Automatic recording system for agricultural work

Abstract

[Problem] To provide an automatic recording system for agricultural work that can be retrofitted to an agricultural machine, and can automatically record work content more simply, more inexpensively, and more accurately. [Solution] An automatic recording system S for agricultural work comprises a tag 5 that has a unique ID, a portable terminal 2 that reads the unique ID of the tag 5, and a server device 1 that is connected to the portable terminal 2 via a network and receives the unique ID from the portable terminal 2. When an agricultural machine 3 is a single-purpose machine that has only one purpose, the tag 5 is applied to the single-purpose agricultural machine 3, and when the agricultural machine 3 is a multi-purpose agricultural machine for which the agricultural work content can be changed in accordance with an implement 4 that is attached thereto, the tag 5 is applied to the multi-purpose agricultural machine 3 and the implement 4.

Description

Agricultural work automatic recording system

[0001] The present invention relates to an agricultural work automatic recording system, and particularly to an agricultural work automatic recording system for work agricultural machines and work types in IT agriculture using electronic tags or similar tags.

[0002] In the agricultural field of our country, the utilization of information and communication technology (IT: Information Technology) is progressing as an effective means such as the improvement of production management mainly for large-scale management entities. In particular, in recent years, with the spread of IoT (Internet of Things) and the like that connect all things to the Internet and promote social transformation, the amount of agricultural environment data has been growing. For example, in the agricultural field, the utilization of big data has been rapidly developing, and the agricultural IT industry is rapidly expanding.

[0003] In addition, while the aging of agricultural supporters in our country is progressing, various problems such as a serious shortage of labor are faced. It is important to utilize IT, artificial intelligence (AI), etc., to achieve a dramatic improvement in productivity such as labor saving, improvement of yield and quality, and cultivation of human resources.

[0004] In such IT agriculture aiming to improve the efficiency of agricultural work, first, the recording of agricultural work is necessary. Record the field where the work was carried out, the type of work, the agricultural machine used, and the time. By accumulating such records, it is possible to find a way to improve work efficiency and determine the optimal work by analyzing the relationship with the yield. Therefore, the recording of agricultural work is important data contributing to the optimization of agricultural production.

[0005] And as an agricultural work record, a work management system is disclosed that includes a writing unit that attaches a wireless tag to an agricultural machine and writes data indicating the work content to the tag, a reading unit that reads the data indicating the work content written to the tag, and a server device that manages the work content based on the reading result of the reading unit (for example, see Patent Document 1). Also, a device is disclosed that assigns IC tags to each agricultural worker, agricultural crop, agricultural material, and agricultural machine, and can manage and record agricultural work on the server side by reading these (for example, see Patent Document 2).

[0006] Japanese Patent Publication No. 2023-151807 Japanese Patent Publication No. 2005-092595

[0007] However, even though we talk about "automatic recording of farm work" as described above, actually achieving it is not easy. The reasons for this are explained below.

[0008] First and foremost, keeping accurate records of all work is currently a significant burden for producers. Farm work itself is physically demanding, leading to accumulated fatigue at the end of the day. Furthermore, not keeping records doesn't immediately cause problems, and the benefits of keeping records aren't immediately apparent, making it difficult to recognize the importance of keeping records. As a result, records tend to be incomplete.

[0009] Furthermore, with the emergence of smart agricultural machinery, for example, and the increasing IT integration of agricultural machinery in recent years, various systems have appeared on the market that automatically accumulate data for some operational and work records, and a wide variety of devices and methods are available to realize these systems. For example, in the above-mentioned Patent Document 1, in order to address the problem that "as the amount of work that needs to be managed increases, the effort required for workers to find tags corresponding to the work increases," the number of tags has been reduced by making it possible to write work content to tags and read work content from tags.

[0010] However, it is desirable that systems for automatically recording agricultural work be retrofittable to existing farm machinery, easier and cheaper for workers to use, and more accurately record work details. However, current systems are still not sufficient in this regard. For example, current automatic recording systems still require the introduction of very expensive equipment and machinery, and require workers to perform many complex tasks such as reading and writing data. In other words, the widespread adoption of "automatic recording of agricultural work" will depend on systems that can be retrofitted to already purchased farm machinery, are easier and cheaper to use, and record work details more accurately.

[0011] This invention has been made in view of the above problems, and aims to provide an automatic farm work recording system that can be retrofitted to agricultural machinery, is simpler to use, is less expensive, and can automatically record work details more accurately.

