Cultivation facility operation assistance system

Abstract

The present invention obtains information on equipment necessary for realizing a successful cultivation environment and automatic control condition satisfying orientation towards the business of an operator to be assisted from among information related to the evaluation of the business of the operator. The operator to be assisted inputs, from an input / output terminal 1N to a server device 4, the facility condition of a soil cultivation facility N to be assisted, the type of the plant to be cultivated, and the orientation towards the business of the operator to be assisted. From the server device 4, the successful cultivation environment and automatic control condition selected by a selection unit 44, and information of equipment necessary for realizing the successful cultivation environment and automatic control condition are sent to the input / output terminal 1N. Even for operators not experienced in agriculture or operators whose experience is insufficient, it is possible to obtain information necessary for cultivation of a plant that they themselves desire to cultivate in a soil cultivation facility that they themselves operate.

Description

Cultivation facility operation support system

[0001] The present invention relates to a cultivation facility operation support system that supports the operation of multiple completely closed soil cultivation facilities.

[0002] Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 2017-176081 (Patent Document 1) discloses an example of a plant factory system that uses multiple containers as a completely closed cultivation facility for cultivating plants. Utility Model Registration No. 3223356 (Patent Document 2) discloses a plant cultivation device that is configured to install various measuring devices in containers as cultivation facilities and reproduce cultivation environments such as sunlight, temperature, humidity, and CO2 regardless of geographical factors. Furthermore, Japanese Patent No. 6006719 (Patent Document 3) discloses a plant cultivation system in which multiple pots containing culture media are arranged vertically and cultivated within a cultivation facility.

[0003] Furthermore, WO2021-039765 (Patent Document 6) discloses a method for producing crops in an office or home using natural light while an external business entity (farmer) who is not the user of the living space remotely controls a cultivation device.

[0004] In addition, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 202112483 (Patent Document 4) discloses a plant cultivation management system that allows even inexperienced producers to manage cultivation in accordance with a cultivation plan that reflects their management policy. Furthermore, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2023-94736 (Patent Document 5) discloses a yield improvement system that improves yields in a plant cultivation factory by changing the environmental conditions of the space where a growth process with an assigned yield is carried out.

[0005] JP 2017-176081 A Utility Model Registration No. 3223356 A Patent No. 6006719 A JP 202112483 A JP 2023-94736 A WO2021-039765

[0006] Currently, the number of producers cultivating plants is declining, posing a problem of the lack of sharing and inheritance of cultivation know-how from experienced producers. Therefore, there is a need to increase the number of new farmers who can produce high-value-added crops. To address this, technologies using containers as cultivation facilities have been proposed, as described in Patent Documents 1 and 2, to enable even those without agricultural experience to enter the agricultural industry. Furthermore, systems for managing cultivation and suggesting cultivation conditions have been proposed, as described in Patent Documents 4 and 5, to enable even those with little agricultural experience to increase yields. However, inheriting the cultivation know-how of experienced farmers is not easy, and no technology has been proposed to help anyone achieve the same profits, yields, and crop quality as experienced farmers. Furthermore, conventional technologies lack a cultivation facility operation support system that supports supported operators, taking into account the business orientation of the supported operators. As a result, the proposals do not necessarily align with the operators' preferences, resulting in short-term operations.

[0007] The object of the present invention is to provide a cultivation facility operation support system that supports supported operators so that even inexperienced supported operators can operate multiple completely closed soil cultivation facilities in a way that achieves the same profits, yields, and crop quality as experienced farmers, based on an evaluation of the experienced operator's business.

[0008] The present invention relates to a cultivation facility operation support system that supports the operation of multiple fully enclosed soil cultivation facilities for cultivating plants in soil, using an automatic environmental control device configured to reproduce cultivation environments such as sunlight, temperature, humidity, CO2, and fertilization regardless of geographical factors. The cultivation facility operation support system of the present invention includes multiple input / output terminals operated by multiple operators who operate the cultivation facilities, and a server device connected to the measuring devices and automatic environmental control devices installed in the multiple soil cultivation facilities and the multiple input / output terminals via a communication network. The server device includes a management information storage unit, an equipment information storage unit, and a selection unit.

[0009] In this specification, it is desirable that all "operators" are experienced growers, but in this invention, all operators are not limited to being experienced growers, but rather growers who have cultivation experience and believe they have had successful experiences. In other words, all those who store successful experiences as information in the management information storage unit are considered operators. Furthermore, "support target operators" are growers who have no cultivation experience at all, or growers who have no experience cultivating a specific type of plant.

[0010] The management information storage unit stores management information including environmental variables related to cultivation in the multiple soil cultivation facilities transmitted from the measuring devices and automatic environmental control devices installed in the multiple soil cultivation facilities, the execution history of cultivation tasks of the automatic environmental control device, successful cultivation environments and automatic control conditions, and information regarding an evaluation of the business of the operator who operated the soil cultivation facility that obtained the information on the successful cultivation environments and automatic control conditions.The equipment information storage unit stores information on the equipment necessary to realize the successful cultivation environments and automatic control conditions stored in the management information storage unit.

