Determination method, information processing device, determination system, program, and storage medium

Abstract

To determine a pinching timing suitable for each type when growing a plurality of types of seedlings.SOLUTION: A determination method includes a storage step in which control means stores section information for identifying a plurality of sections and thresholds corresponding to the section information of the respective sections in storage means, an analysis step in which analysis means analyzes image data capturing a seedling and obtains section information of a section where the seedling is planted and biological information indicating the growth state of the seedling, an obtaining step in which the control means obtains, from the storage means, the threshold corresponding to the section information obtained in the analysis step, and a determination step in which determination means compares the biological information with the threshold and determines whether to pinch the seedling in accordance with the comparison result.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 4

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a judgment method, an information processing device, a judgment system, a program, and a storage medium, and in particular to a technique for judging the timing of top pinching of seedlings. [Background technology]

[0002] In recent years, in order to respond precisely to market needs, plant factories that can produce a wide variety of plants by cultivating different varieties in each section have begun to operate. Patent Document 1 discloses an indigo plant cultivation and harvesting device that can increase harvest yields by pinching off the tops. Patent Document 2 discloses an agricultural support system that acquires biological information for each section set up within the facility and controls the growing environment. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2019-054733 [Patent Document 2] Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2019-193592 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] However, the prior art disclosed in Patent Document 1 is limited to specific varieties and cannot be used to pinch other varieties. Furthermore, the prior art disclosed in Patent Document 2 also assumes that only one variety will be grown in one greenhouse, and cannot be applied to growing multiple different varieties. Furthermore, because biological information is acquired for each plot, if the acquired biological information is used to determine whether to pinch the plants as in Patent Document 1, it is not necessarily possible to pinch the plants in a way that increases the yield in an environment where the growth rates of individual seedlings vary within a specific plot.

[0005] The present invention has been made in consideration of the above problems, and aims to make it possible to determine the timing of top pinching that is appropriate for each variety when growing seedlings of multiple varieties. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, the judgment method of the present invention includes a storage step in which a control means stores in a storage means partition information for identifying each of a plurality of partitions and a threshold value corresponding to the partition information for each partition; an analysis step in which an analysis means analyzes image data of a seedling to obtain partition information for the partition in which the seedling is planted and biological information indicating the growth status of the seedling; an acquisition step in which the control means acquires from the storage means the threshold value corresponding to the partition information obtained in the analysis step; and a judgment step in which a judgment means compares the biological information with the threshold value and determines whether to pinch the seedling based on the comparison result. [Effects of the Invention]

[0007] According to the present invention, when growing seedlings of multiple varieties, it is possible to determine the timing of top pinching that is appropriate for each variety. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0008] [Figure 1] 1A is a block diagram showing the functional configuration of a digital camera according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 1B is a front view, and FIG. 1C is a rear view. [Figure 2] FIG. 2A is a block diagram showing the functional configuration of a server according to the present embodiment, and FIG. 2B is a diagram showing an example of criteria information. [Figure 3] 1 is a diagram showing the configuration of a topping system according to an embodiment of the present invention and an example of the arrangement of each device. FIG. [Figure 4] FIG. 4 is a sequence diagram showing processing by the digital camera and the server according to the first embodiment. [Figure 5] 5 is a flowchart showing processing of the digital camera according to the first embodiment. [Figure 6] 6 is a flowchart showing processing of a server in the first embodiment. [Figure 7] FIG. 10 is a sequence diagram showing processing by the digital camera and the server according to the second embodiment. [Figure 8] 10 is a flowchart showing processing of a digital camera according to a second embodiment. [Figure 9] 10 is a flowchart showing processing of a server in the second embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0009] Hereinafter, embodiments will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. Note that the following embodiments do not limit the scope of the invention claimed. Although multiple features are described in the embodiments, not all of these multiple features are necessarily essential to the invention, and multiple features may be combined arbitrarily. Furthermore, in the accompanying drawings, the same reference numerals are used to designate the same or similar components, and redundant explanations will be omitted.

[0010] First Embodiment ●Configuration of digital camera 100 Referring to FIG. 1, the configuration and functions of a digital camera 100 will be described as an example of an imaging device used in this embodiment. In this embodiment, a digital camera capable of capturing still images, moving images, and other images (hereinafter referred to as "images") will be described as an example of an imaging device, but the present invention is not limited to this and can be applied to any electronic device that can be equipped with an imaging function. For example, the present invention may be applied to an information processing device such as a tablet device or personal computer with a camera function, a surveillance camera, a mobile phone, a smartphone, a robot, a drone, etc.

[0011] The control unit 101 is a central processing unit (CPU) that controls the entire digital camera 100, and performs communication processing and control processing, which will be described later, by executing programs stored in the nonvolatile memory 103. Note that the entire digital camera 100 may be controlled by a plurality of hardware devices, rather than just the control unit 101, sharing the processing load.

[0012] The imaging unit 102 includes a group of lenses including a zoom lens and a focus lens, and a shutter with an aperture function. The imaging unit 102 also includes an imaging element configured with a CCD, CMOS, or other element that converts a subject image into an electrical signal, and an A / D converter that converts an analog image signal output from the imaging element into a digital signal. Under the control of the control unit 101, the imaging unit 102 converts subject image light formed by a lens 102a (shown in FIG. 1(b)) included in the imaging unit 102 into an electrical signal using the imaging element, and outputs image data consisting of a digital signal that has been subjected to noise reduction processing and the like. The image data output from the imaging unit 102 is recorded on a recording medium 107 in accordance with the DCF (Design Rule for Camera File System) standard.

