Agricultural support system

Abstract

We provide an agricultural support system that can create effective pesticide application schedules for mitigating damage. [Solution] According to one aspect of the present invention, an agricultural support system is provided, comprising a processor, the processor configured to perform the following steps by reading a program: in the input information acquisition step, input information is acquired which includes at least the history of pesticide application and damage occurrence information representing the risk of damage to plants; and in the schedule creation step, a pesticide application schedule is generated which includes at least the type of pesticide to be applied and the timing of pesticide application, based on the input information and reference information, wherein the reference information includes the correlation between the input information and the type of pesticide and the timing of application.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to an agricultural support system.

Background Art

[0002] As disclosed in the following documents, an apparatus for predicting disorders (pests and physiological disorders) occurring in plants (crops) using a learning model is known.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0003]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] Although the above apparatus can obtain a prediction of the occurrence of a disorder, it cannot acquire information regarding countermeasures against the disorder.

[0005] In view of the above circumstances, the present invention aims to provide an agricultural support system capable of creating a pesticide spraying schedule effective for disorder countermeasures.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0006] According to one aspect of the present invention, there is provided an agricultural support system including a processor configured to execute the following steps by reading a program. In the input information acquisition step, input information including at least a pesticide spraying history and disorder occurrence information representing the risk of occurrence of a disorder in a plant is acquired. In the schedule creation step, based on the input information and reference information, a pesticide spraying schedule including at least the type of pesticide to be sprayed and the timing of pesticide spraying is generated. Here, the reference information includes a correlation between the input information and the type and spraying timing of the pesticide.

[0007] This method makes it possible to create a pesticide application schedule that can suppress the occurrence of damage. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0008] [Figure 1] This is a diagram illustrating the configuration of agricultural support system 1. [Figure 2] This is a block diagram showing the hardware configuration of the information processing device 2. [Figure 3] This is a block diagram showing the hardware configuration of user terminal 3. [Figure 4] This block diagram shows the functions realized by the information processing device 2 (processor 23). [Figure 5] This figure shows an example of the schedule display screen CD displayed on user terminal 3. [Figure 6] This is an activity diagram showing the flow of information processing (schedule creation process) performed by agricultural support system 1. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0009] Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. The various features shown in the embodiments below can be combined with each other.

[0010] Incidentally, the program for implementing the software appearing in one embodiment may be provided as a non-transitory computer-readable medium, or it may be provided as a downloadable medium from an external server, or it may be provided so that the program is launched on an external computer and its functions are realized on a client terminal (so-called cloud computing).

[0011] Furthermore, in various information processing according to one embodiment, an input and an output corresponding to the input can be realized. Here, as long as an output is obtained as a result of the input, the form of the information referenced in such information processing (hereinafter referred to as "reference information") is not limited. The reference information may be, for example, rule-based information such as a database, a lookup table, or a predetermined function (including a decision formula such as a regression equation constructed by a statistical method), or a pre-trained model that has learned the correlation between input and output in advance, or a large-scale language model that can output a desired result by inputting a prompt.

[0012] Furthermore, in one embodiment, "part" may include, for example, hardware resources implemented by a circuit in a broad sense, and the information processing of software that can be specifically realized by these hardware resources. Also, in one embodiment, various types of information are handled, and this information can be represented, for example, by the physical values ​​of signal values ​​representing voltage and current, the high or low values ​​of signal values ​​as a set of binary bits composed of 0s or 1s, or by quantum superposition (so-called qubits), and communication and calculations can be performed on a circuit in a broad sense.

[0013] Furthermore, a circuit in a broad sense is a circuit realized by combining at least a suitable combination of circuits, circuits, processors, and memory. The processor may be a general-purpose processor or a dedicated circuit. In other words, it includes application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs), programmable logic devices (for example, simple programmable logic devices (SPLDs), complex programmable logic devices (CPLDs), and field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs)), etc.

[0014] 1. Hardware Configuration In this section, the hardware configuration will be described.

[0015] <Agricultural Support System 1> FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram showing Agricultural Support System 1. Agricultural Support System 1 provides services such as providing a pesticide spraying schedule and forecasting the occurrence of failures to a plurality of users.

[0016] Agricultural Support System 1 includes an information processing device 2 and a plurality of user terminals 3. The information processing device 2 and the user terminal 3 are configured to be communicable through a telecommunication line.

[0017] In one embodiment of Agricultural Support System 1, Agricultural Support System 1 consists of one or more devices or components. For example, if Agricultural Support System 1 consists only of the information processing device 2, Agricultural Support System 1 can be the information processing device 2. These components will be described below.

[0018] <Information Processing Device 2> FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the hardware configuration of the information processing device 2. The information processing device 2 includes a communication bus 20, a communication unit 21, a storage unit 22, and a processor 23. The communication unit 21, the storage unit 22, and the processor 23 are electrically connected via the communication bus 20 inside the information processing device 2.

[0019] <Communication Unit 21> The communication unit 21 preferably uses wired communication means such as USB, IEEE1394, Thunderbolt (registered trademark), and wired LAN network communication, but may include wireless LAN network communication, mobile communication such as LTE / 5G, and BLUETOOTH (registered trademark) communication as required. That is, it is more preferable to implement it as a collection of these plurality of communication means. That is, the information processing device 2 may communicate various information from the outside via the communication unit 21 and the network.

[0020] <Storage Unit 22> The storage unit 22 stores various types of information defined as described above. This can be implemented, for example, as a storage device such as a Solid State Drive (SSD) that stores various programs and the like related to the information processing apparatus 2 executed by the processor 23, or as a memory such as a Random Access Memory (RAM) that stores temporarily necessary information (arguments, arrays, etc.) related to the calculation of programs. The storage unit 22 stores various programs, variables, etc. related to the information processing apparatus 2 executed by the processor 23.