[0012] To achieve the above objective, the present invention provides an automatic recording system for agricultural work using agricultural machinery, comprising: an identifier having a unique ID; a mobile terminal that reads the unique ID of the identifier; and a server device connected to the mobile terminal via a network and receiving the unique ID from the mobile terminal, wherein the identifier is assigned to the single-purpose agricultural machine when the agricultural machine is a single-purpose agricultural machine that has only one use, and is assigned to the multi-purpose agricultural machine and the implement when the agricultural work content can be changed according to the implement to which the agricultural machine is attached.

[0013] In this automated farm work recording system, the identifier is preferably a QR code (registered trademark, hereinafter omitted) that can be read by the camera function of the mobile terminal, an NFC (Near Field Communication) tag that can communicate with the mobile terminal at close range, or a BLE (Bluetooth (registered trademark, hereinafter omitted) low energy) tag.

[0014] In this automated farm work recording system, if the identifier is a QR code or NFC tag, it is preferable that it be assigned to a sheet containing multiple QR codes or NFC tags corresponding to each farm machine or implement.

[0015] In this automated farm work recording system, the farm machine is provided with a location information detection terminal that transmits its location information to the server device, and the server device is provided with a storage unit and a work record generation unit, wherein the storage unit has pre-registered the types of work performed by the single-purpose farm machine and the implement, linked to the unique ID of the identifier, and field polygons, which are plot information of farmland, are pre-registered, linked to the location information, and the work record generation unit preferably generates a worker's work record based on the unique ID received from the mobile terminal and the location information obtained from the location information detection terminal provided on the farm machine.

[0016] To solve the above problems, the present invention is a computer-executable farm work record generation program, characterized in that it includes the steps of: pre-registering the type of work performed by single-purpose farm machinery and implements attached to farm machinery in association with a unique identifier ID; pre-registering field polygons, which are plot information of farmland, in association with location information; and generating a worker's work record based on the unique identifier ID and the location information of the farm machinery.

[0017] Furthermore, the present invention can be realized not only as such an automated farm work recording system, but also as an automated farm work recording method using characteristic means provided by the devices constituting such an automated farm work recording system as steps, or as a program that causes a computer to execute those steps. Needless to say, such a program can be distributed via recording media such as USB or transmission media such as the Internet.

[0018] The automated farm work recording system according to the present invention comprises an identifier having a unique ID, a portable terminal that reads the unique ID of the identifier, and a server device connected to the portable terminal via a network and receiving the unique ID from the portable terminal. The identifier is assigned to a single-purpose farm machine if the farm machine has only one use, while it is assigned to both the multi-purpose farm machine and the implement if the farm machine can change the farm work content depending on the implement to which it is attached. This configuration makes it possible to realize an automated farm work recording system that can be retrofitted to farm machines, is simpler, less expensive, and can automatically record work content more accurately.

[0019] This is a system configuration diagram of an automated farm work recording system according to an embodiment of the present invention. This is an explanatory diagram of the automated farm work recording system. This is a diagram showing the types of tags attached to the farm machinery and implements in the automated farm work recording system. This is a flowchart showing the operation procedure when an operator starts work using the automated farm work recording system. This is a diagram showing an example of a sheet with NFC tags arranged for use in the automated farm work recording system. This is a flowchart showing the operation procedure of the server device in the automated farm work recording system. This is an example of a screen showing the farm work record generated in the automated farm work recording system.

[0020] (Embodiment) An automated farm work recording system according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. This automated farm work recording system is mainly used to manage and record the progress of farm work in the field.

[0021] First, the overall structure of the automated farm work recording system S (hereinafter referred to as the automated recording system S) according to this embodiment will be described. As shown in Figure 1, the automated recording system S comprises a server device 1, a plurality of portable terminals 2 carried by the worker, and a farm machine 3 operated by the worker. The server device 1 can communicate with the plurality of portable terminals 2 via a wide-area network such as the Internet.

[0022] This automatic recording system S classifies agricultural machinery 3 into the following two types: (1) Single-Purpose Vehicle (SPV): agricultural machinery 3 that has only one purpose, such as a combine harvester whose movement is limited to harvesting; and (2) Multi-Purpose Vehicle (MPV): agricultural machinery 3 that can change the agricultural work it performs depending on the implement 4 attached to it, such as a tractor or an MPV that tows various types of implements (hereinafter referred to as implement 4) to perform the actual work. Therefore, this automatic recording system S can be described as a system that efficiently recognizes and records combinations of SPV agricultural machinery 3 and MPV agricultural machinery 3 and implement 4.