[0013] The nonvolatile memory 103 is an electrically erasable and recordable memory, and may be, for example, an EEPROM. Constants, programs, etc. for the operation of the control unit 101 are recorded in the nonvolatile memory 103. The programs referred to here include programs for executing communication processing and control processing, which will be described later in this embodiment.

[0014] The working memory 104 is used as a working area for expanding constants and variables for the operation of the control unit 101, programs read from the nonvolatile memory 103, etc. The working memory 104 is also used as a buffer memory for temporarily storing image data captured by the imaging unit 102, and as an image display memory for the display unit 106.

[0015] The operation unit 105 is made up of operation members such as various switches, buttons, and a touch panel that accept various operations from the user. The operation unit 105 includes, for example, a shutter button 105a for taking an image, a playback button 105b for playing back the captured image, and a directional key 105c consisting of up, down, left, and right buttons for configuring various camera settings, as shown in Figures 1(b) and 1(c). The operation unit 105 also includes a touch panel 105d that is integrally formed with the display unit 106.

[0016] When the shutter button 105a is pressed halfway (a shooting preparation instruction) during operation, a first shutter switch signal SW1 is generated. The control unit 101 receives the first shutter switch signal SW1 and controls the imaging unit 102 to start operations such as AF (autofocus) processing, AE (auto exposure) processing, AWB (auto white balance) processing, and EF (pre-flash) processing. When the shutter button 105a is pressed all the way (a shooting instruction), a second shutter switch signal SW2 is generated. When the control unit 101 receives the second shutter switch signal SW2, it starts a series of shooting processing operations from reading out signals from the imaging unit 102 to writing image data to the recording medium 110.

[0017] In addition to operation using the shutter button 105a, a series of shooting processes can also be performed by the control unit 101 instructing the imaging unit 102 to take a photo in response to a shooting instruction input via the connection unit 108, as described below.

[0018] The display unit 106 displays the viewfinder image during shooting, displays the captured image, and displays text for interactive operation. The display unit 106 is, for example, a display device such as a liquid crystal display or an organic EL display. The display unit 106 may be integrated with the digital camera 100 or may be an external device connected to the digital camera 100. In other words, the digital camera 100 only needs to be able to connect to the display unit 106 and have a function for controlling the display on the display unit 106.

[0019] Image data output from the imaging unit 102 is recorded on the recording medium 107. The control unit 101 can also read out image files that have already been recorded on the recording medium 107. The recording medium 107 may be a memory card or hard disk drive that is attached to the digital camera 100, or may be a flash memory or hard disk drive built into the digital camera 100. In other words, the digital camera 100 only needs to have at least a means for accessing the recording medium 107.

[0020] The connection unit 108 is an interface for connecting to an external device such as a server 200 (described later) so as to be able to communicate with the external device. The digital camera 100 of this embodiment can exchange data with the external device via the connection unit 108. For example, the digital camera 100 can transmit image data output from the imaging unit 102 to the external device via the connection unit 108, and can receive control instructions output from the external device via the connection unit 108. In this embodiment, the connection unit 108 includes an interface for communicating with the external device via a wireless LAN in accordance with the IEEE 802.11 standard. The control unit 101 realizes wireless communication with the external device by controlling the connection unit 108. The communication method is not limited to the IEEE 802.11 wireless LAN, and may be, for example, wired communication such as IEEE 1394, or wireless communication other than the IEEE 802.11 standard.

[0021] Server 200 configuration Next, the configuration and functions of the server 200 (information processing device) of this embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. The control unit 201 is a central processing unit (CPU) that controls the entire server 200, and performs communication processing and control processing, which will be described later, by executing programs stored in the nonvolatile memory 202. Note that the entire server 200 may be controlled by a plurality of hardware devices, rather than just the control unit 201, sharing the processing load.

[0022] The nonvolatile memory 202 is an electrically erasable and recordable memory, and an EEPROM, for example, is used. Constants, programs, etc. for the operation of the control unit 201 are recorded in the nonvolatile memory 202. The programs referred to here include programs for executing communication processing and control processing, which will be described later in this embodiment. Furthermore, the user has input in advance into the nonvolatile memory 202 judgment criteria information used for judgment by the judgment unit 205, which will be described later.

[0023] 2(b) shows an example of the judgment criteria information, which includes section information and biological information. The section information includes the section name and section location where the seedlings being grown, photographed by the digital camera 100 using the imaging unit 102, are planted, and the biological information (threshold value) includes the plant height and number of true leaves appropriate for pinching the top of the seedlings being grown in each section. Note that the section information may include at least one of the section name and section location, and the biological information may include at least one of the plant height and number of true leaves.

[0024] The work memory 203 is used as a work area for expanding constants and variables for the operation of the control unit 201, programs read from the nonvolatile memory 202, and the like.