[0011] In this specification, "information regarding the manager's evaluation of the business" refers to information indicating how successful businesses are evaluated based on predetermined business evaluation criteria. The "business orientation of the supported manager" refers to the level of results desired by the supported manager for the predetermined business evaluation criteria when conducting the business. Examples of such evaluation criteria include the plant's "runner production," "side shoot production," "disease resistance," "fruit softness," "cultivation strategy," and "regional characteristics." The manager's evaluation of these evaluation criteria can provide a concrete understanding of the manager's level of success in relation to the operation of the business. The manager's evaluation of these operational criteria can also reveal the manager's personality orientation. In other words, it can be determined whether the plant grower is someone who works diligently, roughly, or is particular about the plant's cultivation status. By knowing the manager's evaluation criteria, such as "desired flower thinning condition," "desired frequency of foliar spraying," and "desired top dressing," the manager's personality orientation can also be determined. As mentioned above, the business orientation of the supported manager indicates the level of results that the supported manager desires for the predetermined business evaluation items when conducting the business, and this orientation corresponds to the manager's evaluation of the business. Therefore, the selection described below becomes possible based on the business orientation of the supported manager.

[0012] When information regarding the equipment conditions of the soil cultivation facility to be supported, the type of plants to be cultivated, and the business orientation of the supported operator who operates the soil cultivation facility to be supported is input from the input / output terminal device, the selection unit selects from the information in the management information storage unit appropriate successful cultivation environments and automatic control conditions that correspond to the equipment conditions of the soil cultivation facility to be supported, the type of plants to be cultivated, and the business orientation of the supported operator, and outputs them to the input / output terminal device.The selection unit also selects information on equipment necessary to realize the selected successful cultivation environment and automatic control conditions from the equipment information storage unit, and outputs it to the input / output terminal device.

[0013] In this invention, a support-target operator with inexperience or limited experience in agriculture who intends to start cultivating plants using a completely enclosed soil cultivation facility inputs information about the equipment conditions of the soil cultivation facility to be supported, the type of plant to be cultivated, and the business orientation of the support-target operator who will operate the soil cultivation facility to be supported through an input / output terminal. Based on this input information, a selection unit of the server device selects from the information stored in the management information storage unit successful cultivation environments and automatic control conditions that are likely to match the support-target operator's business orientation, as well as information about the equipment required to achieve these successful cultivation environments and automatic control conditions, and sends this information to the input / output terminal. As a result, even a support-target operator with inexperience or limited experience in agriculture can obtain information about the equipment required to achieve successful cultivation environments and automatic control conditions that meet the support-target operator's business orientation from information about evaluations of the operator's business regarding the cultivation of the plants he or she wishes to cultivate. The selection unit also selects information about the equipment required to achieve the selected successful cultivation environment and automatic control conditions from the equipment information storage unit and outputs it to the input / output terminal.

[0014] The management information storage unit may have a feature extraction function that converts the evaluation of each index that constitutes the evaluation of the manager's business into a numerical value and stores the converted value as a feature. The selection unit may also have a feature extraction function that converts the orientation of the supported manager toward the business into a numerical value corresponding to the index and stores the converted value as a feature. In this case, the selection unit makes a selection based on the feature, thereby enabling a highly objective selection.

[0015] The method of selecting information using feature quantities by the selection unit and the method of displaying the information are arbitrary. For example, using feature quantities obtained by converting the orientation of the supported operator toward his / her business into numerical values ​​corresponding to the index as a criterion, all business information in which the feature quantities of the operator's evaluation of his / her business fall within ±15% of this criterion from the information stored in the management information storage unit is selected and displayed selectably on the display of the supported operator's input / output terminal. Furthermore, information on equipment associated with the selected business information may be selected from the equipment information storage unit as information on equipment necessary to achieve a successful cultivation environment and automatic control conditions on the display of the supported operator's input / output terminal.

[0016] The indicators used to evaluate the operator's business preferably include workload, economic efficiency, and the quality of the cultivated plants. By using the indicators, the orientation is determined from indicators closely related to cultivation, and therefore it is possible to provide information regarding cultivation that is in line with the orientation of the operator's business.

[0017] The server device may further include an ordering unit that, when a request for purchasing at least some of the equipment based on the information of the equipment selected by the selection unit is input from the input / output terminal, orders the equipment based on the request. In this way, even an operator with no agricultural experience can start cultivating plants early. Of course, the equipment may include plant seeds, fertilizer, and potting soil.

[0018] The input / output terminal preferably includes a display that displays the information selected by the selection unit. The input / output terminal preferably has a function of displaying the information selected by the selection unit on the display in a selectable order, ranking the items of information. This allows the operator to easily input to the ordering unit that no order is required for equipment already owned by the operator, thereby preventing unnecessary orders. The selection unit may select and display information about necessary equipment on the display so that the equipment owned by the operator to be supported can be utilized. Furthermore, when there are multiple substitute items for the selected equipment, the selection unit may display the multiple substitute items on the display so that they can be selected. This increases the likelihood that the ordering process will not have to be stopped even if the equipment is out of stock.

