[0001](Cross-reference to related application)
This application claims the benefit of priority to Japanese Patent Application No.
2019-239896 filed on December 27, 2019, the entire disclosure of which is hereby
incorporated herein by reference.
[0002] (Technical field)
The present invention relates to an agricultural work contract system and an agricultural work contract server. [BACKGROUND ART]
[0003] For example, Patent document 1 (Japanese Unexamined Patent Application
Publication No. 2019-128661) discloses an agriculture support apparatus which helps a farmer or a manager make work planning in the following manner: an image of a crop in an agricultural field is captured from above using an aerial vehicle such as a drone; growth data is generated on the basis of data of the captured image indicative of the growth of the crop; and a series of agricultural map data including the growth data (the map data includes agricultural field shape data, yield data, taste data, and the like) is visualized on a per-agricultural-field basis to prepare an agricultural map. [DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION]
[PROBLEMS TO BE SOLVED BY THE INVENTION]
[0004] Patent document 1 is based on the premise that there is good mutual trust between
the farmer or manager who makes work planning and a worker or contractor who actually does agricultural work. However, in practice, an independent farmer and a farming group often hire a worker to do agricultural work at a certain price, and there are cases in which a dispute arises between the farmer and the worker (contractor) regarding the quality of the agricultural work actually done or the price that the worker should be paid for work
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performance.
[0005] One specific example is a case in which, although a farmer and a contractor
agreed in their contract that the farmer would pay the contractor a certain wage for
agricultural work on the entire designated agricultural field, the contractor actually did not do
the work on a part of the designated agricultural field (the contractor is in default). In such a
case, the farmer asks the contractor to finish the work on the entire agricultural field
designated in the contract or argues to the contractor that the farmer will not pay any of the
price agreed upon in the contract, whereas the contractor argues to the farmer that the
contractor has finished the work on the entire agricultural field designated in the contract.
[0006] Another specific example is a case in which, although the contractor has done
harvesting work (for example, reaping work) on the entire agricultural field designated in a contract, threshing is insufficient (harvest loss has occurred) and the farmer cannot obtain their estimated or expected yield (yield rate). In such a case, the farmer argues to the contractor that the farmer will not pay any of the price agreed upon in the contract, whereas the contractor requests the farmer to pay the full price because the contractor has finished the work on the entire agricultural field agreed upon in the contract.
[0007] In these specific examples, if it is possible to clarify by evidence whether or not
the contractor has finished work on the entire agricultural field or whether or not the threshing
is sufficient, the dispute between the two can be reliably prevented or settled.
[0008] In view of the above-described issues, an object of the present invention is to
provide an agricultural work contract system which, by comparing images of an agricultural field captured before and after the contractor works, prevents or settles the dispute between the farmer and the contractor and builds mutual trust between the two. [MEANS OF SOLVING THE PROBLEMS]
[0009] An agricultural work contract system according to an aspect of the present
invention comprises: a farmer registration unit to register a farmer; a contractor registration unit to register a contractor who works using an agricultural machine on an agricultural field owned by the farmer registered in the farmer registration unit; an imaging device to capture a
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first agricultural field image and a second agricultural field image of the agricultural field on which the contractor registered in the contractor registration unit works, the first agricultural field image being captured before the contractor works, the second agricultural field image being captured after the contractor works; and a work-performance evaluating unit to evaluate work performance of the contractor by comparing the first agricultural field image and the second agricultural field image.
[0010] The imaging device captures the first agricultural field image before crop reaping
and captures the second agricultural field image after the crop reaping. The work-performance evaluating unit evaluates the work performance on the basis of the first agricultural field image and the second agricultural field image, the work performance being a yield rate of a crop planted on the agricultural field or an amount of an unreaped crop on the agricultural field.
[0011] The imaging device is provided on an aerial vehicle which captures the
agricultural field images of the agricultural field from above, the aerial vehicle flies above a
crop area of the agricultural field so that the imaging device captures the first agricultural field
image of the crop area before the crop reaping and the second agricultural field image of the
crop area after the crop reaping, and the work-performance evaluating unit determines the
yield rate or the amount of the unreaped crop on the basis of the first agricultural field image
of the crop area and the second agricultural field image of the crop area after the crop reaping.
[0012] The aerial vehicle includes a main body, an arm provided on the main body, and a
rotary wing provided on the arm, and the imaging device captures the second agricultural field image of the crop area after the crop reaping, from above in a direction of downwash caused by the rotary wing. The work-performance evaluating unit evaluates and ranks the work performance of each of a plurality of the contractors.