[0021] <Processor 23> The processor 23 performs processing and control of the overall operations related to the information processing apparatus 2. The processor 23 is, for example, a Central Processing Unit (CPU). The processor 23 realizes various functions related to the information processing apparatus 2 by reading a predetermined program stored in the storage unit 22. That is, the information processing by software stored in the storage unit 22 is specifically realized by the processor 23 which is an example of hardware, and can be executed as each functional unit included in the processor 23. These will be described in more detail in the next section. Note that the processor 23 is not limited to being single, and the information processing apparatus 2 may have a plurality of processors 23 for each function. Also, the information processing apparatus 2 may have a configuration combining these.

[0022] The information processing apparatus 2 may be in an on-premises form or in a cloud form. As the information processing apparatus 2 in the cloud form, for example, it may provide the above-described functions and processing in the form of Software as a Service (SaaS), cloud computing.

[0023] <User terminal 3> Figure 3 is a block diagram showing the hardware configuration of the user terminal 3. As shown in Figure 3, the user terminal 3 comprises a communication bus 30, a communication unit 31, a storage unit 32, a processor 33, an output unit 34, and an input unit 35. The communication unit 31, storage unit 32, processor 33, output unit 34, and input unit 35 are electrically connected within the user terminal 3 via the communication bus 30. The descriptions of the communication unit 31, storage unit 32, and processor 33 are the same as the descriptions of each part in the information processing device 2 and are therefore omitted.

[0024] <Output section 34> The output unit 34 displays a graphical user interface (GUI) screen that can be operated by the user. The output unit 34 may be included in the casing of the user terminal 3 or it may be an external component. Specifically, the output unit 34 can be implemented as a display device such as a CRT display, liquid crystal display, organic EL display, or plasma display. It is preferable that these display devices be used according to the type of user terminal 3.

[0025] <Input section 35> The input unit 35 receives operation input from the user. The operation input is transmitted to the processor 33 via the communication bus 30 as a command signal. The processor 33 can perform predetermined controls or calculations based on the transmitted command signal as needed. The input unit 35 may be included in the casing of the user terminal 3 or it may be external. For example, the input unit 35 may be implemented as a touch panel in conjunction with the output unit 34. When the input unit 35 is implemented as a touch panel, the user can input tap operations, swipe operations, etc. to the input unit 35. Instead of a touch panel, the input unit 35 can be a switch button, mouse, trackpad, QWERTY keyboard, etc.

[0026] 2. Functional Configuration This section describes the functional configuration of this embodiment. Information processing by software stored in the memory unit 22 is specifically realized by the processor 23, which is an example of hardware, and can be executed as various functional units included in the processor 23.

[0027] Figure 4 is a block diagram showing the functions realized by the information processing device 2 (processor 23). Specifically, the information processing device 2 (processor 23) includes a registration unit 231, a forecast unit 232, an input information acquisition unit 233, a schedule creation unit 234, a schedule display control unit 235, a recording unit 236, an order placement unit 237, and an artificial intelligence unit 240.

[0028] <Registration Section 231> The registration unit 231 registers users who will use the user terminal 3. Users are, for example, farmers or employees of organizations (farms or companies) that manage farms. In addition to the user's personal information (name, address, contact information, affiliated organization, etc.), the registration unit 231 registers user data, including the user ID, the type of plants (crops) being cultivated, the managed growing area (address of the field), the inventory of pesticides held, and the history of pesticide application, in a user database stored, for example, in the storage unit 22. For users with multiple growing areas, the registration unit 231 registers the addresses of all of those growing areas. Furthermore, if the user is a farmer or an employee of a company, one growing area may be shared by multiple users in the user data.

[0029] In this embodiment, "agricultural chemicals" refers to agents used to control diseases or pests (fungicides, insecticides, herbicides, etc.) and agents used to improve physiological disorders (enhance or suppress physiological functions) (growth promoters, germination inhibitors, etc.).

[0030] The registration unit 231 also registers material supply organizations that sell materials. Material supply organizations are organizations that sell materials such as pesticides to users. Material supply organizations include, for example, cooperatives such as agricultural cooperatives (JA: Japan Agricultural Co-operatives), material companies (distributors) such as pesticide manufacturers, etc. Material supply organizations may also include organizations that provide services such as pesticide spraying schedules through the agricultural support system 1 (service operators of the agricultural support system 1). The registration unit 231 registers the inventory of pesticides held by material supply organizations in an organization database stored, for example, in the storage unit 22.

[0031] <Forecast Section 232> The forecasting unit 232 is configured to forecast the likelihood of damage occurring to plants. Specifically, the forecasting unit 232 estimates a forecast value indicating the likelihood of damage based on forecasting conditions, including the predicted date and time, plant type, and plant growing area, as well as first reference information.

[0032] The disorders for which the forecasting unit 232 estimates forecast values ​​include diseases, pests, and physiological disorders. Physiological disorders include deficiencies of components such as magnesium and calcium, and water shortages. The forecasting unit 232 also predicts the likelihood of a disorder occurring (i.e., the forecast value) for each "type of disorder" for each "type of plant." "Type of plant" is a category that indicates varieties such as strawberries, radishes, onions, broccoli, and cabbage. Furthermore, "type of plant" may be subdivided by subcategories such as varieties like "Sonic" and "Neo Earth" for crops such as onions, and harvest days such as "early" and "mid-season." "Type of disorder" is a disease name such as black sooty mold and black rot, a pest name such as cutworms and aphids, or a physiological disease name such as magnesium deficiency and water shortage.