[0019] Preferably, the server device further includes a management data viewing unit that allows the input / output terminal to view the data stored in the management information storage unit in response to a request from the input / output terminal. This allows the operator of a newly started soil cultivation facility, who has stored the information on the successful cultivation environment and automatic control conditions that were the subject of information selection in the management information storage unit, to view the operational status of the newly started soil cultivation facility. As a result, if an error in the operation of the newly started soil cultivation facility is discovered, an experienced operator can immediately provide advice.

[0020] Each of the plurality of soil cultivation facilities may be provided with an imaging device for capturing images of the working state of the workers. In this case, it is preferable that the server device further includes a video data storage unit for storing video data captured by the imaging device, and a video data viewing unit for allowing the input / output terminal to view the video data stored in the video data storage unit in response to a request from the input / output terminal.

[0021] This allows operators to see the actual work status, making it possible for newly started soil cultivation facilities to perform work similar to that of an experienced operator. As a result, even inexperienced operators can achieve the same profits, yields, and crop quality as experienced farmers.

[0022] The server device may further include a point storage unit having a plurality of individual memory units for storing point data corresponding to operators who operate a plurality of soil cultivation facilities, and a point granting unit for granting points to the point storage section of the operator who operates the soil cultivation facility that is the source of the information selected by the selection unit. The method of using the points is arbitrary, but by granting points, it becomes possible to return profits to the operator who provided the information on the successful cultivation environment and automatic control conditions selected by the selection unit, and more information on successful cultivation environments and automatic control conditions will be collected.

[0023] The points awarded by the point awarding unit may be predetermined, or may be changeable at the discretion of the operator of the soil cultivation facility who is the source of the information stored in the management information storage unit. This makes it possible to further motivate the operator who is the source of the information.

[0024] The points awarded by the point awarding unit may be points equivalent to a license fee set by the operator of the soil cultivation facility that is the source of the information.

[0025] The point-assigning unit also has a content pricing function that calculates the size of the points to be assigned, and this content pricing function calculates the difference between the performance history data, such as the harvest yield and sales price, of the soil cultivation facility being supported and the expected value data, such as the predicted harvest yield and sales price, that are preset for the selected successful cultivation environment and automatic control conditions, and if this difference is largely in the positive direction, it preferably assigns more points to the individual memory unit of the operator who operates the soil cultivation facility that is the source of the information selected by the selection unit.

[0026] The system may further include a profit prediction unit that predicts profits based on the predicted yield and sales price, etc., that are preset for the successful cultivation environment and automatic control conditions. The profit prediction unit preferably outputs the predicted profits to the input / output terminal of the operator of the soil cultivation facility to be supported. This makes it possible to prompt the operator to select a cultivation method.

[0027] FIG. 1 is a diagram used to explain an outline of an embodiment in which the present invention is applied to a case in which a container is used as a completely closed soil cultivation facility. FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the detailed configuration of a management information storage unit and a selection unit. FIG. 3 is a diagram for explaining the configuration of a feature extraction processing unit. FIG. 4 is an example of a conversion table for plant seeds corresponding to input know-how. FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of an index for know-how evaluation by a successful manager. FIG. 6 is a table showing an example of a conversion result in which the index is converted into a numerical value. FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an example of an output screen in which a supported manager searches for existing know-how based on his / her desired crops and business orientation. FIG. 8 is a diagram showing an example output of information on the cultivation environment and automatic control conditions selected by the selection unit, and the equipment required to realize the cultivation environment and automatic control conditions. FIG. 9 is a diagram showing the system concept that forms the basis of the present invention. FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing the algorithm of a program used in the content creation process. FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing the algorithm of a program that performs tasks related to content selection and use.

[0028] An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a diagram for explaining an outline of an embodiment in which the present invention is applied when a container is used as a completely enclosed soil cultivation facility. In FIG. 1, 1 to N (N is a positive integer) represent containers as completely enclosed soil cultivation facilities. A "completely enclosed soil cultivation facility" is a cultivation facility that has a completely enclosed cultivation environment, uses a housing configured to prevent plants inside from directly coming into contact with outside air, and is equipped with an automatic environmental control device configured to reproduce the cultivation environment, such as sunlight, temperature, humidity, CO2, and fertilization, regardless of geographical factors. For example, a vertical cylindrical cultivation table with multiple tables arranged vertically can be used as a cultivation table for a completely enclosed soil cultivation facility. In this structure, to maximize the cultivation area within the container, plants are planted on the wall of the vertical cylinder, LEDs are irradiated from the side, and the tables can be rotated to equalize the exposure conditions. Furthermore, by supporting soil cultivation, organic cultivation, which is expected to result in higher product prices, can be realized. In a completely enclosed cultivation environment, variables contributing to cultivation, such as temperature, humidity, CO2, and light intensity, can be controlled within a highly airtight container. The automatic environmental control device can be one that can be remotely controlled, and manages the light source in accordance with an automatic operation program that constitutes predetermined cultivation content.