[0013] The agricultural work contract system further comprises: a farmer terminal to
receive farmer basic information from a client of the farmer and to communicate with the farming entity registration unit; and a contractor terminal to receive contractor basic information from the contractor who works using the agricultural machine and to
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communicate with the contractor registration unit, wherein the farmer registration unit registers the farmer basic information, and the contractor registration unit registers the contractor basic information.
[0014] The imaging device is provided on an aerial vehicle which captures the
agricultural field images of the agricultural field from above, the aerial vehicle captures, as the second agricultural field image, an image of a crop area after crop reaping. The agricultural work contract system includes: an image acquiring unit to measure, as a harvest loss (L), the number of pieces of an unreaped crop from the second agricultural field image captured after the crop reaping; and a measuring device provided on the agricultural machine and configured to detect a yield (N) of a crop, wherein the work-performance evaluating unit is configured to determine, as a yield rate (Y), the work performance of the contractor using the following equation:
Y = N / (N + L) ... (1).
[0015] An agricultural work contract server according to an aspect of the present
invention comprises: a farmer registration unit to register a farmer by receiving registration information on the farmer from a farmer terminal operated by a client of the farmer; a contractor registration unit to register registration information on a contractor who works using an agricultural machine from a contractor terminal operated by the contractor; an image acquiring unit to acquire, via an imaging device, a first agricultural field image and a second agricultural field image of the agricultural field on which the contractor registered in the contractor registration unit works, the first agricultural field image being captured before the contractor works, the second agricultural field image being captured after the contractor works; a work-performance evaluating unit to evaluate work performance of the contractor by comparing the first agricultural field image and the second agricultural field image. [EFFECTS OF THE INVENTION]
[0016] An aspect of the present invention makes it possible to provide an agricultural
work contract system which prevents or settles a dispute between a farmer and a contractor and which builds mutual trust between the two.
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[BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS]
[0017]
FIG. 1 schematically illustrates a general configuration of an agricultural work contract system according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a farmer terminal.
FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a contractor terminal.
FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of an agricultural work contract server according to an embodiment.
FIG. 5 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a drone.
FIG. 6 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of an agricultural machine.
FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing processing steps performed by an agricultural work contract server of an embodiment.
FIG. 8 illustrates a farmer basic information/entry screen displayed on an output device of a farmer terminal.
FIG. 9 illustrates a contractor basic information/entry screen displayed on an output device of a contractor terminal.
FIG. 10 illustrates a farmer-contractor/matching screen displayed on an output device of a farmer terminal.
FIG. 11 schematically illustrates a flight route/image capture pattern of a drone.
FIG. 12 illustrates grain contained in an unharvested object in an evaluation region of an agricultural field.
[MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION]
[0018] The following description discusses an agricultural work contract system
according to an embodiment of the present invention with reference to the accompanying
drawings. An agricultural work contract system is to build mutual trust between a farmer
and a contractor, and therefore preferably employs a bidding system that most ensures
transparency, competition, fairness, and economy based on the principle of equal opportunity.
[0019] Before a contract is made via bidding, a farmer is called an “auctioneer” who calls
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for bids to outsource specific agricultural work, and a worker is called a “bidder” who submits corresponding bids. After the contract is made, on the basis of the contract, the farmer is called a “client” who orders or outsources specific agricultural work, and the worker is called a “contract worker” who is hired to do agricultural work. That is, technically, the subjects are called by different names before and after the contract is made; however, in the present application, the auctioneer before the contract is made and the client after the contract is made are collectively referred to as “farmer”, and the bidder before the contract is made and the contract worker after the contract is made are collectively referred to as “contractor”, for convenience of description. Furthermore, the “farmer” includes an independent farmer, a farming company, an agricultural cooperative, and the like, and the “contractor” includes an independent contractor, a contractor group composed of a plurality of contractors, a contractors cooperative invested by a plurality of contractors and jointly run a contracting business, a profit-oriented contracting company, and the like.
[0020] In the present embodiment, the farmer owns an agricultural field, makes a contract
with a contractor appropriately selected via biding, has the contractor do certain agricultural
work in the agricultural field owned by the farmer and pays the contractor a price for the
agricultural work, and enjoys all the obtained products, crops, and the like. In contrast, the
contractor owns an agricultural machine such as a tractor or a combine, does certain
agricultural work in the agricultural field owned by the farmer, and enjoys a fair price for
providing the farmer with all the obtained products, crops, and the like.
[0021] [General configuration of agricultural work contract system]
The following description discusses a general configuration of an agricultural work contract system and a configuration of each constituent element of the agricultural work contract system with reference to FIGS. 1 to 4. FIG. 1 schematically illustrates a general configuration of an agricultural work contract system 1.