[0025] The analysis unit 204 is used to analyze the image data to acquire biological information indicating the growth state of the seedlings from the image data. The server 200 of this embodiment acquires image data from the digital camera 100 via the connection unit 207, and outputs the biological information obtained by analyzing the acquired image data with the analysis unit 204 and the plot information assigned to the image data. In this embodiment, the biological information analyzed by the analysis unit 204 includes at least one of plant height and the number of true leaves.

[0026] The judgment unit 205 compares the bioinformation output from the analysis unit 204 with the bioinformation stored in the judgment criteria information stored in the non-volatile memory 202 and linked to the section information, determines whether to pinch the top based on the comparison result, and outputs the judgment result.

[0027] The creation unit 206 creates a control instruction to be transmitted to an external device connected via the connection unit 207. In this embodiment, the creation unit 206 creates a control instruction (photography instruction) to instruct the digital camera 100 to take a photograph, and a control instruction (topping instruction) to instruct the digital camera 100 to top-pinch a plant in an image captured by the imaging unit 102. The top-pinch instruction is created when a determination result indicating that top-pinch should be performed is received from the determination unit 205.

[0028] The connection unit 207 is an interface for connecting to an external device such as the digital camera 100 so as to be able to communicate with the external device. The server 200 of this embodiment can exchange data with the external device via the connection unit 207. For example, the server 200 can transmit a control instruction output from the creation unit 206 to the digital camera 100 via the connection unit 207, or can receive image data from the digital camera 100 via the connection unit 207. In this embodiment, the connection unit 207 includes an interface for communicating via a wireless LAN in accordance with the IEEE 802.11 standard. The control unit 201 realizes wireless communication with the external device by controlling the connection unit 207. The communication method is not limited to the wireless LAN of the IEEE 802.11 standard, and may be, for example, wired communication such as IEEE 1394 or wireless communication other than the IEEE 802.11 standard. Furthermore, the protocol for communicating data may be, for example, HTTP (Hyper Text Transfer Protocol).

[0029] Configuration of the pinching system Next, the configuration of the topping system in this embodiment will be described with reference to Fig. 3. The topping system shown in Fig. 3 includes a determination system that determines the timing of topping. The topping system in this embodiment includes the digital camera 100 and server 200 having the above-described configurations, and a topping machine 300. It is also assumed that a plurality of seedlings 301 of variety A are grown in section 310, a plurality of seedlings 302 of variety B in section 320, a plurality of seedlings 303 of variety C in section 330, and a plurality of seedlings 304 of variety D in section 340. It is assumed that varieties A to D are different from one another.

[0030] Digital camera 100 connects to server 200 and receives a photographing instruction from server 200. Then, based on the received photographing instruction, it photographs one of the multiple seedlings 301 to 304 and transmits the photographed image data to server 200. In the example shown in FIG. 3, the topping system is configured to include one digital camera 100, but it may also be configured to include multiple imaging devices. Furthermore, digital camera 100 only needs to be positioned so that it can photograph all of seedlings 301 to 304. For example, as in this embodiment, digital camera 100 may be positioned in the center of sections 310 to 340, or it may be configured to move based on photographing instructions.

[0031] The server 200 is connected to the digital camera 100, and transmits a photographing instruction to the digital camera 100, and receives image data from the digital camera 100. The server 200 is then connected to the pith trimming machine 300, and transmits a pith trimming instruction to the pith trimming machine 300 in accordance with the determination result based on the image data.

[0032] The topping machine 300 is connected to the server 200, and when it receives a topping instruction from the server 200, it executes topping processing on one of the seedlings 301 to 304 based on the received topping instruction. The topping machine 300 includes an interface for communicating via wireless LAN in accordance with the IEEE802.11 standard of the connection unit 207. Note that the communication method is not limited to wireless LAN, and any communication method that can communicate with the connection unit 207, such as wired communication such as IEEE1394, may be used. Furthermore, the protocol for communicating data may be, for example, HTTP.

[0033] Seedlings 301a and 304a indicate seedlings that have been topped by the topping process of the topping machine 300, out of the multiple seedlings 301 and 304 cultivated in the sections 310 and 340, respectively.

[0034] Operation of the digital camera 100 and the server 200 Next, the operations of the digital camera 100 and the server 200 in this embodiment will be described with reference to FIG.

[0035] 4 shows a processing sequence in which the server 200 of this embodiment analyzes image data received from the digital camera 100 to obtain biometric information and plot information, determines whether or not to pruning based on the information, and creates a pruning instruction. Note that in the sequence shown in FIG. 4, plant height is used as biometric information and plot name is used as plot information.

[0036] In S401, the control unit 101 of the digital camera 100 displays a menu on the display unit 106, allowing the user to select a connection setting from the menu via the operation unit 105. When the user selects a connection setting, in S402 the control unit 101 of the digital camera 100 transmits a connection request to the server 200 via the connection unit 108.

[0037] In S403, the control unit 201 of the server 200 notifies the digital camera 100 of whether or not connection is possible via the connection unit 207. Regarding whether or not connection is possible, the control unit 201 of the server 200 notifies the digital camera 100 that connection is possible, and notifies the digital camera 100 that connection is not possible. When the connection OK is notified in S403, the control unit 101 of the digital camera 100 and the control unit 201 of the server 200 complete the connection process in S404.

