device 30 in the field F may be the area of normal ridging work (see Fig. 2A) or the area of single-ridge work (see Fig. 2B). In the process of Fig. 8, since the convex hull of the positioning position is dilated by the working width W, the area based on the convex hull can be determined as the work area of single-ridge work. When step S1109 ends, the work area determination process of Fig. 8 (step S1008 in Fig. 7) ends, and then step S1010 in Fig. 7 is executed.

[0058] On the other hand, in step S1110, the method selection unit 120 determines a direction index value based on the positioning positions during work extracted in step S1006 of Fig. 7. The direction index value may indicate the number of times the working device 30 has worked in the same direction. Note that the method selection unit 120 of the present embodiment processes a certain direction vector (for example, (0, 1)) and its reverse vector (for example, (0, -1)) as the same direction.

[0059] For example, as shown in Fig. 9, the method selection unit 120 generates a movement trajectory L_1 connecting the positioning position P_1 measured at a certain time to the positioning position P_2 measured immediately afterwards in time. Then, the method selection unit 120 determines the angle formed by the movement trajectory L_1 and the reference direction as the direction of the movement trajectory L_1. The reference direction may be, for example, the north-south direction. The method selection unit 120 performs the same process for the movement trajectories L_2 between the positioning positions P_2 and P_3, L_3 between the positioning positions P_3 and P_4,..., L_n-1 between the positioning positions P_n-1 and P_n. Note that n is a natural number indicating the number of positioning positions.

[0060] Then, when the difference in direction between the movement trajectory L_k and the movement trajectory L_k+1 is less than the threshold value determined by the setting, the method selection unit 120 determines that the movement trajectory L_k and the movement trajectory L_k+1 are trajectories constituting the same movement direction. By executing this process for natural numbers k from 1 to n-1, the method selection unit 120 can determine that continuous movement trajectories with a direction difference less than or equal to the threshold value are trajectories constituting the same movement direction. In the example of FIG. 9, the movement trajectories from L_1 to L_4 constitute the same movement direction. In this way, the method selection unit 120 determines a line segment connecting the endpoints of the line segments (positions P_1 and P_5 in the example of FIG. 9) obtained by grouping the transition trajectories in the same movement direction as a straight-line trajectory. A straight-line trajectory exceeding a predetermined length may correspond to, for example, the movement trajectory of the working device 30 when working on ridges formed linearly in the field F. A straight-line trajectory composed of a single movement trajectory, such as the movement trajectories L_5 and L_6, may correspond to a location where a turn is made to move from one ridge to the next ridge.

[0061] The method selection unit 120 determines the angle formed by the straight-line trajectory and the reference direction as the movement direction of the working device 30. The method selection unit 120 performs the same process from the movement trajectory L_1 to the movement trajectory L_n-1 to determine one or more movement directions.

[0062] Then, in step S1110 of FIG. 8, the method selection unit 120 determines the angle formed by the longest one of the straight-line trajectories and the reference direction as the representative direction of the working device 30.

[0063] Then, the method selection unit 120 determines the difference (also referred to as the direction difference) between the representative direction and each of the one or more movement directions, and determines a movement direction with a direction difference less than or equal to the threshold value determined by the setting as a movement direction parallel to the representative direction. The method selection unit 120 determines the number of straight-line trajectories parallel to the representative direction among the straight-line trajectories determined for the field F as a direction index value indicating the number of directions in which the working device 30 has worked.

[0064] Next, in step S1112 of FIG. 8, the method selection unit 120 determines whether the direction index value is greater than a threshold value determined by setting. For example, when the direction index value determined in step S1110 is greater than the direction threshold value (for example, 2) (step S1112: YES), the method selection unit 120 selects, as a method for determining the work area, a method of generating an α - shape of the positioning position, and then transfers the process to step S1114. In such a case, the work area of the working device 30 in the field F may have a complex shape (see FIG. 2D).

[0065] On the other hand, when the direction index value determined in step S1110 of FIG. 8 is less than or equal to the direction threshold value (for example, 2) (step S1112: NO), the method selection unit 120 selects, as a method for determining the work area, a method of generating an expansion area described later, and then transfers the process to step S1116.

[0066] In step S1114 of FIG. 8, the area determination unit 130 determines, as the work area, an α - shape with the positioning positions extracted in step S1006 of FIG. 7 as a point set. For example, the area determination unit 130 may generate an α - shape with the positioning positions as a point set using a fixed value other than 0 (for example, 5) as the α value, and determine this as the work area. Alternatively, the area determination unit 130 may generate a plurality of α - shapes with the positioning positions as a point set using a plurality of α values other than 0 (for example, 2, 5, 10, 20, etc.). Then, the area determination unit 130 may determine, as the work area, the one among the plurality of generated α - shapes whose area is closest to the area of the reference area. Note that in step S1114, the area determination unit 130 may determine, as the work area, an expanded α - shape obtained by expanding the α - shape by the work width W. When step S1114 ends, the work area determination process of FIG. 8 (step S1008 of FIG. 7) ends, and then step S1010 of FIG. 7 is executed.