[0023] Here, we will explain specific examples of Implement 4. For example, with the "Super Technique Implement" (Kubota Corporation, URL: https: / / agriculture.kubota.co.jp / product / implement / implement-SLGS / ), different Implement 4s are attached to the tractor depending on the work being done. Examples of Implement 4s include "Wide Rotary," "Earth Rotary," and "Ground Rotary" for tilling work, "Cyber ​​Harrow," "Super High-Speed ​​Max Harrow," and "Wing Harrow" for puddling work, "Automatic Levee Builder," "Dyna Reverse," and "U-Return Levee Builder" for levee builder work, and "Vehicle Speed ​​Motion Broadcaster" and "GPS Broadcaster" for fertilizer spreading work.

[0024] In this automated recording system S, as shown in Figure 3, a tag (identifier) ​​5 is assigned to both the agricultural machine 3 and the implement 4. If the agricultural machine 3 is an SPV, only one tag 5 is assigned to the agricultural machine 3. If the agricultural machine 3 is an MPV, a tag 5 is assigned to both the agricultural machine 3 and the implement 4. The tag 5 only needs to be read by the operator using a mobile terminal 2 via short-range communication to obtain the unique identification ID (e.g., UUID: Universally Unique Identifier) ​​assigned to the tag 5. Examples of tags 5 include, for example, a QR code 5a that can be read by the camera function of the mobile terminal 2, as shown in Figure 3, and RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) tags such as NFC (Near Field Communication) tags 5b and BLE (Bluetooth low energy) tags 5c that can communicate with the mobile terminal 2 via short-range communication.

[0025] QR codes 5a can be generated free of charge, and NFC tags 5b cost only a few tens of yen each and require no power supply. BLE tags 5c are slightly more expensive and require power, but even a single purchase on the general market costs around 2000 yen, and the battery does not need to be replaced for several years. Furthermore, the camera function for reading QR codes 5a and the communication functions with NFC tags 5b and BLE tags 5c are already implemented in typical mobile devices such as cell phones. Therefore, there is the advantage that the cost of implementation and maintenance can be minimized.

[0026] The agricultural machine 3 is equipped with a location information detection terminal that transmits location information to the server device 1. This terminal may be, for example, a terminal with wireless communication capabilities added to a GNSS receiver (GNSS tracker) or an electronic tracking terminal (LTE tracker) that relays the real-time location of the agricultural machine 3 using GPS. The location information detection terminal transmits location information acquired by satellite positioning or the like to the server device 1 via a wide-area network.

[0027] Next, the functions of the server device 1 will be explained. As shown in Figure 1, the server device 1 comprises a communication unit 11, a storage unit 12, a control unit 13, and a work record generation unit 14. The communication unit 11 communicates with the mobile terminal 2 via a communication network. The storage unit 12 is a storage medium such as an HHD (Hard Disk Drive) or SSD (Solid State Drive), and for example, MongoDB is used. This MongoDB is a database called NoSQL, and it is a document-oriented database. It also has the characteristic of outputting data in JSON format. JSON files can be used universally and are easy to use, so there is an advantage that the data can be used as is when creating applications such as an automated farm work recording application.

[0028] In the automatic recording system S according to this embodiment, important items in the work record include the types of agricultural machinery 3 and implement 4 used. This is because if the agricultural machinery 3 and implement 4 can be accurately recorded, the type of work can be automatically estimated. Therefore, in this automatic recording system S, the unique ID of the tag 5 attached to the agricultural machinery 3 and implement 4 is automatically recorded, significantly reducing the effort involved in work recording and maintaining the completeness of the record.

[0029] Specifically, the storage unit 12 of the server device 1 is pre-programmed with the type, specifications, and IDs (identifiers) of the electronic tags 5b and 5c (or QR code 5a) for each agricultural machine 3 (SPV, MPV) and implement 4. In addition, the types of work that the SPV agricultural machine 3 and implement 4 perform are also registered.

[0030] Furthermore, the storage unit 12 of the server device 1 stores field polygons, which are common in IT agricultural systems. Field polygons, specifically so-called parcel polygons, are publicly available nationwide as agricultural land parcel information, and using these ensures that registration itself is not hindered. The work record generation unit 14 of the server device 1 can then generate worker work records based on the unique IDs of the agricultural machinery 3 and implements 4 received from the mobile terminals 2, and the location information obtained from the location information detection terminal of the agricultural machinery 3.

[0031] Next, the functions of the mobile terminal 2 will be explained. The mobile terminal 2 is a general communication device such as a smartphone, and is a terminal that is carried and operated by the worker, and is connected to a wide area network by wireless communication or the like. As shown in Figure 1, the mobile terminal 2 comprises a communication unit 21, a display unit 22, an operation unit 23, a reading unit 24, a storage unit 25, and a control unit 26.