[0029] The soil cultivation facilities 1 to N using this embodiment are equipped with measuring devices 1A to NA, including various measuring devices such as a measuring device for measuring luminosity equivalent to sunlight, a temperature measuring device, a humidity measuring device, and a CO₂ measuring device, automatic environmental control devices 1B to NB, and imaging devices 1C to NC for capturing images of workers working. In this embodiment, N input / output terminals 11 to 1N are provided for each soil cultivation facility, assuming that each of the N soil cultivation facilities is operated by a different operator. The measuring devices 1A to NA, automatic environmental control devices 1B to NB, and imaging devices 1C to NC for capturing images of workers working may each have individual communication functions. However, it is also possible to provide a single communication unit in each soil cultivation facility 1 to N to collectively communicate with the measuring devices 1A to NA, automatic environmental control devices 1B to NB, and imaging devices 1C to NC for capturing images of workers working, and the communication network 3.

[0030] The input / output terminals 11 to 1N operated by the operator of the cultivation facility may be mobile communication terminals such as smartphones or personal computers with communication functions, and the type is not limited. When the operator of the cultivation facility operates multiple input / output terminals, it is sufficient to assign one input / output terminal to each operator.

[0031] In this embodiment, for information transmission, the measuring devices 1A to NA, the automatic environment control devices 1B to NB, and the imaging devices 1C to NC are connected to a communication network 3 such as the Internet. A server device 4 is also connected to the communication network 3.

[0032] The server device 4 includes a communication unit, a high-speed arithmetic unit, and a large-capacity memory unit, and is configured by executing a program. The server device 4 includes an output control unit 40, a management information storage unit 41, a management data viewing permission unit 42, a device information storage unit 43, a selection unit 44, an ordering unit 45, a video data storage unit 46, a video data viewing permission unit 47, a point allocation unit 48, a point storage unit 49, and a revenue prediction unit 50.

[0033] The output control unit 40 receives input from the input / output terminal 12 and obtains and provides necessary data from related functional units, thereby controlling the information output to the input / output terminal 12. For example, it receives input from the operator to be supported regarding the business orientation and provides know-how in line with that orientation.

[0034] The management information storage unit 41 stores management information as content or know-how packages including environmental variables related to cultivation in a plurality of soil cultivation facilities transmitted from the measuring devices and automatic environmental control devices installed in the plurality of soil cultivation facilities, the execution history of cultivation tasks of the automatic environmental control device, successful cultivation environments and automatic control conditions, and information related to evaluations of the business of operators who operated the soil cultivation facilities and obtained information on successful cultivation environments and automatic control conditions. The management information storage unit 41 will be described in detail later.

[0035] The management data viewing permission unit 42 allows the data stored in the management information storage unit 41 to be viewed from the input / output terminals in response to requests from the input / output terminals 11 to 1N. In this way, the operator of a newly started soil cultivation facility who has stored the information on the successful cultivation environment and automatic control conditions that were the subject of information selection in the management information storage unit can also view the operational status of the newly started soil cultivation facility, so that if an error is noticed in the operation of the newly started soil cultivation facility, an experienced operator can immediately provide advice. Of course, this viewing can be limited to only certain persons.

[0036] The equipment information storage unit 43 stores information about the equipment necessary to realize the successful cultivation environment and automatic control conditions stored in the management information storage unit 41. The equipment includes plant seeds, fertilizer, and potting soil. It is preferable that the operator of a successful soil cultivation facility inputs information about the equipment used in the successful operation, but it goes without saying that the equipment manufacturer may also input the information.

[0037] When the equipment conditions of the soil cultivation facility to be supported, the type of plant to be cultivated, and the business orientation of the supported operator who operates the soil cultivation facility to be supported are input from the input / output terminal device (11 to 1N), the selection unit 44 selects from the information in the management information storage unit 41 appropriate successful cultivation environment and automatic control conditions that correspond to the equipment conditions of the soil cultivation facility to be supported, the type of plant to be cultivated, and the business orientation of the supported operator, and outputs them to the input / output terminal device. The selection unit 44 also selects information on equipment necessary to realize the selected successful cultivation environment and automatic control conditions from the equipment information storage unit 43 and outputs it to the input / output terminal device. The selection unit 44 will be described in detail later.

[0038] It is preferable that the input / output terminals 11 to 1N are provided with a display that displays the information selected by the selection unit 44. It is preferable that the input / output terminals 11 to 1N have a function of displaying, on the display, the information on the equipment selected by the selection unit 44 so that it can be selected as an acquisition request. A general touch panel can be used as such a display.

[0039] 2 shows the detailed configuration of the management information storage unit 41 and the selection unit 44. The management information storage unit 41 includes a feature extraction processing unit 41A and a storage database 41B. The storage database 41B stores management information including cultivation-related environmental variables transmitted from the measurement devices 1A to NA installed in the multiple soil cultivation facilities 1 to N via the output control unit 40 of the server device 4, the execution history of cultivation tasks transmitted from the automatic environmental control devices 1B to NB, successful cultivation environments and automatic control conditions, and information regarding the evaluation of the business of the operator who operated the soil cultivation facility from which the information on the successful cultivation environments and automatic control conditions was obtained. The successful cultivation environments and automatic control conditions correspond to the soil cultivation facilities 1 to N, and in this embodiment, the operator of the soil cultivation facility who successfully operated the facility inputs the successful cultivation environments and automatic control conditions as data so that the operator can recognize the successful cultivation environments and automatic control conditions.