[0067] When it is determined as NO in step S1112 of FIG. 8, in step S1116, the area determination unit 130 determines an expansion area as a work area based on the in-work positioning position extracted in step S1006 of FIG. 7 and the work width W of the work device 30 indicated by the work information D2 acquired in step S1004 of FIG. 7. For example, the area determination unit 130 determines movement trajectories L_1, L_2, …, L_n-1 that connect the in-work positioning positions using the method described with reference to FIG. 9. Then, the area determination unit 130 determines, as the expansion area, an area obtained by expanding the determined one or more movement trajectories by the work width W. Note that the area determination unit 130 may determine, as the expansion area, an area including all points whose straight-line distance from the determined movement trajectory is shorter than the work width W.

[0068] In such a case, the work area of the work device 30 in the field F may be the area of single-row work (see FIG. 2B) or the area of peripheral mowing work (see FIG. 2C). When step S1116 ends, the work area determination process of FIG. 8 (step S1008 of FIG. 7) ends, and then step S1010 of FIG. 7 is executed.

[0069] When the work area determination process ends, next, in step S1010 of FIG. 7, the information output unit 140 outputs output information indicating the work area determined in the work area determination process. For example, the information output unit 140 uses the communication device 16 to output to the terminal device 20 output information including information indicating the work area and a map image of the field F including the work area stored in the information storage unit 150.

[0070] Next, in step S1012, the display unit 210 of the terminal device 20 displays the work area based on the output information output in step S1010. As an example, the display unit 210 may display the work area indicated by the output information superimposed on the map image included in the output information.

[0071] As described above, the agricultural management information system 1 can determine the working area of the working device 30 in a manner corresponding to the distribution pattern of the positioning positions during the operation of the working device 30 in the farmland F. Therefore, the agricultural management information system 1 can provide information indicating a working area with little deviation from the area actually worked by the working device 30.

[0072] (Embodiment 2) The agricultural management information system 1 of this embodiment is different from the agricultural management information system 1 of Embodiment 1 in that, as a working area determination process, it executes the process shown in FIG. 10 instead of the process in FIG. 8. Other configurations are the same as those in Embodiment 1. The agricultural management information system 1 of this embodiment selects a determination method using an area index value, which will be described later, in addition to the difference index value and the direction index value.

[0073] In the process of FIG. 10, first, in step S1202, the method selection unit 120 determines a reference area in the same manner as step S1102 in FIG. 8.

[0074] Next, in step S1204 of FIG. 10, the area determination unit 130 determines the convex hull of the positioning positions in the same manner as step S1104 in FIG. 8.

[0075] Next, in step S1206 of FIG. 10, the method selection unit 120 determines whether the difference between the reference area determined in step S1202 and the convex hull determined in step S1204 is less than the reference. In step S1206, the method selection unit 120 performs the same process as the process of determining the difference index value indicating the difference between the inflated convex hull and the reference position in step S1108 of FIG. 8 to determine the difference index value indicating the difference between the convex hull and the reference area. Then, when this difference index value is smaller than the difference threshold value determined by the setting, the method selection unit 120 determines that the difference between the two is less than the reference (step S1206: YES). In this case, step S1208 is executed next. On the other hand, when the difference index value is greater than or equal to the difference threshold value determined by the setting, the method selection unit 120 determines that the difference between the two is greater than or equal to the reference (step S1208: NO). In this case, as a method for determining the work area, the method selection unit 120 selects the method of generating the convex hull in step S1204 and then transfers the process to step S1208. In such a case, the work area of the work device 30 in the field F may be the area of normal ridging work (see FIG. 2A). In the process of FIG. 10, in the next point of determining whether the difference is less than the threshold value in step S1206, since the convex hull of the positioning position is not inflated based on the working width, the method of determining the area based on the convex hull is not suitable as a method for determining the area of single-ridge work (see FIG. 2B) or the area of perimeter cutting work (see FIG. 2C).

[0076] In step S1208, the area determination unit 130 determines the inflated convex hull obtained by inflating the convex hull determined in step S1204 as the work area. For example, the area determination unit 130 determines the inflated convex hull based on the working width W of the work device 30 in the same manner as in step S1106 of FIG. 8. When step S1208 ends, the work area determination process of FIG. 10 (step S1008 of FIG. 7) ends, and then step S1010 of FIG. 7 is executed. The following processes are the same as those in Embodiment 1. Note that in step S1208, the area determination unit 130 may determine the convex hull determined in step S1204 as the work area instead of the inflated convex hull.

[0077] In step S1210, the method selection unit 120 determines whether the area of the convex hull (also referred to as the area index value) determined in step S1204 is equal to or greater than a threshold value determined by the setting. When the area of the convex hull is equal to or greater than a predetermined area threshold value (step S1210: YES), the method selection unit 120 then executes step S1212. On the other hand, when the area of the convex hull is smaller than the area threshold value (step S1210: NO), the method selection unit 120 selects the method of generating the dilation region, which will be described later, as the method for determining the work area, and transfers the process to step S1218.

[0078] Next, in step S1212, the method selection unit 120 determines a direction index value based on the positioning position during operation extracted in step S1006 of FIG. 7, in the same manner as in step S1110 of FIG. 8.