[0032] The communication unit 21 is composed of, for example, an electrical circuit and communicates with the server device 1 via the communication network 4. The display unit 22 is a display device such as a display. The operation unit 23 is an operation device such as a touchpad.

[0033] The reading unit 24 reads the QR code 5a attached to the agricultural machine 3 and implement 4, or communicates with the tag 5b or 5c attached to the agricultural machine 3 and implement 4, and reads the unique ID of the tag 5b or 5c. The storage unit 25 is a storage medium such as ROM or RAM, and stores application programs for recording agricultural work that are executed by the control unit 26. The control unit 26 can be configured as, for example, a microcomputer including a CPU and semiconductor memory.

[0034] Next, the procedure for workers to start work using the automated farm work recording system S will be explained with reference to the flowchart shown in Figure 4.

[0035] First, the worker starts a dedicated app for automatic recording of farm work that is already installed on their mobile terminal 2, and allows the system to recognize the farm equipment 3 (SPV or MPV) and implement 4 to be used for the work (S401). Specifically, when using a BLE tag 5c, the worker selects a valid farm equipment 3 based on the BLE beacon on the mobile terminal 2 (S402), and then selects the implement 4 to be used for the work (S403). This selection is made from the screen of the dedicated app on the mobile terminal 2.

[0036] When using BLE tag 5c as tag 5, if it is attached to the farm machinery and implements in advance, the app on the mobile terminal 2 will automatically recognize both the SPV or MPV farm machinery and the implement 4 by receiving signals (BLE beacons) from nearby BLE tag 5c without the operator having to scan them intentionally. Based on the signal strength, the BLE tag 5c can recognize the target farm machinery and implements even if there are multiple farm machines and implements in the same location, for example, a warehouse.

[0037] Furthermore, when using an NFC tag 5b as tag 5, the NFC tag 5b is pre-attached to the agricultural machine 3 and implement 4, and the operator scans them using a mobile terminal 2 (S404 and S405). In this case, the implement 4 to be towed by the MPV tractor is often limited by the type of tractor and horsepower.

[0038] As shown in Figure 5, a sheet 51 may be prepared in the tractor cabin with multiple NFC tags 5b arranged to correspond to the towable implement 4. The same applies to the QR code 5a. When the worker starts work, they scan the NFC tag 5b corresponding to the start of work using the mobile terminal 2, and then scan the NFC tags 5b corresponding to the agricultural machine 3 and its implement 4. After connecting the implement 4 to the tractor, the worker can immediately get into the cabin and scan using the sheet 51, significantly reducing the time required and preventing missed scans. Furthermore, since BLE tags 5c are at risk of falling, QR codes 5a are vulnerable to dirt such as mud during agricultural work, and NFC tags 5b are somewhat resistant to dirt, this sheet 51 is also effective from a vulnerability standpoint.

[0039] Furthermore, the NFC tag 5b can be replaced with a QR code 5a. When using a QR code 5a as the tag 5, the QR code 5a is attached to the agricultural machine 3 and implement 4 in advance, and the worker scans them using a mobile terminal 2 at the start of work (S406 and S407).

[0040] After completing the reading according to the tag type, the worker begins the work (S408). At the end of the work, the worker may scan the NFC tag 5b corresponding to the completion of the work. If a BLE tag 5c is used, it is possible to automatically recognize that the worker has completed the work using the agricultural machine 3 based on the signal strength.

[0041] Next, the operation procedure of the server device 1 that manages the data of the automated farm work recording system S will be explained with reference to the flowchart shown in Figure 6.

[0042] First, when the server device 1 reads the tag 5 from the mobile terminal 2 and receives the recognized ID (Y in S601), it identifies the type of work from the received ID, that is, one ID in the case of an SPV, or two IDs in the case of an MPV (S602).

[0043] Further, when the server device 1 receives the start of work from the operator via the mobile terminal 2, it receives the position information from the terminal that emits the position information provided in the agricultural machine 3, recognizes from the position information that the work is within a polygon registered in advance, and generates a work record (S603).

[0044] When the server device 1 receives the end of work from the mobile terminal 2 or recognizes the end of work from the position information of the agricultural machine 3 (Y in S604), it adds the date and time and the record by GNSS to complete the work record (S605). In the server device 1, it is also possible to automatically recognize the start of the work target field work when a certain operation record occurs within the polygon, and the same applies to the end.

[0045] Usually, the producer registers the type of the planted crop for each field polygon for the season. Also, for each crop, the start and end times of the work and the order of the work contents are almost determined. In the server device 1, it is also possible to use this to further improve the recognition accuracy of the automatic recording of agricultural work.