[0040] The feature extraction processing unit 41A converts the indicators constituting the evaluation of the operator's business into numerical values ​​and processes them as feature quantities, which are then stored in the storage database 41B. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 3, the feature extraction processing unit 41A treats, as know-how, the environmental variables related to cultivation in the multiple soil cultivation facilities transmitted from the measuring devices and automatic environmental control devices installed in the multiple soil cultivation facilities, the execution history of the cultivation tasks of the automatic environmental control device, and the successful cultivation environment and automatic control conditions. Then, under the operation of the system administrator, data for converting the evaluation values ​​of the indicators of each plant seed into numerical values ​​is input into the conversion table calculation unit, and a conversion table is calculated. FIG. 4 shows an example of a conversion table for plant seeds corresponding to the input know-how. Because the evaluation of the operator's business is arbitrary, this conversion table is created by the system administrator to increase the objectivity of the evaluation. In other words, by using the conversion table, extreme evaluations by operators are corrected based on general data collected by the system administrator. The index calculation function unit converts the indexes of the evaluation of the business (know-how) of successful operators, as shown in FIG. 5, into numerical values ​​using the conversion table shown in FIG. 4. FIG. 6 is a table showing an example of the conversion result of converting the index into a numerical value. The numerical values ​​in the "Evaluation" column shown in FIG. 5 are relative values ​​from the standard for each evaluation item. The index calculation function unit multiplies the conversion coefficients listed in the "Workload Axis," "Economy Axis," and "Quality Axis" in the conversion table of FIG. 4 by the number of "Evaluations" for the evaluation items shown in FIG. 5 to obtain feature quantities for the "Workload Axis," "Economy Axis," and "Quality Axis" in FIG. 6. The feature quantities are expressed as the sum of the numerical values ​​in the "Workload Axis," "Economy Axis," and "Quality Axis" columns in FIG. 6 (the value in the bottom column). The numerical values ​​in the X(N) column in FIG. 6 indicate that the workload is "fairly troublesome" (11), the economy is "average" (0.2), and the quality is "good taste." The feature quantities for the "Workload Axis," "Economy Axis," and "Quality Axis" are stored as numerical values ​​in the storage database 41B together with various know-how data for each.

[0041] The feature extraction processing unit 44A in the selection unit 44 shown in FIG. 2 receives information corresponding to the support target manager's business orientation in the same manner as the feature extraction processing unit 41A in the management information storage unit 41. As shown in FIGS. 4 to 6 , business evaluation items include, for example, the plant's "runner emergence amount," "side shoot emergence amount," "disease resistance," "fruit softness," "cultivation strategy," and "regional characteristics." Depending on how the manager evaluates these evaluation items, the level of success of the business can be specifically determined in relation to the operation of the business. The support target manager's business orientation indicates the level of results the target manager desires for predetermined business evaluation items when conducting the business. This orientation corresponds to the manager's evaluation of the business. The sum of the numerical values ​​in the "Workload axis," "Economics axis," and "Quality axis" columns at the bottom of the table in FIG. 6 is a feature corresponding to the manager's evaluation of the business. In this embodiment, the feature extraction processing unit 41A in FIG. 2 extracts the support target manager's business orientation as a feature converted into numerical values ​​corresponding to the indicators constituting the business evaluation, and outputs the feature to the selection execution unit 44B. In this embodiment, the slide input switch "Business Priority" in the "Directivity" column shown on the screen of the input / output terminal 11A shown in FIG. 7 is used to input a feature corresponding to the "Economic Axis" in FIG. 6, the input switch "Acceptable Workload" is used to input a feature corresponding to the "Workload Axis" in FIG. 6, and the input switch "Crop Quality" is used to input a feature corresponding to the "Quality Axis" in FIG. 6.

[0042] That is, the input / output terminal of the supported operator inputs the equipment conditions of the soil cultivation facility to be supported, the type of plant to be cultivated, and the business orientation of the supported operator who operates the soil cultivation facility to be supported. That is, information similar to that shown in FIG. 5 is input to the feature extraction processing unit 44A as an evaluation index designated by the supported operator. The feature quantities determined by the feature extraction processing unit 44A are input to the selection execution unit 44B, which uses these feature quantities to select successful cultivation environments and automatic control conditions (know-how) with similar feature quantities from the data stored in the management information storage unit 41A and output them to the supported operator's input / output terminal via the output control unit 40. The selection execution unit 44B selects information on equipment necessary to realize the selected successful cultivation environment and automatic control conditions (know-how) from the equipment information storage unit 43 and outputs it to the supported operator's input / output terminal via the output control unit 40. According to this embodiment, information is provided taking into account the business orientation of the operator who inputs the know-how and the supported operator who receives support from this system, thereby providing more appropriate information. Furthermore, in this embodiment, selection is performed based on feature amounts, making it possible to perform highly objective selection.