[0079] Next, in step S1214 of FIG. 10, the method selection unit 120 determines whether the direction index value is greater than a threshold value determined by the setting, in the same manner as in step S1112 of FIG. 8. For example, when the direction index value is greater than the direction threshold value (for example, 2) (step S1214: YES), the method selection unit 120 selects the method of generating the α - shape of the positioning position as the method for determining the work area, and then transfers the process to step S1216 of FIG. 10. On the other hand, when the direction index value is less than or equal to the direction threshold value (step S1214: NO), the method selection unit 120 selects the method of generating the dilation region as the method for determining the work area, and then transfers the process to step S1218.

[0080] In step S1216, the area determination unit 130 determines the α - shape with the positioning position during operation extracted in step S1006 of FIG. 7 as a point set as the work area, in the same manner as in S1114 of FIG. 8. Note that in step S1216, the area determination unit 130 may determine the dilated α - shape obtained by dilating the α - shape by the work width W as the work area.

[0081] In step S1218 of FIG. 10, similar to step S1116 of FIG. 8, the region determination unit 130 determines an expansion region as the work region based on the positioning position during work extracted in step S1006 of FIG. 7 and the work width W of the work device 30 indicated by the work information D2 acquired in step S1004 of FIG. 7.

[0082] When step S1216 or step S1218 ends, the work area determination process of FIG. 10 (step S1008 of FIG. 7) ends, and then step S1010 of FIG. 7 is executed.

[0083] As a modification of Embodiment 2, in step S1204 of FIG. 10, the region determination unit 130 may determine an inflated convex hull instead of a convex hull. In this case, the method selection unit 120 may use the area of the inflated convex hull as the area index value in step S1210. Further, the method selection unit 120 may use the area of the reference region as the area index value in step S1210 instead of the convex hull or the inflated convex hull.

[0084] (Embodiment 3) The farming information management system 1 of this embodiment is different from the farming information management system 1 of Embodiment 1 in that it executes the process shown in FIG. 11 instead of the process in FIG. 8 as the work area determination process. Other configurations are the same as those in Embodiment 1. The farming information management system 1 of this embodiment selects a method for determining a work area based on a data index value related to the amount of data.

[0085] In the process of FIG. 11, first, in step S1302, the method selection unit 120 determines a data index value related to the amount of data. The method selection unit 120 may determine, for example, the time difference between the positioning time of the positioning position that was first positioned temporally and the positioning time of the positioning position that was last positioned among the positioning positions of the work device 30 during work extracted in step S1006 of FIG. 7 as the data index value. Alternatively, the method selection unit 120 may determine the number of positioning positions of the work device 30 during work as the data index value.

[0086] Next, in step S1304, the method selection unit 120 determines whether the data index value determined in step S1302 is greater than or equal to a threshold value determined by setting. For example, when the data index value is greater than or equal to a predetermined data threshold value (step S1304: YES), the method selection unit 120 selects a method of generating an α - shape of the positioning position as a method of determining the work area, and then transfers the process to step S1306. On the other hand, when the data index value is less than the data threshold value (step S1304: NO), the method selection unit 120 selects a method of generating an expansion area as a method of determining the work area, and then transfers the process to step S1308.

[0087] In step S1306, the area determination unit 130 determines, in the same manner as S1114 in FIG. 8, an α - shape with the positioning positions during operation extracted in step S1006 of FIG. 7 as a point set as the work area. At this time, since the data index value is greater than or equal to the data threshold value, it is considered that there are sufficient positioning positions to determine the work area using the α - shape.

[0088] Note that in step S1306 of FIG. 11, the area determination unit 130 may generate the convex hull or the inflated convex hull described above instead of the α - shape as the work area. Also, the area determination unit 130 may generate an inflated α - shape obtained by inflating the α - shape by the work width W as the work area.

[0089] In step S1308, the area determination unit 130 determines an expansion area as the work area based on the work width W of the work device 30 indicated by the work information D2 obtained in step S1004 of FIG. 7, in the same manner as S1218 in FIG. 10. As described above, the method of generating the expansion area can determine the work area even for a small number of positioning positions such as single - field operation. Therefore, even when the data index value is less than the data threshold value, the work area can be determined with high accuracy.

[0090] When step S1306 or step S1308 ends, the work area determination process in FIG. 11 (step S1008 in FIG. 7) ends, and then step S1010 in FIG. 7 is executed. The following processing is the same as that of the first embodiment.

[0091] (Embodiment 4) The farming information management system 1 of this embodiment is different from the farming information management system 1 of the first embodiment in that, as a work area determination process, it executes the process shown in FIG. 13 instead of the process shown in FIG. 8. The farming information management system 1 of this embodiment determines, as the work area, the one selected by user input among the candidate areas generated by a plurality of methods.

[0092] As shown in FIG. 12, the farming information management system 1 of this embodiment includes a farming information management device 10, a terminal device 21, and a working device 30. The farming information management device 10 includes an information acquisition unit 110, a method selection unit 120, an area determination unit 130, an information output unit 140, and an information storage unit 150. The working device 30 includes a sampling unit 310 and an output unit 320. The terminal device 21 includes a reception unit 220 and an output unit 230 in addition to a display unit 210.

