Bioproduction Systems Engineering
In our laboratory, we are conducting research on agricultural robots that contribute to automation and labor saving in biological production, plant factories that propose new farming methods in an optimal environment based on biological measurements, and smart agriculture that navigates agriculture based on big data such as farm environment and yields, all based on a systems engineering approach, in preparation for the serious labor shortage and other agricultural problems our country will face in the near future. We are also conducting research on smart agriculture, which navigates agriculture based on big data such as the farm environment and yields.
|
Expectations for agricultural robots as a trump card for the labor shortage are growing even greater. Unmanned tractors, rice transplanters, and combine harvesters are already being commercialized, and their introduction to the field is expected to proceed as needed. On the other hand, robots for selective harvesting of fruits and vegetables are highly labor-efficient and in great demand in the field, but there are still many problems to be solved. One of them is cooperative work with human operators, and it is especially important to ensure safety.
 |
|
|---|
Plant factories produce plants by controlling the environment, and the optimization of the environment through artificial lighting, etc. is being developed not only from the perspective of plant growth, but also from the perspective of energy and other factors. In recent years, shiitake mushrooms and other crops have also become targets of plant factories.
The essence of smart agriculture lies in the effective use of information, and although AI is good at correlating big data, it requires precise problem posing and goal setting, and we will intervene to interpret problems that can be solved by AI.