[0033] The first reference information includes the correlation between forecast conditions and the forecast values ​​for each failure, and is stored, for example, in the memory unit 22. The first reference information may also include, for example, a table, a function, a simple algorithm, etc., that shows the correlation between features extracted from the forecast conditions and the forecast values. The correlations included in the first reference information can be constructed, for example, by statistically analyzing data recorded by combining actual failures with the conditions for occurrence. The first reference information may also include a prediction value estimation model (artificial intelligence) that has been pre-machine-trained. The prediction value estimation model is included in the artificial intelligence unit 240.

[0034] The forecast value estimation model is trained to take forecast conditions as input and output forecast values. When using such a forecast value estimation model, the forecasting unit 232 inputs the type of plant to be predicted, the region, and the date and time (including future dates and times) into the forecast value estimation model, and causes the forecast value estimation model to output at least one possible problem and the probability (forecast value) of each of the at least one problem occurring. The forecasting unit 232 may also input forecast conditions, including weather forecast values ​​(weather, atmospheric pressure, temperature, humidity, etc.) for the region where the forecast values ​​are to be output, into the forecast value estimation model. As such forecast conditions, for example, weather forecast values ​​up to several weeks in advance, average weather values ​​for the past few years, long-range forecasts of the average climate (information such as "slightly warmer than average," "slightly rainier than average"), and average values ​​of forecast values ​​(risk of pest and disease occurrence) for the past few years can be used.

[0035] The forecast value estimation model used by the forecasting unit 232 is constructed using machine learning, for example, by using records that associate the types of plants that have suffered damage in the past, the types of damage that occurred, the regions where the affected plants grew, and the date and time the damage occurred as training data. Furthermore, when weather forecast values ​​are used as forecasting conditions, in addition to the above-mentioned plant types, types of damage, regions, and date and time of occurrence, records that associate the weather conditions (weather, atmospheric pressure, temperature, humidity, etc.) at the time of the damage are used as training data. In the forecast value estimation power model, the parameters calculated and tuned through learning constitute the correlation of the first reference information.

[0036] The forecast values ​​predicted by the forecasting unit 232 are linked to input conditions (plant type, region, date and time, weather forecast values, etc.) and stored, for example, in the forecast value database of the storage unit 22.

[0037] <Input Information Acquisition Unit 233> The input information acquisition unit 233 is configured to acquire input information that includes at least the pesticide application history and damage occurrence information representing the risk of damage to plants.

[0038] The "pesticide application history" includes at least the type of pesticide applied and the time of application. The "type of pesticide" may be the brand name of the pesticide or information indicating its type (e.g., active ingredient, dosage form, combination thereof). The "time of application" may be a date or information indicating a specific period (e.g., "second week of April").

[0039] The "pesticide application history" may also include the dilution ratio (net application amount) of the pesticide applied. Furthermore, if the user has multiple growing locations or cultivates multiple types of plants, the growing locations or types of plants to which pesticides were applied may also be included in the "pesticide application history."

[0040] The input information acquisition unit 233 acquires, for example, the pesticide application history from user data registered in the user database. The pesticide application history included in the user data is, for example, entered (or reported) by the user from the user terminal 3.

[0041] "Damage occurrence information" is information used by the user to estimate the magnitude of future damage to plants they are growing. The damage occurrence information should preferably include at least one of two types of information: first information including the type and date of past damage, and second information including the type and probability of future damage. This allows for the generation of a pesticide application schedule based on past damage history and / or future damage probabilities, thereby improving the effectiveness of the pesticide application schedule while maintaining flexibility in input information.

[0042] The failure information may include only the first piece of information, only the second piece of information, or both the first and second pieces of information. Furthermore, the failure information may include information other than the first and second pieces of information.

[0043] The first piece of information is the history of incidents occurring in the user's place of birth or the region that includes that place of birth. The input information acquisition unit 233 acquires the first piece of information from, for example, user data registered in the user database or from regional management data. The first piece of information included in the user data is, for example, entered (or reported) by the user from the user terminal 3. Regional management data is data that records information such as the history of incidents occurring for each region. The first piece of information includes not only the history of incidents occurring registered by the user themselves, but also the history of incidents occurring by other users (farmers), farm instructors, etc., in the same region.

[0044] The second piece of information is the forecast value predicted by the forecasting unit 232 for the user's growing area or the region that includes said growing area. The input information acquisition unit 233 acquires, for example, forecast values ​​from the forecast value database from the present until the harvest time of the plants in the target growing area as the second piece of information.

[0045] The input information acquisition unit 233 may acquire input information that includes, in addition to the spraying history and information on the occurrence of problems, at least one of the effective damage, components, and maximum number of applications of the sprayed pesticide. This makes it possible to create a pesticide spraying schedule that takes into account pesticide resistance, usage limits, etc., so that the user can spray pesticides in a rotation that enhances the effectiveness of each pesticide.

[0046] The input information acquisition unit 233 acquires information such as the effectiveness impairment, ingredients, and maximum number of uses of pesticides from a pesticide database, for example. The pesticide database may be stored in the storage unit 22 or it may be an external database of the information processing device 2. The input information acquisition unit 233 may also accept input of this information from the user terminal 3. The information indicating the effectiveness impairment of pesticides may be, for example, an RAC code or MoA (Mode of Action). The information indicating the effectiveness impairment of pesticides may also be a table that defines the correspondence between multiple pesticides and their respective effectiveness impairments.

[0047] The input information acquired by the input information acquisition unit 233 may further include the degree of effectiveness (effectiveness level) of the pesticide against impairment of effectiveness.

[0048] The input information acquisition unit 233 may acquire input information that includes, in addition to the spraying history and fault occurrence information, at least one of the user's pesticide inventory and the pesticide inventory of material supply organizations registered in the organization database. This allows the user to construct a pesticide spraying schedule using pesticides available to them (pesticides they own or pesticides they can purchase), thus providing the user with a highly practical pesticide spraying schedule.