[0043] 8 shows an example of an output of information on the cultivation environment and automatic control conditions selected by the selection unit 44, and the equipment required to realize the cultivation environment and automatic control conditions. Such an output is displayed on the display of the input / output terminal.

[0044] When a request for the procurement of at least some of the equipment is input from the input / output terminals 11 to 1N based on the information of the equipment selected by the selection unit 44, the ordering unit 45 places an order for the equipment based on this procurement request. If the operator can easily input into the ordering unit that no order is required for equipment that the operator already owns, wasteful orders can be prevented. To make this possible, it is preferable to use the aforementioned touch panel as the display. The provision of the ordering unit 45 allows operators with no agricultural experience to start cultivating plants early.

[0045] The server device 4 also includes a video data storage unit 46 that stores video data captured by the imaging devices 1C-NC, and a video data viewing permission unit 47 that allows the video data stored in the video data storage unit 46 to be viewed on the input / output terminals 11-1N in response to requests from the input / output terminals 11-1N. The locations and number of imaging devices (1C-NC) installed in a single soil cultivation facility are optional, and may be determined by the operator of the soil cultivation facility. This allows operators to view the video footage of the work being performed by an experienced operator, based on the information selected by the selection unit 44. Therefore, operators of a newly operating soil cultivation facility can observe work similar to that performed by an experienced operator and then perform the necessary work. As a result, even inexperienced operators can achieve the same profits, yields, and crop quality as experienced farmers.

[0046] The server device 4 further includes a point storage unit 49 and a point granting unit 48, each of which has multiple individual memory units corresponding to the operators of the multiple soil cultivation facilities 1-N. The point granting unit 48 grants points to the individual memory unit of the operator of the soil cultivation facility that is the source of the information selected by the selection unit 44. Points can be used in any manner, and may be exchanged for money. By granting points, the operator who provided the information on the successful cultivation environment and automatic control conditions selected by the selection unit 44 can also receive benefits. The points granted by the point granting unit 48 may be changeable at the discretion of the operator of the soil cultivation facility that is the source of the information stored in the management information storage unit, or the supported operator may be able to use their points as a reward for receiving the information. Setting such point granting increases the motivation of information providers, enabling them to collect more information on successful cultivation environments and automatic control conditions. The points granted by the point granting unit 48 may be equivalent to a license fee set by the operator of the soil cultivation facility that is the source of the information.

[0047] The point-granting unit 48 of this embodiment also has a content pricing function that calculates the magnitude of points to be awarded. The content pricing function is configured to calculate the difference between the performance history data, such as the harvest yield and sales price, of the soil cultivation facility to be supported and the expected value data, such as the predicted harvest yield and sales price, that are preset for the selected successful cultivation environment and automatic control conditions, and if this difference is large in the positive direction, to grant more points to the individual memory unit (built into the point storage unit 49) of the operator of the soil cultivation facility that is the source of the information selected by the selection unit 44.

[0048] In this embodiment, for example, an operator with no or insufficient agricultural experience (supported operator) intending to start cultivating plants using a new, completely enclosed soil cultivation facility N inputs the equipment conditions of the soil cultivation facility N to be supported and the type of plant to be cultivated from the input / output terminal 1N. The server device 4 then transmits to the input / output terminal 1N information on the successful cultivation environment and automatic control conditions selected by the selection unit 44, as well as information on the equipment necessary to achieve the successful cultivation environment and automatic control conditions. Therefore, even operators with no or insufficient agricultural experience can obtain the information necessary to cultivate the plants they wish to cultivate in the soil cultivation facility they operate. Furthermore, when a purchase request for at least some of the equipment is input from the input / output terminal 1N based on the information on the equipment selected by the selection unit 44, the ordering unit 45 orders the equipment based on the purchase request. This allows even operators with no agricultural experience to begin cultivating plants early. Furthermore, operators with no agricultural experience or insufficient experience can check, via the input / output terminal 1N, the video of the work being performed in the soil cultivation facility operated by the skilled cultivator that is the basis for the information selected by the selection unit 44, which is stored in the video data storage unit 46. Therefore, when operating a soil cultivation facility N that is to be newly started, it becomes possible to perform the necessary work after observing work similar to that performed by the skilled cultivator.

[0049] In this embodiment, the server device 4 is equipped with a profit prediction unit 50 that predicts profits based on the predicted harvest yield and sales price, etc., that are preset for the successful cultivation environment and automatic control conditions. The profit prediction unit 50 outputs the predicted profits to the input / output terminal 1N of the operator of the soil cultivation facility to be supported. This makes it possible to prompt the operator to select a cultivation method.

[0050] Figure 9 shows the system concept underlying the present invention. This concept uses a completely enclosed soil cultivation container that can reproduce the cultivation environment (sunlight, temperature, humidity, CO2, fertilization, etc.) regardless of geographical factors. The container manages environmental variables related to cultivation and the history of cultivation tasks (IoT, task management, etc.). A successful cultivation method in the above environment is packaged together with the materials, seeds, automatic control of the cultivation environment, and the tasks that need to be performed, creating a content CT.