[0038] In S405, the control unit 201 of the server 200 controls the creation unit 206 to create a shooting instruction. The shooting instruction instructs the digital camera 100 to take a picture, and the shooting instruction is created so that the digital camera 100 takes a picture of each seedling. The shooting instruction includes image creation settings such as aperture value, shutter speed, and ISO sensitivity when the digital camera 100 takes a picture, or setting values ​​for the angle of view for photographing a specific seedling, such as the shooting direction, coordinates, and zoom value. The shooting instruction also includes the section name, which is stored in advance as section information in the non-volatile memory 202 of the server 200. The section name is an arbitrary character string assigned to each section.

[0039] In S406, the control unit 201 of the server 200 transmits the shooting instruction created in S405 to the digital camera 100 via the connection unit 207. In S407, the control unit 101 of the digital camera 100 controls the imaging unit 102 to capture an image based on the shooting instruction received in S406, and writes the converted image data obtained by reading the signal from the imaging unit 102 to the recording medium 110.

[0040] In S408, the control unit 101 of the digital camera 100 assigns a section name as section information to the additional information of the image data written to the recording medium 110 in S407. The section name is the section name included in the shooting instruction received from the server 200 in S406, or the section name that can be identified from the image data written to the recording medium 110 of the digital camera 100 in S407.

[0041] In S409, the control unit 101 of the digital camera 100 transmits the image data to which the section names have been assigned in S408 to the server 200 via the connection unit . In S410, the control unit 201 of the server 200 loads the image data received in S409 into the working memory 203 and controls the analysis unit 204 to analyze the image data. Through the analysis, the plant height is obtained as biological information of the seedlings shown in the image data. In addition, the section name assigned in S408 is obtained from the supplementary information of the image data.

[0042] In S411, the control unit 201 of the server 200 searches the criteria information stored in advance in the nonvolatile memory 202 using the section name acquired in S410 as a keyword, and acquires the plant height of the corresponding section name. Therefore, the criteria information used here may be composed of the section name and plant height from the information shown in Figure 2(b).

[0043] In S412, the control unit 201 of the server 200 controls the judgment unit 205 to judge whether or not top pruning is necessary. In the top pruning judgment, the judgment unit 205 uses the plant height in the judgment reference information acquired in S411 as a threshold value and compares it with the plant height in the biological information acquired in S410. Then, it judges whether the plant height in the biological information acquired in S410 exceeds the threshold value, and judges to perform top pruning if it exceeds the threshold value, and not to perform top pruning if it does not exceed the threshold value.

[0044] In S413, if the control unit 201 of the server 200 determines in S412 that topping is to be performed, the creation unit 206 creates a topping instruction. In S414, the control unit 201 of the server 200 transmits the tipping instruction created in S413 to the tipping machine 300 via the connection unit 207.

[0045] In this way, the server 200 acquires biometric information and partition information from the image data received from the digital camera 100, determines whether or not to perform topping based on this information, and if topping is required, creates a topping instruction and transmits it to the topping machine 300.

[0046] ● Processing of digital camera 100 Next, the processing in digital camera 100 for realizing the operations of digital camera 100 and server 200 shown in Fig. 4 will be described with reference to the flowchart in Fig. 5. The processing in Fig. 5 is realized by control unit 101 of digital camera 100 loading a program read from non-volatile memory 103 into work memory 104 and executing it.

[0047] In S501, the control unit 101 executes a process for connecting with the server 200. The process of S501 corresponds to the processes of S402 and S404 in FIG. In S502, the control unit 101 determines whether to continue the control processing of the digital camera 100. If it is determined that the processing should be continued, the processing proceeds to S503, and if it is determined that the processing should not be continued, the processing ends. The determination of whether to continue the processing is made when, for example, the power of the digital camera 100 is turned off and the digital camera 100 is shut down.

[0048] In S503, the control unit 101 determines whether or not a shooting instruction has been received from the server 200, and if it determines that a shooting instruction has been received, proceeds to S504 (corresponding to the processing of S406), and if it determines that a shooting instruction has not been received, returns to S502.

[0049] In S504, the control unit 101 controls the imaging unit 102 to take a photograph in accordance with the photographing instruction, and writes the obtained image data to the recording medium 107. The processing in S504 corresponds to S407 in FIG. In S505, the control unit 101 assigns a partition name, which is partition information, as additional information to the image data written in S504 to the recording medium 107. The process of S505 corresponds to S408 in FIG. In S506, the control unit 101 transmits the image data to which the section name was assigned in S505 to the server 200 via the connection unit 108, and returns the process to S502. The process of S506 corresponds to S409 in Fig. 4. With the above process, the process for one seedling is completed.

[0050] ●Server 200 processing Next, the processing in server 200 for realizing the operations of digital camera 100 and server 200 shown in Fig. 4 will be described with reference to the flowchart in Fig. 6. The processing in Fig. 6 is realized by control unit 201 of server 200 loading a program read from non-volatile memory 202 into working memory 203 and executing it.

[0051] In S601, the control unit 201 executes a process for connecting with the digital camera 100. The process of S601 corresponds to the processes of S403 and S404 in FIG.

[0052] In S602, the control unit 201 determines whether to continue the control process of the server 200, and if it is determined to continue, the process proceeds to S603, and if it is determined not to continue, the process ends. The determination of whether to continue the process is made when, for example, the power supply to the server 200 is turned off and the server 200 is shut down, or when there is no next target changed in S612 (described later), etc.