[0049] "User's pesticide inventory" refers to information indicating the types and quantities of pesticides held by the user. "Material supply organization's pesticide inventory" refers to information indicating the types of pesticides that the material supply organization can deliver to the user, the quantities that can be delivered, and the delivery period for those pesticides. The input information acquisition unit 233 acquires pesticide inventory from, for example, the user database or the organization database.

[0050] The input information acquisition unit 233 may acquire input information that includes location information of the growing area where the pesticide was applied, in addition to the spraying history and information on the occurrence of problems. This makes it possible to create a pesticide spraying schedule that takes into account the geographical conditions of the growing area. For example, since the resistance of pests to pesticides differs from region to region, a pesticide spraying schedule (i.e., pesticide rotation) that selects pesticides and determines the spraying timing according to the region can effectively suppress the occurrence of diseases and pests.

[0051] "Location information of the habitat" refers to information such as the address of the habitat, the latitude and longitude of the habitat, the region where the habitat is located (administrative division, geographical division, etc.), and the elevation. The input information acquisition unit 233 acquires location information of the habitat from user data registered in the user database, for example. The location information included in the user data is, for example, information entered by the user from the user terminal 3, or location information transmitted from the user terminal 3 (location information acquired by the GPS of the user terminal 3).

[0052] <Schedule Creation Department 234> The schedule creation unit 234 is configured to generate a pesticide spraying schedule that includes at least the type of pesticide to be sprayed and the timing of pesticide spraying, based on the input information acquired by the input information acquisition unit 233 and the second reference information.

[0053] The "timing of pesticide application" may be expressed on a daily basis, such as "September 14th," on a weekly basis, such as "the week of September 14th," or on a monthly basis, such as "September." The schedule creation unit 234 may determine the granularity (unit) of the timing of pesticide application according to the growth period of the plants to be sprayed with pesticides, the cultivation type, etc.

[0054] Pesticide application schedules are created for each user's growing area or for each plant being grown, covering the entire crop cycle (from sowing or planting to harvest).

[0055] A pesticide application schedule consists of a set of schedule data that combines the type of pesticide with the timing of its application. For example, a pesticide application schedule may include multiple schedule data such as "apply pesticide A in the week of September 14th," "apply pesticide B in the week of September 30th," and "apply pesticide A in the week of October 7th." It should be noted that multiple different types of pesticides may be applied at the same time within the pesticide application schedule. In other words, a pesticide application schedule may include schedule data where multiple types of pesticides are linked to a single application period.

[0056] The second reference information includes the correlation between the input information and the type and timing of application of pesticides, and is stored, for example, in the memory unit 22. The second reference information may also include, for example, tables, functions, simple algorithms, etc., that show the correlation between the features extracted from the input information and the type and timing of application of pesticides. The correlations included in the second reference information can be constructed, for example, by statistically analyzing data recorded by combining the actual occurrence status or predicted occurrence value (forecast value) of damage for each region and / or plant type, the history of pesticide application, and the results of pesticide application (presence or absence of damage).

[0057] The second reference information may include a schedule generation model (artificial intelligence) that has undergone machine learning in advance. This makes it possible to create a highly effective pesticide spraying schedule based on numerous records such as past failure occurrences and pesticide spraying history. The schedule generation model is included in the artificial intelligence unit 240.

[0058] The schedule generation model is trained to take input information as input and output a pesticide spraying schedule. When using such a schedule generation model, the schedule creation unit 234 inputs the input information into the schedule generation model and causes the schedule generation model to output a pesticide spraying schedule.

[0059] The schedule generation model used by the schedule creation unit 234 is constructed by machine learning using records as training data, for example, that associate pesticide application history (type of pesticide, application date, dilution ratio, application area, target plants, etc.) with the history of damage occurrence (type of damage, date and time of occurrence, type of plant affected, area affected) and / or predicted values ​​for damage occurrence (type of damage, predicted values ​​for each date and time, type of plant targeted for prediction, etc.). The training data may also include a user-created ideal pesticide application history for a given damage (type of pesticide and application timing that was not actually applied but would have been desirable). Furthermore, the training data may also include the effectiveness of the applied pesticide, degree of effectiveness, components, maximum number of applications, location information of the growing area, etc. In the schedule generation model, parameters calculated and tuned through learning constitute the correlation of the second reference information.

[0060] The schedule creation unit 234 may input the user's pesticide inventory and / or the pesticide inventory of the material supply organization into the schedule generation model and output a pesticide spraying schedule that takes these inventories into account.

[0061] Alternatively, the schedule creation unit 234 may adjust the types of pesticides included in the pesticide spraying schedule generated by the schedule generation model based on the user's pesticide inventory and / or the pesticide inventory of the material supply organization included in the input information. Specifically, if "Pesticide A" included in the pesticide spraying schedule is insufficient in both the user's inventory and the material supply organization's inventory, the schedule creation unit 234 may create a pesticide spraying schedule that incorporates "Pesticide B," which shares the same effectiveness failure as "Pesticide A" and is available in sufficient quantities in either the user's inventory or the material supply organization's inventory, as a substitute pesticide.

[0062] Alternative pesticides may be defined by a table or the like, or they may be output by an alternative pesticide output model included in the artificial intelligence unit 240. The alternative pesticide output model is a learning model that has been trained to output alternative pesticides for an input pesticide. The alternative pesticide output model may be a learning model that has learned combinations of pesticides that have an alternative relationship as training data, or it may be a generative AI such as a large-scale language model. For example, if the alternative pesticide output model is a large-scale language model, the schedule creation unit 234 inputs the target pesticide and an instruction to output pesticides that have an alternative relationship with this pesticide to the alternative pesticide output model.