[0093] The method selection unit 120 of the farming information management device 10 outputs information about the candidate areas generated by a plurality of methods to the terminal device 21. Then, based on the selection information described later output by the terminal device 21 among the methods by which the method selection unit 120 generated a plurality of candidate areas, the method selection unit 120 selects a method for determining the work area. Other configurations of the farming information management device 10 are the same as those of the first embodiment.

[0094] The display unit 210 of the terminal device 21 uses the input / output device 22 to display the candidate areas output by the method selection unit 120 in addition to the work area output by the information output unit 140.

[0095] The reception unit 220 uses the input / output device 22 to receive a user input indicating the area selected by the user among the plurality of candidate areas displayed by the display unit 210.

[0096] The output unit 230 outputs, using the communication device 26, selection information indicating a selection result corresponding to the received user input to the farming information management device 10.

[0097] The sampling unit 310 and the output unit 320 of the working device 30 are the same as the functionally identical units in the first embodiment.

[0098] Similar to the farming information management system 1 of the first embodiment, the farming information management system 1 of this embodiment executes the processing steps S1002 to S1006 shown in FIG. 7.

[0099] When step S1006 ends, the farming information management system 1 executes, in step S1008, the work area determination process shown in FIG. 13.

[0100] In the process of FIG. 13, first, in step S1402, the area determination unit 130 determines a plurality of candidate areas. For example, the area determination unit 130 generates a first candidate area using a first method based on the positioning position during work extracted in step S1006 of FIG. 7. Further, the method selection unit 120 generates a second candidate area using a second method based on the positioning position. For example, the first method may be the method of generating a convex hull described in the first to third embodiments above. Also, the second method may be the method of generating an inflated area described in the first to third embodiments above.

[0101] The plurality of candidate areas determined by the area determination unit 130 may include three or more candidate areas each generated by three or more different methods. Also, the methods for generating candidate areas may include two or more of the methods for generating a convex hull, a dilated convex hull, an inflated area, an α - shape using a first non - zero alpha value, and an α - shape using a second non - zero alpha value described above.

[0102] Next, in step S1404 of FIG. 13, the method selection unit 120 outputs candidate information indicating a plurality of candidate regions generated in step S1402. For example, the method selection unit 120 uses the communication device 16 to output the candidate information to the terminal device 21. Note that the method selection unit 120 may output candidate information including, in addition to the information indicating the candidate region, information indicating the positioning position used to determine the candidate region and a map image of the farm field F including the candidate region.

[0103] Next, in step S1406, the display unit 210 of the terminal device 21 displays each of the plurality of candidate regions based on the candidate information output in step S1404. At this time, the display unit 210 may display each of the plurality of candidate regions by overlapping a map image of the farm field F and a symbol (for example, a black circle) indicating the positioning position.

[0104] Next, in step S1408, the reception unit 220 receives a user input for selecting one of the plurality of candidate regions. For example, the user input may be an operation in which the user selects, among the candidate regions displayed by the input / output device 22 in step S1406, the region that the user determines to be the closest to the region where the actual working device 30 has worked.

[0105] Next, in step S1410, the output unit 230 outputs selection information indicating the selected candidate region indicated by the user operation received in step S1408. For example, the output unit 230 uses the communication device 26 to output the candidate information to the farming information management device 10.

[0106] Next, in step S1412, the method selection unit 120 selects a determination method based on the selection information output in step S1410. For example, when the selection information indicates the first candidate region as the selected region, the method selection unit 120 selects the first method as the determination method. Alternatively, when the selection information indicates the second candidate region, the method selection unit 120 selects the second method as the determination method.

[0107] Next, in step S1414, the area determination unit 130 determines a work area corresponding to the method selected in step S1412. As an example, the area determination unit 130 determines, as the work area, an area corresponding to the determination method selected in step S1412 among the plurality of candidate areas determined in step S1402.

[0108] When step S1414 ends, the work area determination process in FIG. 13 (step S1008 in FIG. 7) ends, and then step S1010 in FIG. 7 is executed. The following processing is the same as that of the first embodiment.

[0109] As a modification of the fourth embodiment, the method selection unit 120 may execute a process different from the method based on the user input to determine a determination method from the methods for determining a plurality of candidate areas. For example, the method selection unit 120 may omit steps S1404 to S1410 in FIG. 13. Then, in step S1412, the method selection unit 120 may determine a reference area in the same manner as step S1102 in FIG. 8, and determine a difference index value between this reference area and each of the plurality of candidate areas determined in step S1402. Note that the method by which the method selection unit 120 determines the difference index value may be the same as the method by which the difference index value between the reference area and the dilated convex hull is determined in step S1108 in FIG. 8. Then, in step S1412 of FIG. 13, the method selection unit 120 may determine, as the determination method, the method corresponding to the candidate area with the smallest difference index value (that is, the closest to the reference area). Then, in step S1414, the area determination unit 130 may determine, as the work area, the candidate area corresponding to the method selected in step S1412.