[0053] In S603, the control unit 201 controls the creation unit 206 to create a photography instruction. The photography instruction is generated for each seedling and includes setting values ​​for the angle of view, such as the direction of photography, coordinates, and zoom value, so as to photograph the seedling to be photographed (target n). The instruction also includes the section name as section information. The processing of S603 corresponds to S405 in FIG. 4. In S604, the control unit 201 transmits the shooting instruction created in S603 to the digital camera 100 via the connection unit 207. The processing in S604 corresponds to S406 in FIG.

[0054] In S605, the control unit 201 determines whether image data has been received from the digital camera 100, and if it determines that image data has been received, the process proceeds to S606, and if it determines that image data has not been received, the process returns to S602. Note that this determination may be made after a predetermined determination time has elapsed after sending a shooting instruction, or the determination may be made repeatedly for a predetermined determination time, and if image data has not been obtained even after the determination time has elapsed, it may be determined that image data has not been received.

[0055] In S606, the control unit 201 expands the image data received in S605 in the working memory 203, and analyzes the image data by controlling the analysis unit 204. The process of S606 corresponds to S410 in FIG. In S607, the control unit 201 searches the criteria information stored in advance in the nonvolatile memory 202 using the section name acquired in S410 as a keyword, and acquires the plant height of the corresponding section name. The process of S607 corresponds to S411 in FIG. 4.

[0056] In S608, the control unit 201 controls the determination unit 205 to compare the plant height of the biological information analyzed in S606 with the plant height (threshold value) acquired from the determination reference information in S607. In S609, the control unit 201 controls the judgment unit 205 to judge whether the plant height of the biological information analyzed in S606 exceeds a threshold value, and the judgment unit 205 judges whether to perform topping if the plant height exceeds the threshold value, and whether to not perform topping if the plant height does not exceed the threshold value. If it is determined that topping should be performed, the process proceeds to S610, and if it is determined that topping should not be performed, the process proceeds to S612. The processes of S608 and S609 correspond to S412 in FIG. 4.

[0057] In S610, the control unit 201 generates a topping instruction by controlling the generation unit 206. The process of S610 corresponds to S413 in FIG. In S611, the control unit 201 transmits the culling instruction created in S610 to the culling machine 300 in Fig. 3 via the connection unit 207. The process of S611 corresponds to S414 in Fig. 4.

[0058] In S612, the control unit 201 changes the seedling (target n) to be photographed to the next seedling (target n+1). At this time, if there is no next seedling, it is determined in S602 that the process will not continue.

[0059] As described above, according to the first embodiment, the server 200 analyzes image data captured by the digital camera 100 to obtain biometric information and plot information, determines whether or not to pinch the top, and creates a pinching instruction if it is determined that pinching is necessary. By controlling in this way, even if different varieties of seedlings are planted in each plot, it is possible to determine the timing of pinching that is appropriate for each variety.

[0060] <Second embodiment> Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described. The configurations of the digital camera 100 and server 200 used in the second embodiment are the same as those described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2 in the first embodiment, and therefore will not be described here.

[0061] Operation of the digital camera 100 and the server 200 Next, the operations of the digital camera 100 and the server 200 in this embodiment will be described with reference to FIG.

[0062] 7 shows a sequence in which the server 200 of this embodiment analyzes image data received from the digital camera 100 to acquire biometric information and partition information, determines whether or not to perform topping based on the acquired information, and stores the topping information. In the process shown in FIG. 7, the same processes as those shown in FIG. 4 are assigned the same numbers, and their explanations will be omitted where appropriate.

[0063] When the connection process between the digital camera 100 and the server 200 is complete, in S705 the control unit 201 of the server 200 controls the creation unit 206 to create a shooting instruction. The shooting instruction instructs the digital camera 100 to take a picture, and the shooting instruction is created so that the digital camera 100 will take a picture of each seedling. The shooting instruction includes image creation settings such as aperture value, shutter speed, and ISO sensitivity for the digital camera 100 to take a picture, or setting values ​​for the angle of view for photographing a specific seedling, such as the shooting direction, coordinates, and zoom value. In this embodiment, the shooting instruction also includes the location of a section that has been saved in advance by the user as section information in the non-volatile memory 202 of the server 200. The location of the section is the coordinate position of the object being photographed by the digital camera 100.

[0064] After the shooting instruction is sent in S406 and the image is captured in S407, in the next step S708, the control unit 201 of the server 200 adds the section position as section information to the additional information of the image data written to the recording medium 110 in S407. The section position is the section position included in the shooting instruction received from the server 200 in S406, or the section position that can be identified from the image data written to the recording medium 110 of the digital camera 100 in S407.

[0065] In S409, the control unit 101 of the digital camera 100 transmits the image data to which the section positions have been assigned in S708 to the server 200 via the connection unit . In S710, the control unit 201 of the server 200 loads the image data received in S409 into the working memory 203 and controls the analysis unit 204 to analyze the image data. Through the analysis, the number of true leaves is obtained as biological information of the seedlings shown in the image data. In addition, the plot position assigned in S708 is obtained from the supplementary information of the image data.