[0063] The schedule creation unit 234 may update the pesticide spraying schedule for each growing area at predetermined timings. "Predetermined timings" include, for example, the timing when new input information is acquired (the timing when the occurrence of pests and diseases is reported, the timing when the forecast value by the forecasting unit 232 is updated, etc.), the timing when a predetermined period has elapsed since the last update, or the timing when an instruction to update the pesticide spraying schedule is received from the user.

[0064] <Schedule display control unit 235> The schedule display control unit 235 is configured to display the pesticide spraying schedule created by the schedule creation unit 234 on the user terminal 3. The schedule display control unit 235 may display the entire pesticide spraying schedule on the user terminal 3, or it may display only a part of the pesticide spraying schedule (schedule data for a specified date and time) on the user terminal 3.

[0065] The schedule display control unit 235, for example, receives a display instruction for the pesticide spraying schedule from the user terminal 3 and displays the schedule data (combination of spraying time and type of pesticide) of the pesticide spraying schedule on the user terminal 3 in chronological order of spraying time. The schedule display control unit 235 may also display pesticides whose spraying time has arrived (for example, pesticides scheduled to be sprayed this week) along with the spraying time on the user terminal 3 in the form of a push notification or other notification.

[0066] The schedule display control unit 235 should display on the user terminal 3, for each application period of pesticides included in the pesticide application schedule, the type of pesticide to be applied, the pesticide's effectiveness impairment, and the risk of such impairment occurring. This presents the user with information about the type of effectiveness impairment the pesticide application is intended to address, allowing the user to gain an overview of the risks of the impairment and the countermeasures to address them.

[0067] The "Risk of Occurrence" displayed along with the pesticide spraying schedule is, for example, information indicating the magnitude of the forecast value output by the forecasting unit 232. The "Risk of Occurrence" may be displayed as a numerical value, as text expressing the magnitude of the risk of occurrence, as an image graphing the numerical value, etc.

[0068] The schedule display control unit 235 should display on the user terminal 3 both the pesticide application schedule including past application times and the pesticide application schedule including future application times. This allows the user to check past application history along with future application plans, making pesticide management easier.

[0069] The schedule display control unit 235 may display all schedule data included in the pesticide spraying schedule that have already been applied, as a pesticide spraying schedule that includes spraying times in the past, or it may display only schedule data whose applied spraying times are within a predetermined period from the present, or it may display only a predetermined number of schedule data in order of the most recent applied spraying times.

[0070] Furthermore, the schedule display control unit 235 may display all schedule data included in the pesticide spraying schedule that have not yet been sprayed, as a pesticide spraying schedule that includes spraying times in the future from the present; it may display only schedule data whose scheduled spraying time is within a predetermined period from the present; or it may display only a predetermined number of schedule data in order of the scheduled spraying time being closest to the present.

[0071] The schedule display control unit 235 should display the pesticide spraying schedule on the user terminal 3 along with a report reception object that accepts spraying reports for each pesticide. This allows the user to input records of pesticide spraying with, for example, one click or one tap on the screen where they can check the pesticide spraying schedule. As a result, the effort required of the user to record and report pesticide spraying is reduced.

[0072] Specifically, the schedule display control unit 235 displays one report acceptance object (button) for a schedule data if that schedule data contains one pesticide, and displays a number of report acceptance objects corresponding to the number of pesticides in a schedule data if that schedule data contains multiple pesticides.

[0073] Furthermore, the schedule display control unit 235 may display a report acceptance object or accept input to the report acceptance object only for schedule data where the current time is the dispensing period (the current date and time are included in the dispensing period).

[0074] The schedule display control unit 235 should display the pesticide spraying schedule on the user terminal 3 along with an order acceptance object that accepts order input for each pesticide. This allows the user to purchase the necessary pesticides on the screen where they can check the pesticide spraying schedule. Therefore, the user can seamlessly purchase pesticides online without having to change screens on the user terminal 3.

[0075] Specifically, the schedule display control unit 235 displays one order acceptance object (button) for a schedule data if that schedule data contains one pesticide, and displays a number of order acceptance objects corresponding to the number of pesticides in a schedule data if that schedule data contains multiple pesticides.

[0076] Furthermore, the schedule display control unit 235 may display an order acceptance object or accept input to an order acceptance object only for schedule data where the current time is the distribution period (the current date and time are included in the distribution period).

[0077] Furthermore, the schedule display control unit 235 may display an order acceptance object for pesticides included in the schedule data that are scheduled for future spraying times, and may accept reserved orders for those pesticides from the order acceptance object. In addition, the schedule display control unit 235 may accept the selection of multiple pesticides to be ordered via the order acceptance object, and may separately display a confirmation acceptance object on the user terminal 3 to accept confirmation input for the selected pesticides.

[0078] In addition, the schedule display control unit 235 may display an order acceptance object to accept orders for newly added pesticides (temporary pesticides that were not included in the pesticide spraying schedule before the update but are included in the updated (most recent) pesticide spraying schedule) when the pesticide spraying schedule is updated. For example, the schedule display control unit 235 displays the order acceptance object on the user terminal 3 along with a notification of the newly added pesticide (a notification of a change in the pesticide spraying schedule) a predetermined number of days (for example, a few days to 20 days) before the spraying time of the newly added pesticide.

[0079] The schedule display control unit 235 may accept input of the order quantity for pesticides from the user terminal 3. For example, after accepting input to the order acceptance object, the schedule display control unit 235 may display a screen on the user terminal 3 that accepts input of the order quantity. Alternatively, the schedule display control unit 235 may display multiple order acceptance objects (displaying the order quantity) prepared for each order quantity on the user terminal 3.

[0080] The schedule display control unit 235 may display a report acceptance object and / or an order acceptance object for pesticide spraying schedules other than those created by the schedule creation unit 234 (for example, pesticide spraying schedules created by a user, farm supervisor, etc., through manual input, etc.).