[0110] (Embodiment 5) The farming information management system 1 of this embodiment is different from the farming information management system 1 of the fourth embodiment in that, as the work area determination process, it executes the process shown in FIG. 14 instead of the process after step S1010 of the process in FIG. 7. Other configurations are the same as those of the fourth embodiment.

[0111] The farming information management system 1 of this embodiment executes the processes of steps S1002 to S1008 in FIG. 7 in the same manner as the farming information management system 1 of Embodiments 1 to 4.

[0112] In step S1008, the farming information management system 1 of this embodiment may execute the process of FIG. 8, FIG. 10, FIG. 11, or FIG. 13 as the work area determination process of step S1008.

[0113] When step S1008 in FIG. 7 ends, in step S2010 in FIG. 14, the information output unit 140 of this embodiment outputs output information indicating the work area determined in the work area determination process. At this time, for the work area determined by at least one method (for example, a method of generating an α - shape using a non - zero α value), the information output unit 140 may output output information including information to highlight the work area.

[0114] Next, in step S2012 in FIG. 14, the display unit 210 of the terminal device 21 displays the work area. At this time, for the work area to be highlighted indicated by the output information, the display unit 210 may display it in a distinguishable manner from the work areas determined by other methods, such as displaying it in a warning color (for example, red), attaching a predetermined mark (for example, a mark of "!"). Thereby, the display unit 210 can prompt the user to confirm whether the shape of the work area, such as an α - shape, is correct.

[0115] In addition, the information output unit 140 outputs work area information indicating the work area of the work device 30 determined in step S1008 to the information storage unit 150. The information storage unit 150 stores this work area information.

[0116] Next, in step S2014, the reception unit 220 receives a user input (also referred to as a correction input) for correcting the work area displayed in step S2012. For example, when the work area displayed to the user is an α - shape or a convex hull, the reception unit 220 receives an operation of moving the vertices of the α - shape or the convex hull. As an example, the operation of moving the vertex may be an operation of inputting the numerical value of the correct coordinates of the vertex, an operation of dragging and dropping the vertex on the screen S, or the like. Note that if no user input indicating a correction is input, the reception unit 220 may end the process of FIG. 14 at that time.

[0117] Next, in step S2016, the output unit 230 outputs correction information indicating the correction input received in step S2014. For example, the output unit 230 uses the communication device 26 to output correction information including information indicating the identifier of the work area to be corrected and information indicating the geographical range of the corrected work area to the farm management information device 10.

[0118] Next, in step S2018, the area determination unit 130 of the farm management information device 10 updates the information indicating the work area based on the correction information output in step S2016. For example, the area determination unit 130 updates the work area to be corrected indicated by the correction information to the geographical range indicated by the correction information among the work area information stored by the information storage unit 150 in step S2010. Thereafter, the information output unit 140 may output the updated work area information to another device (for example, the same terminal device 21 as the terminal device 21 that output the current output information, or another terminal device 21, etc.) in response to a request from a device external to the farm management information device 10.

[0119] The farm management information system 1 of this embodiment can facilitate user correction for areas with a high probability of needing correction among the work areas determined by any of a plurality of methods.

[0120] (Modification example) The configuration described in the embodiment is an example, and the configuration can be changed as long as the function is not inhibited.

[0121] For example, one or more of the information acquisition unit 110, method selection unit 120, area determination unit 130, information output unit 140, and information storage unit 150 of the farming information management device 10 may be realized in a distributed manner by two or more computers. Also, for example, one or more of the functions of the farming information management device 10 may be possessed by the terminal device 20.

[0122] Also, when the positioning information of the working device 30 can be acquired from an external device (for example, an external server device that accumulates positioning information), the information acquisition unit 110 may acquire operation information from this external device instead of the working device 30. In this case, the farming information management system 1 may not include the working device 30. Further, the farming information management device 10 may include a functional unit corresponding to the display unit 210 of the terminal device 20, or the display unit 210, reception unit 220, and output unit 230 of the terminal device 21. In this case, the functional unit corresponding to this display unit 210 may display a screen showing the working area on the screen of the display device of the input / output device 12 of the farming information management device 10 in step S1012 of FIG. 7. In this case, the farming information management system 1 may not include the terminal device 20.

[0123] Also, the farming information management system 1 may execute processing different from the above-described processing. For example, the farming information management system 1 may omit some of the processing described in Embodiments 1 to 5. As an example, the method selection unit 120 may omit step S1106 in FIG. 8 and determine whether the difference between the convex hull and the reference area is equal to or greater than the reference in step S1108. In this case, when it is determined as NO in step S1108, the area determination unit 130 may determine the convex hull as the working area in step S1109. Further, the farming information management system 1 may change the order of the processing described in Embodiments 1 to 5. For example, in the processing of FIG. 10, the process of determining whether the area of the convex hull in step S1210 is equal to or greater than the threshold value may be executed before the process of determining whether the difference between the reference area and the convex hull in step S1206 is less than the threshold value.