[0046] Next, an example of the work record generated by the agricultural work automatic recording system S will be described with reference to FIG. 7. The work record generated by the server device 1 can be referred to via a dedicated app on a mobile terminal, a PC, etc. For example, as shown in Image 71, the movement history of the agricultural machine 3 in the field, the work type by the attached implement 4 which is the Work type (in this figure, when a harrow is used as the implement 4), Address (the address of the farm), StartTime (the start date and time of the agricultural work), EndTime (the end date and time of the agricultural work), Duration (the agricultural work time of the day), Field Block (the block information of the field polygon), Field Name (the name of the field), Project (the project name), etc. are referred to.

[0047] These work records can be referred to not only after the work is completed but also in real time via the app. For example, when there are many workers and agricultural machines such as an agricultural corporation, the manager can visualize via the app what kind of work each worker is doing with which agricultural machine 3 and which implement 4.

[0048] As described above, the agricultural work automatic recording system S according to the present embodiment includes a tag 5 having a unique ID, a mobile terminal 2 that reads the unique ID of the tag 5, and a server device 1 that is connected to the mobile terminal 2 via a network and receives the unique ID from the mobile terminal 2. The tag 5 is attached to the single-purpose agricultural machine 3 when the agricultural machine 3 has only one use, while in the case of a multi-purpose agricultural machine that can change the agricultural work content according to the implement 4 to which the agricultural machine 3 is attached, it is attached to the multi-purpose agricultural machine 3 and the implement 4.

[0049] With this configuration, by reading the tag 5 corresponding to the agricultural machine 3 and the implement 4 via the mobile terminal 2, the server device 1 can automatically and instantaneously generate and record what is being used, what work is being done, the start time and end time of the agricultural work, etc. That is, by using the present agricultural work automatic recording system S, it is possible to retrofit even the already owned agricultural machine 3, and the work content can be automatically recorded more simply, at a lower cost, and more accurately.

[0050] Note that the present invention is not limited to the configurations of the above embodiments, and various modifications are possible without changing the gist of the invention. In addition to the above, it is also conceivable to use an identifier based on a barcode or GUID (Globally Unique Identifier) for the tag 5.

[0051] S Agricultural work automatic recording system 1 Server device 2 Mobile terminal 3 Agricultural machine (single-purpose agricultural machine and multi-purpose agricultural machine) 4 Implement 5 Tag (identifier) 5a QR code (identifier) 5b NFC tag (identifier) 5c BLE tag (identifier) 51 Sheet

Claims

1. An automatic recording system for agricultural work using agricultural machinery, comprising: an identifier having a unique ID; a mobile terminal for reading the unique ID of the identifier; and a server device connected to the mobile terminal via a network for receiving the unique ID from the mobile terminal, wherein the identifier is assigned to the single-purpose agricultural machinery if the agricultural machinery is a single-purpose agricultural machinery having only one use, and is assigned to the multi-purpose agricultural machinery and the implement if the agricultural machinery is a multi-purpose agricultural machinery capable of changing the content of agricultural work depending on the implement to which the agricultural machinery is attached.

2. The agricultural work automatic recording system according to claim 1, characterized in that the identifier is a QR code that can be read by the camera function of the mobile terminal, an NFC (Near Field Communication) tag that can communicate with the mobile terminal at close range, or a BLE (Bluetooth low energy) tag.

3. The agricultural work automatic recording system according to claim 2, characterized in that, if the identifier is a QR code or an NFC tag, it is assigned to a sheet on which a plurality of QR codes or NFC tags corresponding to each agricultural machine or implement are arranged.

4. The agricultural machine is equipped with a location information detection terminal that transmits its location information to the server device, the server device is equipped with a storage unit and a work record generation unit, the storage unit is equipped with a unique ID of the identifier and has in advance registered the types of work that the single-purpose agricultural machine and the implement perform, and a field polygon which is plot information of farmland is in advance registered in conjunction with the location information, and the work record generation unit generates a work record of the worker based on the unique ID received from the mobile terminal and the location information obtained from the location information detection terminal equipped on the agricultural machine, the agricultural work automatic recording system according to any one of claims 1 to 3.

5. A farm work record generation program executable by a computer, comprising the steps of: pre-registering the type of work performed by single-purpose farm machinery and implements attached to farm machinery in association with a unique identifier; pre-registering field polygons, which are plot information of farmland, in association with location information; and generating a worker's work record based on the unique identifier and the location information of the farm machinery.

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