[0066] In S711, the control unit 201 of the server 200 searches the criteria information stored in advance in the nonvolatile memory 202 using the section location acquired in S710 as a keyword, and acquires the number of true leaves at the corresponding section location. Therefore, the criteria information used here may be composed of the section location and the number of true leaves from the information shown in Figure 2(b).

[0067] In S712, the control unit 201 of the server 200 controls the judgment unit 205 to judge whether or not top pruning is necessary. In the judgment of top pruning, the number of true leaves in the judgment criteria information acquired in S711 is used as a threshold and compared with the number of true leaves in the biological information acquired in S710. The judgment unit 205 then judges whether the number of true leaves in the biological information acquired in S710 exceeds the threshold, and judges to perform top pruning if it exceeds the threshold, and not to perform top pruning if it does not exceed the threshold.

[0068] In S713, if the control unit 201 of the server 200 determines in S712 that topping should be performed, the creation unit 206 creates topping information. The topping information is composed of unique data assigned to each seedling and data indicating that topping has been determined. The topping information is also data for creating topping instructions to be sent to the topping machine 300 in Figure 3.

[0069] In S714, the control unit 201 of the server 200 stores the culling information created in S713 in the nonvolatile memory 202.

[0070] As described above, the server 200 acquires biometric information and plot information from image data received from the digital camera 100, determines whether or not to perform topping based on this information, and if so, creates and stores the topping information. The topping information stored in the nonvolatile memory 202 can be referenced by the control unit 201. Furthermore, the creation unit 206 can create a topping instruction based on the topping information stored in the nonvolatile memory 202 and transmit the topping instruction to the topping machine 300 via the connection unit 207. At this time, the saved topping information may be used to create a topping instruction and send it to the topping machine 300 after completing a decision for a predetermined unit, such as a plot or a row within a plot. The topping information may also be controlled to be displayed on a display device (not shown).

[0071] ● Processing of digital camera 100 Next, with reference to the flowchart in Fig. 8, the processing in digital camera 100 for realizing the operation of digital camera 100 and server 200 shown in Fig. 7 will be described. The processing in Fig. 8 is realized by control unit 101 of digital camera 100 loading a program read from non-volatile memory 103 into work memory 104 and executing it. Note that, with the exception of the processing of S805, the processing is the same as that shown in Fig. 5, so the same step numbers are used and their explanations will be omitted.

[0072] In this embodiment, in S805, the control unit 101 adds the partition position as partition information to the additional information of the image data written to the recording medium 110 in S504. The processing of S805 corresponds to S708 in FIG.

[0073] ●Server 200 processing Next, with reference to the flowchart in Fig. 9, a description will be given of the processing in server 200 for realizing the operations of digital camera 100 and server 200 shown in Fig. 7. The processing in Fig. 9 is realized by control unit 201 of server 200 loading a program read from non-volatile memory 202 into working memory 203 and executing it. The same steps as those shown in Fig. 6 are assigned the same step numbers, and their descriptions will be omitted.

[0074] In S903, the control unit 201 controls the creation unit 206 to create a photography instruction. The photography instruction is generated for each seedling and includes setting values ​​for the angle of view, such as the direction of photography, coordinates, and zoom value, so as to photograph the seedling to be photographed (target n). The photography instruction also includes the location of the partition as partition information. The processing of S903 corresponds to S705 in FIG. 7.

[0075] An image capture instruction is sent in S604, and it is determined in S605 whether image data has been received. If it is determined that image data has been received, in S906 the control unit 201 loads the image data received in S605 into the working memory 203 and controls the analysis unit 204 to analyze the image data. The processing of S906 corresponds to S710 in FIG. 7.

[0076] In S907, the control unit 201 searches the criteria information stored in advance in the nonvolatile memory 202 using the section position acquired in S906 as a keyword, and acquires the number of coins in the corresponding section position. The process of S907 corresponds to S711 in FIG. 7.

[0077] In S908, the control unit 201 controls the determination unit 205 to compare the number of true leaves in the biological information analyzed in S906 with the number of true leaves (threshold value) acquired from the determination criterion information in S907. In S909, the judgment unit 205 judges whether the number of true leaves in the biological information analyzed in S906 exceeds a threshold value, and if it exceeds the threshold value, it judges to perform topping, and if it does not exceed the threshold value, it judges not to perform topping. If it is judged to perform topping, the process proceeds to S910, and if it is judged not to perform topping, the process proceeds to S912. The processes of S908 and S909 correspond to S712 in FIG. 7.

[0078] In S910, the control unit 201 creates the culling information by controlling the creation unit 206. The process of S910 corresponds to S713 in FIG. In S911, the control unit 201 stores the topping information created in S910 in the nonvolatile memory 202. The process of S911 corresponds to S714 in FIG.

[0079] As described above, according to the second embodiment, the server 200 analyzes image data captured by the digital camera 100 to obtain biometric information and plot information, determines whether or not to pinch the top, and creates a pinching instruction if it is determined that pinching is necessary. By controlling in this way, even if different varieties of seedlings are planted in each plot, it is possible to determine the timing of pinching that is appropriate for each variety.

[0080] In the above description, the digital camera 100 and the pinching machine 300 are described as independent devices, but the pinching machine 300 may be provided with a camera function so that it operates as the digital camera 100. In other words, the pinching machine 300 may be the electronic device described above.