[0081] Figure 5 shows an example of the schedule display screen CD displayed on the user terminal 3. The schedule display screen CD displays the pesticide spraying schedule for one growing area or one plant. Specifically, the schedule display screen CD displays the first schedule data SD1, the second schedule data SD2, and the third schedule data SD3, which are included in the pesticide spraying schedule created by the schedule creation unit 234, in chronological order. In the example in Figure 5, the third schedule data SD3, the first schedule data SD1, and the second schedule data SD2 are displayed from top to bottom in this order. In Figure 5, one third schedule data SD3 and one second schedule data SD2 are displayed, but multiple third schedule data SD3s or multiple second schedule data SD2s may be displayed on the schedule display screen CD in chronological order.

[0082] The first schedule data, SD1, is the schedule data for which the spraying period corresponds to the present. The first schedule data, SD1, is assigned a current label CL to indicate that it is a schedule for spraying in the near future. On the schedule display screen CD, the contents of the first schedule data, SD1, are displayed as spraying period information SI, sprayed pesticide information PI, and fault information DI.

[0083] The spraying period information SI may be the spraying period itself included in the schedule data, or it may be a representative date and time for the spraying period. For example, if the spraying period is "the week of October 14th," then "October 19th and October 20th," which are the weekend of that week, may be displayed as the spraying period information SI as the representative date and time.

[0084] The pesticide application information PI includes the type of pesticide applied (pesticide name), dilution ratio, the timing of application relative to the harvest date, the total number of applications for the pesticide in the overall pesticide application schedule, and the cumulative number of applications including the current application.

[0085] The DI (Damage Information) indicates the type of damage (effective damage) targeted by the sprayed pesticide. Damages with a high risk of occurrence (forecast values ​​exceeding a predetermined threshold) are assigned the hazard label RL.

[0086] Within the display frame of the first schedule data SD1, the following are displayed: a growth label BL indicating the growth stage of the target plant at the time of application, a report submission button B11 for receiving application reports for each pesticide, and an order submission button B12 for receiving orders for each pesticide. When an input operation is performed on the report submission button B11, information indicating that the pesticide displayed as the pesticide application information PI was applied at the time displayed as the application time information SI is registered in the user database. When an input operation is performed on the order submission button B12, an order for the pesticide displayed as the pesticide application information PI is accepted.

[0087] The second schedule data, SD2, is schedule data for a spraying period in the future. On the schedule display screen CD, the contents of the second schedule data SD2 are displayed as the same as the first schedule data SD1, including spraying period information SI, sprayed pesticide information PI, and fault information DI. In addition, the display frame for the second schedule data SD2 also displays the growth label BL and the order acceptance button B12, which accepts pre-orders for each sprayed pesticide. Note that the report acceptance button B11 is not displayed for the second schedule data SD2.

[0088] The third schedule data, SD3, represents schedule data where the spraying period is in the past (i.e., pesticide spraying has been completed). On the schedule display screen CD, the contents of the third schedule data SD3 include the same spraying period information SI and sprayed pesticide information PI as the first schedule data SD1. However, the sprayed pesticide information PI for the third schedule data SD3 is simpler than that for the first schedule data SD1. Also, the report submission button B11 and order submission button B12 are not displayed for the third schedule data SD3.

[0089] <Record Section 236> The recording unit 236 is configured to record the type of pesticide and the date of application for which a spraying report has been received from the user terminal 3 via a report reception object. The type of pesticide recorded by the recording unit 236 is the type of pesticide in the schedule data to which the report reception object is attached. The date of application recorded by the recording unit 236 is, for example, the date on which an input operation was performed on the report reception object. The recording unit 236 may also display an input screen to the user terminal 3 for inputting the spraying date and record the spraying date entered by the user terminal 3. Furthermore, the recording unit 236 may also record the growing area where the pesticide for which a spraying report has been received was sprayed, the target plant, the dilution ratio, etc. This information is registered in the user database as a spraying history.

[0090] <Order Processing Department 237> The order arrangement unit 237 is configured to send orders received from the user terminal 3 by the order acceptance object to the terminals of material supply organizations registered in the organization database (material supply organizations that have the ordered pesticides in stock). The material supply organization that receives the order from the information processing device 2 delivers the ordered pesticides to the user and collects payment from the user. In the case of a reserved order, the material supply organization delivers the ordered pesticides at the specified date and time (the application time for the pesticide for which the reserved order was accepted). Furthermore, if the material supply organization is the service operator of the agricultural support system 1, the information processing device 2 may be selected as the terminal used by the material supply organization. In other words, the order arrangement unit 237 may also internally transmit the order to the function unit of the processor 23 that processes orders.

[0091] The order processing unit 237 may calculate the order quantity of pesticide based on the area of ​​the growing area to which the ordered pesticide will be sprayed, and may also send the order, including the order quantity, to the material supply organization. This allows users to order the appropriate amount of pesticide with a single click or tap without having to specify the order quantity. The area of ​​the growing area is obtained, for example, from the user database. The order processing unit 237 calculates the order quantity by, for example, multiplying the area of ​​the growing area by the required spraying amount of pesticide per unit area. The required spraying amount is obtained, for example, from the pesticide database.

[0092] The order processing unit 237 may accept orders for multiple pesticides included in a pesticide spraying schedule covering one planting period in a single batch, and transmit the accepted orders to the terminals used by the registered material supply organizations. This allows users to order all the pesticides needed for one crop in advance, reducing the effort required for users to manage their pesticides. For example, the order processing unit 237 displays an object for accepting bulk orders along with a list of pesticides to be purchased on the user terminal 3, and accepts bulk orders from the user terminal 3. The material supply organization that receives the bulk order from the information processing device 2 delivers the ordered pesticides to the user at an appropriate time.