[0124] In addition, the method by which the agricultural management information system 1 determines the work area is not limited to the method described above. For example, as a method for determining a work area with a complex shape as shown in FIG. 2D, instead of or in addition to the method of generating an α - shape, the agricultural management information system 1 may use a known method for determining a concave polygon including the positioning positions during work. As an example, in S1114 of FIG. 8, instead of the method of generating an α - shape, the area determination unit 130 may use a method of forming a convex hull with the positioning positions during work as a point cloud and then removing small areas that do not include the positioning positions from the work area. In this case, for example, the area determination unit 130 may generate a convex hull including the positioning positions, then divide the convex hull into small mesh - shaped areas, and remove the small areas that do not include the positioning positions from the work area. Alternatively, the area determination unit 130 may determine, in step S1114, the area composed of circles with a radius r centered on each positioning position as the work area. The same applies to S1216 in FIG. 10 or step S1306 in FIG. 11.

[0125] In addition, the method selection unit 120 of the agricultural management information device 10 may select a determination method for determining the work area by a process different from the processes of the above - described embodiments. For example, as a modification of Embodiment 2, the method selection unit 120 may select a determination method using only the above - described representative index values, excluding the above - described difference index values. In this case, the method selection unit 120 may omit the processes from step S1202 to step S1208 in the process of FIG. 10 and execute the process of determining the direction index value in step S1212. Then, when the method selection unit 120 determines in step S1214 that the direction index value is greater than the threshold value (step S1214; YES), it may select, in step S1216, the method of determining the α - shape as the work area, and when it determines that the direction index value is less than the threshold value (step S1214; NO), it may select, in step S1218, the method of determining the inflated area as the determination method, respectively.

[0126] Also, in this modification example, the method selection unit 120 may use the number of turns made during one operation as the direction index value. In this case, in step S1212 of FIG. 10, the method selection unit 120 determines the number of turns the working device 30 made during the operation. First, as described with reference to FIG. 9, the method selection unit 120 determines the moving directions of each of the movement trajectories L_1 to L_n-1. Then, based on the positioning times of each of the movement trajectories L_1 to L_n-1, the method selection unit 120 determines a turning period during which the moving direction has changed by a predetermined angle (for example, 90 degrees) or more within a predetermined time (for example, within 1 minute). Then, in step S1214 of FIG. 10, when the number of determined turning periods is greater than a predetermined turning threshold (for example, 2 times) (step S1214: NO), the method selection unit 120 determines, as the determination method, the method of generating the expansion region in step S1218, and when it is less than the turning threshold (step S1214: YES), the method of generating the α shape in step S1216, respectively.

[0127] Also, the method selection unit 120 may determine the direction index value by a method different from the method described above. For example, in step S1110 of FIG. 8, the method selection unit 120 determines the moving directions up to each of the movement trajectories L_1 to L_n-1 as described above. Then, the method selection unit 120 divides n-1 moving directions (for example, real numbers from 0 degrees to 180 degrees) into predetermined sections (for example, from 0 degrees to 5 degrees, from 5 degrees to 10 degrees,...) to generate a histogram. Then, the value corresponding to the section with the largest number of moving directions (for example, the median of that section) is determined as the representative direction, and the direction index value may be determined using this representative direction. Also, for example, when information about the direction of the ridges provided in the field F is available as information about the field F, the method selection unit 120 may use the direction of the ridges as the representative direction.

[0128] Also, when there are missing positioning information, the area determination unit 130 may determine the work area after complementing the missing positioning positions. For example, in step S1109 or step S1114 of FIG. 8, after performing a process of linearizing the positioning positions, the area determination unit 130 may determine the work area using the information after the linearization, thereby determining a work area with the missing part complemented. Here, the linearization may be a process of determining the straight-line trajectory described in FIG. 9. In this case, the area determination unit 130 determines the convex hull or α-shape including the straight-line trajectory as the work area. The farming information management system 1 of this modification example can determine a work area including the missing part (the missing part does not form a hole) even when there is no positioning position due to data loss. Alternatively, the area determination unit 130 may determine a work area using the point group of the positioning positions complemented by any known method, such as generating a convex hull including interpolation points generated by linear interpolation using the existing positioning information. The same applies to step S1208 and step S1216 of FIG. 10 and step S1306 of FIG. 13.

[0129] Furthermore, the method selection unit 120 may select a method for determining the work area using a machine learning model. As an example, the information storage unit 150 of this modification example stores a machine learning model learned by learning data including a set of a plurality of positioning positions and a desired work area determination method selected by the administrator for the positioning positions. Then, the method selection unit 120 may select a method for determining the work area by inputting the positioning positions extracted in step S1006 of FIG. 7 into this machine learning model.

[0130] Also, in step S1006 of FIG. 7, the information acquisition unit 110 may extract the positioning position during work in a method different from the above embodiment. As an example, when information indicating the geographical range of the farm field F is available, the information acquisition unit 110 may extract, as the positioning position during work in the farm field F, the positioning position corresponding to the speed during work determined by setting among the positioning positions within the range of the farm field F. Alternatively, the information acquisition unit 110 may extract the positioning position during work based on the density of the positioning position instead of or in addition to the method based on the speed during work. As an example, when the number of positioning positions per predetermined unit area (for example, 5 meters square) is greater than a predetermined threshold value (for example, 5), the information acquisition unit 110 may determine that positioning position as the positioning position during work.