[0081] Furthermore, depending on the variety of seedling, there may be cases where it is better to determine whether to pinch the seedlings based on plant height or the number of leaves, so the biological information to be acquired may be selected depending on the variety of seedling. In this case, the judgment criteria information may store only biological information suitable for determining whether to pinch the seedlings planted in each plot as biological information corresponding to the plot information.

[0082] In addition, although the above description has been given of a case in which different varieties of seedlings are grown in each section, the present invention is not limited to this, and it is sufficient that the same variety of seedlings are grown in each section. This allows for the determination of top pinching to be made for each section.

[0083] <Other embodiments> The present invention can also be realized by supplying a program that realizes one or more functions of the above-described embodiments to a system or device via a network or a storage medium, and having one or more processors in the computer of the system or device read and execute the program.The present invention can also be realized by a circuit (e.g., ASIC) that realizes one or more functions.

[0084] <Summary> The disclosure of this embodiment includes the following configuration.

[0085] (Item 1) a storage step in which the control means stores in the storage means partition information for identifying each of the plurality of partitions and a threshold value corresponding to the partition information of each partition; an analysis step in which an analysis means analyzes image data of the seedlings to obtain plot information of the plot in which the seedlings are planted and biological information indicating the growth state of the seedlings; an acquisition step in which the control means acquires, from the storage means, the threshold value corresponding to the block information acquired in the analysis step; a judgment step in which a judgment means compares the biological information with the threshold value and judges whether or not to pinch the seedlings based on the comparison result; A determination method comprising: (Item 2) The biological information is a value that represents the growth state of the seedling, and in the judgment process, it is determined that top pinching should be performed if the biological information exceeds the threshold, and that top pinching should not be performed if the biological information does not exceed the threshold. (Item 3) 2. The method of claim 1, wherein the partition information is at least one of the name of the partition and the location of the partition. (Item 4) 4. The method according to any one of items 1 to 3, wherein the biological information is at least one of the plant height and the number of true leaves of the seedling. (Item 5) 5. The method of determining whether or not a seedling is suitable for growing, characterized in that the threshold value is at least one of the plant height and the number of leaves, which indicate the timing of top pinching depending on the seedling variety. (Item 6) 6. The judgment method according to any one of items 1 to 5, further comprising a generation step of generating an instruction for topping when it is determined in the judgment step that topping should be performed. (Item 7) 7. The determination method according to item 6, further comprising a transmitting step of transmitting the instruction generated in the generating step. (Item 8) 6. The judgment method according to any one of items 1 to 5, further comprising a generation step of generating information on topping when it is determined in the judgment step that topping should be performed. (Item 9) 9. The determination method according to item 8, further comprising a second storage step of storing the information generated in the generation step in a storage means. (Item 10) 10. The determination method according to any one of items 1 to 9, further comprising an input step of inputting the threshold value. (Item 11) a storage means for storing partition information for identifying each of a plurality of partitions and a threshold value corresponding to the partition information of each partition; an analysis means for analyzing image data of a seedling to obtain plot information of the plot in which the seedling is planted and biological information indicating the growth state of the seedling; an acquisition means for acquiring, from the storage means, the threshold value corresponding to the block information acquired by the analysis means; a determination means for comparing the biological information with the threshold value and determining whether or not to pinch the seedlings based on the comparison result; An information processing device comprising: (Item 12) A determination method using an electronic device equipped with an imaging means and an information processing device, In the information processing device, a storage step in which the first control means stores in the storage means partition information for identifying each of the plurality of partitions and a threshold value corresponding to the partition information of each partition; a first communication step in which a first communication means transmits an instruction to the electronic device to photograph seedlings in a predetermined section; an analysis step in which analysis means analyzes image data of the seedlings obtained from the electronic device to obtain plot information of the plot in which the seedlings are planted and biological information indicating the growth state of the seedlings; an acquisition step in which the first control means acquires, from the storage means, the threshold value corresponding to the block information acquired in the analysis step; A determination step is performed in which a determination means compares the biological information with the threshold value and determines whether or not to perform top pinching of the seedlings based on the comparison result. In the electronic device, a photographing step in which a second control means controls the imaging means to photograph the seedlings in the predetermined section based on the instruction from the information processing device; a second communication step in which a second communication means adds plot information of the plot to the image data of the seedlings photographed by the imaging means and transmits the image data to the information processing device. A determination method characterized by: (Item 13) A determination system including an electronic device having an imaging means and an information processing device, The information processing device includes: a storage means for storing partition information for identifying each of a plurality of partitions and a threshold value corresponding to the partition information of each partition; a first communication means for transmitting an instruction to the electronic device to photograph seedlings in a predetermined section; an analysis means for analyzing image data of the seedlings obtained from the electronic device to obtain plot information of the plot in which the seedlings are planted and biological information indicating the growth state of the seedlings; an acquisition means for acquiring, from the storage means, the threshold value corresponding to the block information acquired by the analysis means; A determination means for comparing the biological information with the threshold value and determining whether or not to pinch the seedlings based on the comparison result, The electronic device includes: a control means for controlling the imaging means to photograph the seedlings in the predetermined section based on the instruction from the information processing device; and second communication means for adding plot information of the plot to image data of the seedlings photographed by the imaging means and transmitting the image data to the information processing device. A judgment system characterized by: (Item 14) A program for causing a computer to execute each step of the determination method according to any one of items 1 to 10. (Item 15) A program for causing a computer to function as each means of the information processing device described in item 11. (Item 16) 16. A computer-readable storage medium storing the program according to item 14 or 15.