[0093] <Artificial Intelligence Department 240> The artificial intelligence unit 240 is configured to receive input from each functional unit and return the instructed output. The artificial intelligence used by the information processing device 2 in each functional unit may be common to all units, or it may be prepared individually for each functional unit.

[0094] Specific algorithms used in machine learning for artificial intelligence include nearest neighbors, naive Bayes, decision trees, support vector machines, deep learning using neural networks, and regression models.

[0095] The artificial intelligence unit 240 has a trained model constructed using a learning method such as supervised learning, unsupervised learning, or self-supervised learning. In supervised learning, machine learning is performed using training data. Training data consists of pairs of input data and output data (correct answer data) for training. The trained model included in the artificial intelligence unit 240 can undergo additional training as transfer learning or fine-tuning using new data acquired from the user terminal 3, etc.

[0096] 3. Information Processing Methods This section describes the information processing method of the information processing device 2. In this information processing method, the functions of each part of the information processing device 2 are executed as separate steps.

[0097] This information processing method comprises an input information acquisition step, a schedule data creation step, and a schedule display control step. In the input information acquisition step, input information is acquired that includes at least the pesticide application history and damage occurrence information representing the risk of damage to plants. In the schedule creation step, a pesticide application schedule is generated based on the input information and reference information, which includes at least the type of pesticide to be applied and the timing of pesticide application. In the schedule display control step, the pesticide application schedule is displayed.

[0098] Figure 6 is an activity diagram showing the flow of information processing (schedule creation process) performed by agricultural support system 1. The following sections will explain the information processing in accordance with each activity in this activity diagram.

[0099] The schedule creation process begins when the user inputs an instruction to create a pesticide spraying schedule on user terminal 3 (Activity A110). The information processing device 2 (processor 23) receives the creation instruction from user terminal 3 and acquires the input information (Activity A120). After acquiring the input information, the information processing device 2 creates the pesticide spraying schedule and sends it to user terminal 3 (Activity A130). As a result, the pesticide spraying schedule is displayed on user terminal 3 (Activity A140).

[0100] After the pesticide spraying schedule is displayed, the user inputs data into the report reception object, order reception object, etc., on user terminal 3 (Activity A150). The information processing device 2 receives the input into the objects on user terminal 3 and performs corresponding processing such as recording the spraying history and sending the pesticide order (Activity A160).

[0101] 4. Effect The effects of this embodiment can be summarized as follows: It is possible to create a pesticide application schedule that can suppress the occurrence of damage.

[0102] Although embodiments of the present invention have been described above, the present invention is not limited thereto and can be modified as appropriate without departing from the technical spirit of the invention.

[0103] 5. Others In the above embodiment, the information processing device 2 performed various storage and control functions, but instead of the information processing device 2, multiple external devices may be used. That is, various information and programs may be distributed and stored across multiple external devices using blockchain technology or the like.

[0104] The embodiments of this model are not limited to the agricultural support system 1, but may also be agricultural support methods or programs. The agricultural support method comprises each step of the agricultural support system 1. The program causes a computer to execute each step of the agricultural support system 1.

[0105] The agricultural support system 1 does not necessarily have to include a forecasting unit 232, a recording unit 236, and an order placement unit 237.

[0106] The product may be provided in any of the following embodiments.

[0107] (1) An agricultural support system comprising a processor, the processor configured to perform the following steps by reading a program, wherein in the input information acquisition step, input information is acquired which includes at least the history of pesticide application and damage occurrence information which represents the degree of risk of damage to plants; and in the schedule creation step, a pesticide application schedule is generated which includes at least the type of pesticide to be applied and the timing of pesticide application, based on the input information and reference information, wherein the reference information includes the correlation between the input information and the type of pesticide and the timing of application.

[0108] (2) The agricultural support system described in (1) above, wherein the reference information includes a schedule generation model that has been trained to take the input information as input and output the pesticide spraying schedule, and in the schedule creation step, the input information is input to the schedule generation model and the schedule generation model outputs the pesticide spraying schedule.

[0109] (3) An agricultural support system as described in (1) or (2) above, wherein the fault occurrence information includes at least one of first information including the type of fault that occurred in the past and the date and time of occurrence, and second information including the type of fault that is predicted to occur and the probability of occurrence.

[0110] (4) An agricultural support system according to any one of (1) to (3) above, wherein in the input information acquisition step, in addition to the spraying history and the information on the occurrence of the problem, the input information further includes at least one of the effective impairment of the sprayed pesticide, its components, and the maximum number of uses.

[0111] (5) An agricultural support system according to any one of (1) to (4) above, wherein in the input information acquisition step, the input information further includes, in addition to the spraying history and the fault occurrence information, at least one of the pesticide inventory held by the user and the pesticide inventory held by the registered material supply organization.

[0112] (6) An agricultural support system according to any one of (1) to (5) above, wherein in the input information acquisition step, the input information further includes location information of the growing area where the pesticide was sprayed, in addition to the spraying history and the information on the occurrence of the problem.

[0113] (7) An agricultural support system according to any one of (1) to (6) above, wherein the processor is configured to further perform the following steps, the schedule display control step, in which the system displays on the user terminal the type of pesticide to be sprayed, the effectiveness impairment of the pesticide, and the risk of the effectiveness impairment occurring for each spraying time of the pesticide included in the pesticide spraying schedule.

[0114] (8) An agricultural support system according to any one of (1) to (7) above, wherein the processor is configured to perform the following steps, and in the schedule display control step, the pesticide spraying schedule including spraying times in the past and the pesticide spraying schedule including spraying times in the future are displayed on the user terminal.