[0051] This system constitutes a content market that distributes this content CT. Content users (supported operators such as new farmers) who purchase the content can relive successful cultivation in their own containers (including profitability). Revenue from content sales is returned to the experienced farmers who developed the content.

[0052] If a content user's cultivation does not go well, the experienced farmer who developed the content can provide consultation based on the user's cultivation record data (IoT, task execution history, and images of actual cultivation conditions).The experienced farmer can view the content user's cultivation results, including subsequent harvest yields and feedback from purchasing businesses regarding the harvest, and can improve the content.

[0053] This concept allows for the sharing of successful cultivation methods and improves the profitability and success rate of new farmers. Furthermore, by enabling experienced farmers to increase their profits by sharing their know-how, it is possible to increase the profitability of all users of cultivation containers. As a result, the content itself can be improved based on data, creating a system and business model that continuously increases agricultural profitability. It is also possible to provide a calculation model that provides profit forecasts based on content revenue examples and the number and size of containers. Furthermore, content pricing support can be provided to content providers, using the output of the revenue forecast model to assist in pricing.

[0054] Regarding the function of presenting indicators, for example, the output of the above model is a discounted price immediately after content is released, since only the performance of the operator providing the content is available and there is little basis for profit reproducibility. For content that is highly profitable and the accuracy of the prediction model has improved, a price is set that balances the profit of the operator providing the content and the number of sales to users (as a reference). When a content is improved and sold by an operator providing other content, it is possible to adjust the distribution of rights and profits (tree of origin and destination). The distribution ratio is calculated taking into account the improvement in profitability before and after the improvement.

[0055] In addition to experienced farmers, potential operators providing content could include material manufacturers (soil, fertilizer, pesticides, etc.), equipment manufacturers (robots, containers, house manufacturers, etc.), device manufacturers (LED, IoT, etc.), and AI development companies.

[0056] An example of a program algorithm used in the server device 4 to realize the above-described embodiment based on the concept shown in FIG. 9 is described below. FIG. 10 shows the program algorithm used in the process of creating the aforementioned content CT (know-how package). This algorithm is used when the operator creates content (information) and stores it in the management information storage unit 41. First, in step S1, an experienced grower (operator) begins cultivation using his / her own soil cultivation equipment, selecting the target crop variety and materials such as fertilizer and soil. In step S2, the operator establishes his / her own cultivation method using automatic environmental control equipment and records the cultivation status using the measurement device 1A and the imaging device 1C. In step 3, the operator checks whether the cultivation was successful / improved. This is determined by the operator. If successful, the operator proceeds to step S4, where the operator stores information about the automatic environmental control and materials used in the successful cultivation as content CT in the management information storage unit 41. Then, in step S5, the operator inputs an evaluation (see FIG. 5) corresponding to the content as information accompanying the content CT and stores it in the management information storage unit 41. Finally, in step S6, it is determined whether or not the content is to be improved. If the content is to be improved, the process returns to step S1, and if the content is not to be improved, the process ends.

[0057] FIG. 11 shows an algorithm for a program that implements the aforementioned content selection and utilization tasks. In this algorithm, in step S11, the supported manager inputs information about his or her business preferences into the selection unit 44 using his or her own input / output terminal. The selection unit 44 converts the input information about business preferences into feature quantities using a conversion table (step S12). The selection unit 44 then narrows down the data stored in the management information storage unit 41 to one or more suitable content items related to successful cultivation environments and automatic control conditions (know-how) that have similar feature quantities to the converted feature quantities, and displays the selected content items on the supported manager's output terminal via the output control unit 40 (step S13). The selection unit 44 may also convert information about the content preferences stored in the management information storage unit 41 into feature quantities using a conversion table. Next, the supported manager determines whether or not he or she has selected content items to use from the displayed content items (step S14). If so, the selection unit 44 displays information about materials required for using the selected content items on the supported manager's input / output terminal via the output control unit 40 (step S15). Next, the ordering section 45, in response to an instruction from the input / output terminal of the support recipient, orders materials required for using the content selected through the output control section 40 (step S16).

[0058] The algorithms of FIGS. 10 and 11 are merely examples, and the present invention is not limited to these algorithms.

[0059] According to the present invention, based on information regarding the business orientation of the supported operator, a successful cultivation environment and automatic control conditions, as well as information regarding the equipment necessary to realize the successful cultivation environment and automatic control conditions, are selected from the information stored in the management information storage unit, and multiple fully closed soil cultivation facilities are operated, allowing even inexperienced supported operators to operate the facilities in accordance with their own business and lifestyle, thereby increasing continuity and enabling them to achieve the same profits, yields, and crop quality as experienced farmers.