[0131] Furthermore, when an external server that provides services related to maps is available, the information output unit 140 may acquire, from the external server, the map image to be included in the output information in step S1010 of FIG. 7.

[0132] The farm management information system 1 may determine different work areas worked on multiple days for the same or partially overlapping area (for example, a certain farm field F1). At this time, the farm management information system 1 may provide the user with information about the first work area determined by the first method for the farm field F1 in the current process and the second work area determined by the second method for the farm field F1 in the past, respectively. Here, the first method and the second method may be the same method, or may be different methods. For example, as a modification of Embodiment 5, the farm management information system 1 may suggest to the user to modify at least one of the currently determined first work area and the previously determined second work area.

[0133] In a modification of this Embodiment 5, for example, the information output unit 140 may output output information indicating the first work area and the second work area in step S2010 of FIG. 14. Then, in step S2012, the display unit 210 of the terminal device 21 may display, for example, the second work area in addition to the first work area. Note that the display unit 210 may display the working date of the first work area and the working date of the second work area in their respective areas. Further, the display unit 210 may display the second work area in a color different from that of the first work area, etc., in a manner that allows the user to distinguish between the two.

[0134] Then, in step S2014, the reception unit 220 receives a user input for modifying either one of the first work area and the second work area. The user input for modifying the area may be the same input as the modification input described in Embodiment 5.

[0135] Next, in step S2016, the output unit 230 outputs correction information including an identifier indicating the work area targeted by the correction input received in step S2014 and information indicating the geographical range of the corrected work area.

[0136] Next, in step S2018, the area determination unit 130 updates the work area to be corrected among the work information based on the correction information. The farming information management system 1 of this modification example can provide the user with information about the work areas of work performed on different days in a manner that allows confirmation over time. Further, the farming information management system 1 of this modification example can compare the first work area and the second work area for work on different days and facilitate correction by the user operation even if either one is incorrect.

[0137] The embodiments and modification examples described above are examples, and the configurations described in each embodiment may be arbitrarily changed or / and arbitrarily combined within a range that does not inhibit the functions. Further, some functions described in the embodiments may be omitted if the required functions can be realized.

[0138] (Appended Note) The farming information management method, the farming information management system, and the program described in each embodiment can be described as follows.

[0139] The farming information management method according to the first aspect is selecting, from a plurality of methods capable of determining a region from a point cloud, a determination method for determining a working area of the working device based on a plurality of positioning information respectively indicating the positioning positions of the working devices during operation; determining the working area based on the plurality of positioning information using the selected determination method; outputting output information regarding the determined working area; and including.

[0140] The farming information management method according to the second aspect is the farming information management method according to the first aspect, wherein selecting the determination method includes determining a first index value regarding a distribution pattern of the working area; when the first index value satisfies a first condition, selecting a first method among the plurality of methods as the determination method; and including.

[0141] The farming information management method according to the third aspect is the farming information management method according to the second aspect, wherein determining the first index value includes determining an estimated area of the working area as the first index value based on the plurality of positioning information, the first condition is that the determined estimated area is less than a predetermined threshold value, and the first method includes determining the working area based on the position of the working device and the working width of the working device.

[0142] The farming information management method according to the fourth aspect is the farming information management method according to the second aspect, wherein the first index value is an index value regarding a data amount of the plurality of positioning information, The first condition is that the index value regarding the determined data volume is less than a predetermined threshold value. The first method includes determining the work area based on the position of the work device and the work width of the work device.

[0143] The farming information management method according to the fifth aspect is the farming information management method according to any one of the first to fourth aspects, selecting the determination method includes: determining a reference area including a sub-area in which the positioning position indicated by the positioning information exists by a predetermined threshold value or more among a plurality of sub-areas obtained by dividing a geographical area including the positioning position; generating a temporary area using a second method among the plurality of methods; selecting the second method as the determination method when the difference between the determined reference area and the generated temporary area is smaller than a predetermined criterion; including determining the work area includes determining the temporary area as the work area.

[0144] The farming information management method according to the sixth aspect is the farming information management method according to the fifth aspect, wherein the second method includes generating a convex hull of the positioning positions indicated by the plurality of positioning information.

[0145] The farming information management method according to the seventh aspect is the farming information management method according to the fifth aspect, wherein the second method includes generating an α-shape with the positioning positions as a point cloud using a non-zero first real number as an alpha value.

[0146] The farming information management method according to the eighth aspect is the farming information management method according to the fifth or sixth aspect, including selecting a third method as the determination method when the difference between the reference area and the temporary area is larger than a predetermined criterion. The third method includes generating an α - shape with the measured positions as a point cloud, using a non - zero first real number as the alpha value.

[0147] The farming information management method according to the ninth aspect is the farming information management method according to any one of the first to eighth aspects, wherein selecting the determination method is based on the plurality of positioning information, determining a first candidate area estimated as the working area of the working device using a fourth method among the plurality of methods; based on the plurality of positioning information, determining a second candidate area estimated as the working area of the working device using a fifth method different from the third method; displaying the first candidate area and the second candidate area; receiving a user input indicating which one to select from the first candidate area and the second candidate area; including and determining the working area includes determining, based on the received user input, the first candidate area or the second candidate area as the working area.