[0086] The invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various changes and modifications can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Accordingly, the following claims are appended to apprise the public of the scope of the invention. [Explanation of symbols]

[0087] 100: Digital camera, 101, 201: Control unit, 102: Imaging unit, 103, 202: Non-volatile memory, 104, 203: Working memory, 105: Operation unit, 106: Display unit, 107: Recording medium, 108, 207: Connection unit, 200: Server, 204: Analysis unit, 205: Determination unit, 206: Creation unit, 300: Tip pinching machine

Claims

1. a storage step in which the control means stores in the storage means partition information for identifying each of the plurality of partitions and a threshold value corresponding to the partition information of each partition; an analysis step in which an analysis means analyzes image data of the seedlings to obtain plot information of the plot in which the seedlings are planted and biological information indicating the growth state of the seedlings; an acquisition step in which the control means acquires, from the storage means, the threshold value corresponding to the block information acquired in the analysis step; a judgment step in which a judgment means compares the biological information with the threshold value and judges whether or not to pinch the seedlings based on the comparison result; A determination method comprising:

2. The judgment method described in claim 1, characterized in that the biological information is a value representing the growth state of the seedling, and in the judgment process, it is determined that topping should be performed if the biological information exceeds the threshold value, and that topping should not be performed if the biological information does not exceed the threshold value.

3. 2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the partition information is at least one of a partition name and a partition location.

4. 2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the biological information is at least one of the plant height and the number of true leaves of the seedling.

5. 5. The method according to claim 4, wherein the threshold value is at least one of the plant height and the number of leaves of the seedling, which indicate the timing of top pinching depending on the variety of the seedling.

6. 2. The method according to claim 1, further comprising a generating step of generating an instruction for topping when it is determined in the determining step that topping should be performed.

7. 7. The method according to claim 6, further comprising a transmitting step of transmitting the instruction generated in the generating step.

8. 2. The method according to claim 1, further comprising a generating step of generating information about topping when it is determined in the determining step that topping should be performed.

9. 9. The method according to claim 8, further comprising a second storage step of storing the information generated in said generating step in a storage means.

10. 2. The method according to claim 1, further comprising an input step of inputting the threshold value.

11. a storage means for storing partition information for identifying each of a plurality of partitions and a threshold value corresponding to the partition information of each partition; an analysis means for analyzing image data of a seedling to obtain plot information of the plot in which the seedling is planted and biological information indicating the growth state of the seedling; an acquisition means for acquiring, from the storage means, the threshold value corresponding to the block information acquired by the analysis means; a determination means for comparing the biological information with the threshold value and determining whether or not to pinch the seedlings based on the comparison result; An information processing device comprising:

12. A determination method using an electronic device equipped with an imaging means and an information processing device, In the information processing device, a storage step in which the first control means stores in the storage means section information for identifying each of the plurality of sections and a threshold value corresponding to the section information of each section; a first communication step in which a first communication means transmits an instruction to the electronic device to photograph seedlings in a predetermined section; an analysis step in which analysis means analyzes image data of the seedlings obtained from the electronic device to obtain plot information of the plot in which the seedlings are planted and biological information indicating the growth state of the seedlings; an acquisition step in which the first control means acquires, from the storage means, the threshold value corresponding to the block information acquired in the analysis step; A determination step is performed in which a determination means compares the biological information with the threshold value and determines whether or not to perform top pinching of the seedlings based on the comparison result. In the electronic device, a photographing step in which a second control means controls the imaging means to photograph the seedlings in the predetermined section based on the instruction from the information processing device; a second communication step in which second communication means adds plot information of the plot to image data of the seedlings photographed by the imaging means and transmits the image data to the information processing device. A determination method characterized by:

13. A determination system including an electronic device having an imaging means and an information processing device, The information processing device includes: a storage means for storing partition information for identifying each of a plurality of partitions and a threshold value corresponding to the partition information of each partition; a first communication means for transmitting an instruction to the electronic device to photograph seedlings in a predetermined section; an analysis means for analyzing image data of the seedlings obtained from the electronic device to obtain plot information of the plot in which the seedlings are planted and biological information indicating the growth state of the seedlings; an acquisition means for acquiring, from the storage means, the threshold value corresponding to the block information acquired by the analysis means; A determination means for comparing the biological information with the threshold value and determining whether or not to pinch the seedlings based on the comparison result, The electronic device includes: a control means for controlling the imaging means to photograph the seedlings in the predetermined section based on the instruction from the information processing device; and second communication means for adding the section information of the section to the image data of the seedlings photographed by the imaging means and transmitting the image data to the information processing device. A judgment system characterized by:

14. A program for causing a computer to execute each step of the determination method according to any one of claims 1 to 10.

15. A program for causing a computer to function as each of the means of the information processing apparatus according to claim 11.

16. A computer-readable storage medium storing the program according to claim 14.

Images