[0060] 1 to N soil cultivation facilities 11 to 1N input / output terminal devices 3 communication network 4 server device 40 output control unit 41 management information storage unit 42 management data viewing permission unit 43 equipment information storage unit 44 selection unit 45 ordering unit 46 video data storage unit 47 video data viewing permission unit 48 point allocation unit 49 point storage unit 50 revenue prediction unit

Claims

1. A cultivation facility operation support system that supports the operation of multiple fully closed soil cultivation facilities equipped with an automatic environmental control device configured to reproduce cultivation environments such as sunlight, temperature, humidity, CO2, and fertilization regardless of geographical factors, for the purpose of cultivating plants in soil, the system comprising: multiple input / output terminals operated by multiple operators who operate the soil cultivation facilities; and a server device connected to measurement devices and the automatic environmental control devices installed in the multiple soil cultivation facilities and the multiple input / output terminals via a communication network, wherein the server device comprises: a management information storage unit that stores management information including environmental variables related to cultivation within the multiple soil cultivation facilities transmitted from the measurement devices and the automatic environmental control devices installed in the multiple soil cultivation facilities, the execution history of cultivation tasks of the automatic environmental control device, successful cultivation environments and automatic control conditions, and information regarding evaluations of the businesses of the operators who input the successful cultivation environments and automatic control conditions; and an equipment information storage unit that stores information on equipment required to realize the successful cultivation environments and automatic control conditions stored in the management information storage unit. A cultivation facility operation support system comprising a selection unit that, when the equipment conditions of the soil cultivation facility to be supported, the type of plants to be cultivated, and the business orientation of the supported operator who operates the soil cultivation facility to be supported are input from the input / output terminal unit, selects from the information in the management information storage unit appropriate successful cultivation environment and automatic control conditions that correspond to the equipment conditions of the soil cultivation facility to be supported, the type of plants to be cultivated, and the business orientation of the supported operator, and outputs them to the input / output terminal unit of the supported operator, and selects from the equipment information storage unit information on the equipment necessary to realize the selected successful cultivation environment and automatic control conditions, and outputs them to the input / output terminal unit.

2. The cultivation facility operation support system described in claim 1, wherein the management information storage unit has a feature extraction function that converts the evaluation for each indicator used to evaluate the operator's business into a numerical value and stores it as a feature, and the selection unit has a feature extraction function that converts the orientation of the supported operator toward his or her business into a numerical value corresponding to the indicator and stores it as a feature, and the selection unit performs the selection based on the feature.

3. A cultivation facility operation support system as described in claim 2, wherein the indicators used to evaluate the operator's business include workload, economic efficiency, and the quality of the plants being cultivated.

4. The cultivation facility operation support system of claim 1, wherein the server device further comprises an ordering unit that, when a request to acquire at least some of the equipment based on information about the equipment selected by the selection unit is input from the input / output terminal device, places an order for the equipment based on the acquisition request.

5. The cultivation facility operation support system described in claim 1, wherein the input / output terminal is equipped with a display that displays the information selected by the selection unit, and the input / output terminal has a function of ranking the multiple pieces of information selected by the selection unit in order of merit and displaying them selectably on the display.

6. A cultivation facility operation support system as described in claim 5, wherein the selection unit selects information about the necessary equipment and displays it on the display so that the equipment owned by the supported operator can be utilized.

7. A cultivation facility operation support system according to claim 6, wherein the equipment includes plant seeds and fertilizer.

8. The cultivation facility operation support system described in claim 1, wherein the server device further includes a management data viewing permission unit that allows the input / output terminal device to view data stored in the management information storage unit in response to a request from the input / output terminal device.

9. The cultivation facility operation support system described in claim 1, wherein each of the plurality of soil cultivation facilities is equipped with an imaging device that captures images of the working status of workers, and the server device further comprises a video data storage unit that stores video data captured by the imaging device, and a video data viewing permission unit that allows the video data stored in the video data storage unit to be viewed from the input / output terminal device in response to a request from the input / output terminal device.

10. The cultivation facility operation support system described in claim 1, wherein the server device further comprises a point storage unit having a plurality of individual memory units corresponding to the plurality of operators, and a point assignment unit that assigns points to the individual memory unit of the operator who operates the soil cultivation facility that is the source of the information selected by the selection unit.

11. A cultivation facility operation support system as described in claim 10, wherein the points awarded by the point awarding unit can be changed at the discretion of the operator of the soil cultivation facility that is the source of the information.

12. A cultivation facility operation support system as described in claim 11, wherein the points awarded by the point awarding unit are points equivalent to a license fee set by the operator of the soil cultivation facility that is the source of the information.

13. The cultivation facility operation support system described in claim 10, wherein the point allocating unit has a content pricing function that calculates the size of the points to be allocated, and the content pricing function calculates the difference between the performance history data such as the harvest yield and sales price of the soil cultivation facility to be supported and the expected value data such as the predicted harvest yield and sales price that are preset for the selected successful cultivation environment and automatic control conditions, and if this difference is large, more points are allocated to the individual memory unit of the operator who operates the soil cultivation facility that is the source of the information selected by the selection unit.

14. A cultivation facility operation support system as described in claim 1, further comprising a revenue prediction unit that predicts revenue based on the predicted harvest yield and sales price, etc., that are preset for the successful cultivation environment and automatic control conditions, and the revenue prediction unit outputs the predicted revenue to the input / output terminal device of the operator of the soil cultivation facility to be supported.