[0148] The farming information management method according to the tenth aspect is the farming information management method according to any one of the first to ninth aspects, further including displaying the working area based on the output information.

[0149] The farming information management system according to the eleventh aspect is a method selection unit that selects a determination method for determining the working area of the working device from among a plurality of methods capable of determining an area from a point cloud based on a plurality of positioning information respectively indicating the positioning positions of the working device during operation; an area determination unit that determines the working area based on the plurality of positioning information using the determination method selected by the method selection unit; an information output unit that outputs output information regarding the determined working area; and includes.

[0150] The program according to the 12th aspect causes a computer to select, from a plurality of methods capable of determining a region from a point cloud, a determination method for determining a work area of the work device based on a plurality of positioning information respectively indicating positioning positions of the work devices during work; determine the work area based on the plurality of positioning information using the selected determination method; output output information regarding the determined work area; and execute the above.

Explanation of Signs

[0151] 1... Farm management information system 10... Farm management information device 12... Input / output device 14... Arithmetic device 16... Communication device 18... Storage device 110... Information acquisition unit 120... Method determination unit 130... Region determination unit 140... Information output unit 150... Information storage unit 20... Terminal device 22... Input / output device 24... Arithmetic device 26... Communication device 28... Storage device 210... Output unit 220... Display unit 30... Work device 31... Power source 32... Input / output device 34... Arithmetic device 36... Communication device 38... Storage device 39... Positioning device 310... Sampling unit 320... Output unit F1~F4... Fields A1~A4... Regions NT... Network M1, M2, M3... Storage media P1, P2, P3... Programs D1…Field information D2…Work information GP…Global Positioning Satellite P_1~P_5: Positioning location L_1~L_6: Movement trajectory

Claims

1. Selecting, based on a plurality of positioning information respectively indicating the positioning positions of the working devices during work in the field, a determination method for determining the working area of the working device from among a plurality of methods capable of determining an area from a point cloud; Determining the working area based on the plurality of positioning information using the selected determination method; Outputting output information regarding the determined working area; including A farming information management method.

2. The selecting of the determination method is determining a first index value regarding the distribution mode of the working area; when the first index value satisfies a first condition, selecting a first method among the plurality of methods as the determination method, The farming information management method according to Claim 1.

3. The determining of the first index value includes determining, based on the plurality of positioning information, an estimated area of the working area as the first index value, the first condition is that the determined estimated area is less than a predetermined threshold value, the first method includes determining the working area based on the position of the working device and the working width of the working device, The farming information management method according to Claim 2.

4. The first index value is an index value regarding the data amount of the plurality of positioning information, the first condition is that the determined index value regarding the data amount is less than a predetermined threshold value, the first method includes determining the working area based on the position of the working device and the working width of the working device, The farming information management method according to Claim 2.

5. The selecting of the determination method is determining a reference area including a sub-area in which the positioning positions indicated by the positioning information exist by a predetermined threshold value or more among a plurality of sub-areas obtained by dividing a geographical area including the positioning positions; generating a temporary area using a second method among the plurality of methods; when the difference between the determined reference area and the generated temporary area is smaller than a predetermined reference, selecting the second method as the determination method; including the determining of the working area includes determining the temporary area as the working area, The farming information management method according to Claim 1.

6. The second method includes generating a convex hull of the positioning positions indicated by the plurality of positioning information, The farming information management method according to Claim 5.

7. The second method includes generating an α - shape with the positioning positions as a point cloud, using a non - zero first real number as the alpha value. The farming information management method according to claim 5.

8. When the difference between the reference area and the provisional area is larger than a predetermined reference, selecting a third method as the determination method. The third method includes generating an α - shape with the positioning positions as a point cloud, using a non - zero first real number as the alpha value. The farming information management method according to claim 5 or claim 6.

9. Selecting the determination method Based on the plurality of positioning information, determining a first candidate area estimated as the working area of the working device using a fourth method among the plurality of methods; Based on the plurality of positioning information, determining a second candidate area estimated as the working area of the working device using a fifth method different from the third method; Displaying the first candidate area and the second candidate area; Receiving a user input indicating which one to select from the first candidate area and the second candidate area; including Determining the working area includes determining the first candidate area or the second candidate area as the working area based on the received user input. The farming information management method according to claim 1.

10. Further including displaying the working area based on the output information. The farming information management method according to claim 1.

11. A method selection unit that selects a determination method for determining the working area of a working device from among a plurality of methods capable of determining an area from a point cloud based on a plurality of positioning information respectively indicating the positioning positions of the working device during operation; An area determination unit that determines the working area based on the plurality of positioning information using the determination method selected by the method selection unit; An information output unit that outputs output information regarding the determined working area; comprising A farming information management system.

12. On a computer, Based on a plurality of positioning information respectively indicating the positioning positions of the working device during operation, selecting a determination method for determining the working area of the working device from among a plurality of methods capable of determining an area from a point cloud; Using the selected determination method, determining the working area based on the plurality of positioning information; Outputting output information regarding the determined working area; A program for causing the above to be executed.

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