本日配信の園芸メルマガHortBizに、”From green fingers to data-driven cultivation”（意訳すると、「栽培のプロに代わって、AIがデータを活用して植物を栽培する時代に」）という興味深い記事が掲載されていた。わたしの記憶が正しいとすると、Grodanはデンマークの農業資材の会社だった？
＜記事の見出し＞
Here at Grodan we have been fascinated for years by the possibilities of data mining and have been combining it with the opportunities artificial intelligence offers. This enables us to help the horticulture sector move on to the next phase: data-driven cultivation. Informally, we have been calling it Horticulture 4.0.
Here at Grodan we have been fascinated for years by the possibilities of data mining and have been combining it with the opportunities artificial intelligence offers. This enables us to help the horticulture sector move on to the next phase: data-driven cultivation. Informally, we have been calling it Horticulture 4.0.
要するに、園芸4.0では、「AIが植物を育てる時代になる」と宣言されている。考えてみれば、当たり前のことかもしれない。（蓄積された）データを活用した適切な栽培指示（data-driven cultivation）が、温室内での優れた栽培結果を実現するのは、遠い未来のことではない。人間が直感で処理していた栽培知識をコンピュータに学習させて、植物の育成を自動化するだけのことだ。
複雑な栽培技術は、これまで人間の知恵に依存してきた。植物を育てるのが上手な人、英語では緑の指（Green Fingers）と呼ばれるが、機械学習によって人間の知恵が代替できるという考えかたです。おそらく、この予測は正しいだろう。しかし、人間の知恵をマシンにインプットするだけのことで、人間の判断がまったく不要になるわけではない。
そのことも、この記事では注意がなされている。知恵の源泉はやはり人間なのである。
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04-06-2019 03:30 | HortiBiz/Paulina Florax (Grodan)
People at Grodan have been fascinated for years by the possibilities of data mining and have been combining it with the opportunities artificial intelligence offers. This enables the company to help the horticulture sector move on to the next phase: data-driven cultivation. Informally, Grodan has been calling it Horticulture 4.0.
Horticulture 4.0: future or new reality?
Horticulture 4.0: future or new reality?
Vincent Deenen, Marketing Director at Grodan with more than 30 years of experience in the agricultural sector, a true veteran, says: “With e-Gro we are moving toward this new reality. For the past 50 years, Grodan, located in beautiful Roermond, in the Dutch province of Limburg, has grown from being a distributor concentrating solely on mineral wool substrate into a worldwide distributor of data-driven solutions such as e-Gro. Initially via an app and now also as an open software platform. This is where the terms data mining and machine learning come together. If you ask me, it’s a revolution.”
So how does this data mining and machine learning work?
Gursel Karacor, senior data scientist at Grodan and closely involved with the development of e-Gro reveals more information about this: “The greatest thing about e-Gro is that it keeps getting smarter; even daily, because the different data streams the system receives are applied 24/7 by the developed software in order to make better predictions.”
Gursel Karacor, senior data scientist at Grodan and closely involved with the development of e-Gro reveals more information about this: “The greatest thing about e-Gro is that it keeps getting smarter; even daily, because the different data streams the system receives are applied 24/7 by the developed software in order to make better predictions.”
Can you give an example?
Gursel doesn’t need to think long: “e-Gro now has a module for predicting tomato yield. To do this we gather all the data from the digital environment set up in the greenhouses. We’re talking about data on the plants (e.g. fruit size, stem density), greenhouse data (such as indoor temperature, light strength), environment data (outdoor temperature, wind speed) and crop data. This combination of data is necessary for ‘training’ a state-of-the-art machine learning model to better predict the coming weeks’ yield. By using the data the grower has more control over the production process and can therefore optimize production.”
And what about the AI?
“We use an artificial intelligence approach in which the grower also has a role. This means that we use data to extract useful information. We feed them with modern machine learning models and improve them even more with the knowledge and experience of experts. This way we can help growers make smarter and more efficient decisions,” says Gursel.
So growers really do have an active role?
“Certainly! We, in fact, combine artificial and human intelligence to achieve the best results. The grower’s own knowledge is very important. Indispensible, I’d say.”
And what role does technology play in the future of horticulture?
Gursel thinks, then answers: “As humans, we use our resources much more quickly than any other species. However, data technologies are developing at a high speed and this can help the greenhouse horticulture sector ‘grow’ fast too. The power of technology can make the difference in sustainable and efficient cultivation. I think it will become impossible to survive in the horticulture sector without using the available technology.”
“Certainly! We, in fact, combine artificial and human intelligence to achieve the best results. The grower’s own knowledge is very important. Indispensible, I’d say.”
And what role does technology play in the future of horticulture?
Gursel thinks, then answers: “As humans, we use our resources much more quickly than any other species. However, data technologies are developing at a high speed and this can help the greenhouse horticulture sector ‘grow’ fast too. The power of technology can make the difference in sustainable and efficient cultivation. I think it will become impossible to survive in the horticulture sector without using the available technology.”
Photo credit: Grodan