[0115] (9) An agricultural support system according to any one of (1) to (8) above, wherein the processor is configured to further perform the following steps: in the schedule display control step, the pesticide spraying schedule is displayed on the user terminal together with an object that accepts spraying reports for each pesticide; and in the recording step, the type of pesticide for which a spraying report has been received and the spraying date are recorded.

[0116] (10) An agricultural support system according to any one of (1) to (9) above, wherein the processor is configured to further perform the following steps: in the schedule display control step, the pesticide spraying schedule is displayed on the user terminal along with an object for accepting orders for each pesticide; and in the order arrangement step, the accepted orders are sent to a registered material supply organization.

[0117] (11) An agricultural support system as described in (10) above, wherein in the order arrangement step, the order arrangement step calculates the order quantity of pesticide according to the area of ​​the growing area to which the pesticide is to be sprayed, and transmits the order including the order quantity to the material supply organization.

[0118] (12) An agricultural support system according to any one of (1) to (9) above, wherein the processor is configured to perform the following steps in the order placement step, in which the order placement step receives orders for multiple pesticides included in the pesticide spraying schedule for the duration of one crop of plants, and transmits the received orders to a registered material supplier. Of course, this is not always the case.

[0119] Finally, while various embodiments relating to this disclosure have been described, these are presented as examples only and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention. These novel embodiments can be implemented in a variety of other forms, and various omissions, substitutions, and modifications can be made without departing from the spirit of the invention. These embodiments and their variations are included in the scope and spirit of the invention, as well as in the claims and their equivalents. [Explanation of symbols]

[0120] 1: Agricultural support system 2: Information Processing Device 3: User terminal 20: Communications bus 21: Communications Department 22: Storage section 23: Processor 30: Communications bus 31: Communications Department 32: Storage section 33: Processor 34: Output section 35: Input section 231: Registration Department 232: Forecasting Department 233: Input Information Acquisition Unit 234: Schedule Creation Department 235: Schedule display control unit 236: Records Department 237: Order Processing Department 240: Artificial Intelligence Department B11: Report Submission Button B12: Order Acceptance Button BL: Growth label CL: Current Label DI: Failure Information PI: Information on sprayed pesticides RL: Hazard Label CD: Schedule display screen SD1: First schedule data SD2: Second Schedule Data SD3: Third Schedule Data SI: Information Dissemination Period

Claims

1. It is an agricultural support system, Equipped with a processor, The aforementioned processor is configured to perform the following steps by reading a program: In the input information acquisition step, input information is acquired that includes at least the pesticide application history and damage occurrence information indicating the risk of damage to plants. In the schedule creation step, a pesticide application schedule is generated based on the input information and reference information, which includes at least the type of pesticide to be applied and the timing of pesticide application. Here, the reference information is an agricultural support system that includes the correlation between the input information and the type and timing of application of pesticides.

2. In the agricultural support system described in claim 1, The aforementioned reference information includes a schedule generation model that has been trained to take the aforementioned input information as input and output the aforementioned pesticide spraying schedule. In the schedule creation step, the agricultural support system inputs the input information into the schedule generation model and causes the schedule generation model to output the pesticide spraying schedule.

3. In the agricultural support system described in claim 1, The aforementioned fault occurrence information includes at least one of the following: first information including the type of fault that occurred in the past and the date and time of occurrence; and second information including the type of fault that is predicted to occur and the probability of occurrence.

4. In the agricultural support system described in claim 1, In the input information acquisition step, the agricultural support system acquires input information that further includes, in addition to the spraying history and the information on the occurrence of the problem, at least one of the effective damage of the sprayed pesticide, its components, and the maximum number of uses.

5. In the agricultural support system described in claim 1, The agricultural support system, in the input information acquisition step, acquires input information that further includes, in addition to the spraying history and the fault occurrence information, at least one of the pesticide inventory held by the user and the pesticide inventory held by the registered material supply organization.

6. In the agricultural support system described in claim 1, The agricultural support system, in the input information acquisition step, acquires input information that further includes location information of the growing area where the pesticide was sprayed, in addition to the spraying history and the information on the occurrence of the problem.

7. In the agricultural support system described in claim 1, The aforementioned processor is configured to perform the following steps: In the schedule display control step, the agricultural support system displays on the user terminal, for each application time of the pesticides included in the pesticide application schedule, the type of pesticide to be applied, the effectiveness impairment of the pesticide, and the risk of such effectiveness impairment occurring.

8. In the agricultural support system described in claim 1, The aforementioned processor is configured to perform the following steps: In the schedule display control step, the agricultural support system displays the pesticide spraying schedule, including spraying times in the past rather than the present, and the pesticide spraying schedule, including spraying times in the future rather than the present, on the user terminal.

9. In the agricultural support system described in claim 1, The aforementioned processor is configured to perform the following steps: In the schedule display control step, the pesticide spraying schedule is displayed on the user terminal along with an object that accepts spraying report input for each pesticide. The recording step of the agricultural support system records the type of pesticide and the date of application for which the spraying report was received.

10. In the agricultural support system according to any one of claims 1 to 9, The aforementioned processor is configured to perform the following steps: In the schedule display control step, the pesticide spraying schedule is displayed on the user terminal along with an object for accepting order input for each pesticide. In the order processing step, the agricultural support system transmits the received order to the registered material supplier.

11. In the agricultural support system described in claim 10, In the order placement step, the agricultural support system calculates the order quantity of pesticide according to the area of ​​the growing area to which the pesticide is to be sprayed, and transmits the order, including the order quantity, to the material supply organization.

12. In the agricultural support system according to any one of claims 1 to 9, The aforementioned processor is configured to perform the following steps: In the order placement step, the agricultural support system accepts orders for multiple pesticides included in the aforementioned pesticide spraying schedule covering one planting period, and transmits the accepted orders to registered material supply organizations.

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