[0022] As illustrated in FIG. 1, the agricultural work contract system 1 according to the
present embodiment includes a plurality of farmer terminals 20 operated by farmers, a plurality of contractor terminals 30 operated by contractors, and an agricultural work contract
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server 10 capable of communication over a public network 5 such as the Internet. The agricultural work contract system 1 also includes drones 40 (also referred to as aerial vehicles or multicopters) and agricultural machines 80 such as a tractor 60 and a combine 70. Each drone 40 is equipped with an imaging device 41 and is capable of directly communicating with a corresponding farmer terminal 20. Each agricultural machine 80 is capable of directly communicating with a corresponding contractor terminal 30.
[0023] Note that, in the present embodiment, the drone 40 is under the management of a
farmer, a farming company, an agricultural machine manufacturer, an agricultural
cooperative, or the like, and the agricultural machine 80 is under the management of a
contractor, a contractor group, a contractors cooperative, a contracting company, or the like.
[0024] [Configurations of farmer terminals, contractor terminals, and agricultural work
contract server]
FIGS. 2 to 4 are block diagrams illustrating configurations of each farmer terminal 20, each contractor terminal 30, and the agricultural work contract server 10, respectively. The farmer terminal 20 and the contractor terminal 30 may each be a personal computer, a smartphone, a tablet computer, a personal digital assistant (PDA), or the like. The agricultural work contract server 10 (hereinafter simply referred to as a server) may be located in, for example, a farmhouse, a farming company, an agricultural machine manufacturer, an agricultural cooperative, or the like.
[0025] As illustrated in FIG. 2, the farmer terminal 20 is comprised of: hardware
including an input device 21 (such as a keyboard and/or a mouse) via which a farmer inputs
information, an output device 22 (such as a display) via which information is displayed to the
farmer, a storage device 23 (such as a nonvolatile memory) which stores information, a
communication device 24 capable of communicating with the server 10 and the drone 40, and
a control device 25 (such as CPU) which processes information in the farmer terminal 20; and
software (such as programs) which controls the information processing performed by the
farmer terminal 20.
[0026] Similarly, as illustrated in FIG. 3, the contractor terminal 30 is comprised of:
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hardware including an input device 31 (such as a keyboard and/or a mouse) via which a contractor inputs information, an output device 32 (such as a display) via which information is displayed to the contractor, a storage device 33 (such as a nonvolatile memory) which stores information, a communication device 34 capable of communicating with the server 10 and the agricultural machine 80, and a control device 35 (such as CPU) which processes information in the contractor terminal 30; and software (such as programs) which controls the information processing performed by the contractor terminal 30.
[0027] As illustrated in FIG. 4, the agricultural work contract server 10 includes a farmer
registration unit 11, a contractor registration unit 13, a server’s communication unit 15, an image acquiring unit 16, a matching unit 17, and a work-performance evaluating unit 18. The server’s communication unit 15 communicates with the farmer terminal 20 and the contractor terminal 30 via the public network 5. The image acquiring unit 16 acquires an image from the farmer terminal 20 via the public network 5. The farmer registration unit 11 and the contractor registration unit 13 receive information (various data) from the farmer terminal 20 and the contractor terminal 30, and send appropriate information (such as commands and e-mails) to the control devices 25 and 35 of the farmer terminal 20 and the contractor terminal 30, respectively. The matching unit 17 is configured to assist the farmer with selection of an appropriate contractor, and the work-performance evaluating unit 18 is configured to evaluate work performance of the contractor. The server 10 includes software (such as programs) which controls information processing performed by the above-described constituent elements (hardware).
[0028] Software which controls information processing performed by the server 10, the
farmer terminal 20, and the contractor terminal 30 will be described with reference to: a series of processing steps performed by constituent devices (hardware resources) shown in a flowchart of FIG. 7; and screens Q1 to Q3 displayed on the output devices 22 and 32 of the farmer terminal 20 and the contractor terminal 30 as illustrated in FIGS. 8 to 10. Note that the present invention is an invention in which information processing by software is concretely realized by hardware resources.
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[0029] (Farmer registration unit)
The farmer registration unit 11 of the agricultural work contract server 10 is configured to assist the farmer terminal 20 in order to collect farmer basic information and store the collected farmer basic information in a farmer database 12.
[0030] The farmer basic information includes, but is not limited to, farmer ID data,
agricultural field data, agricultural work data, and estimate data, as illustrated in FIG. 4. Specifically, the farmer ID data is data that identifies a farmer, and includes, for example, the name or designation (in cases where the farmer is a company or a group) of the farmer, email address, identification data (for example, MAC address) which identifies the farmer terminal 20, and/or the like. The agricultural field data (field data) is data that indicates an agricultural field (agricultural field) owned by the farmer, and indicates a physical region represented by a group of continuous points defined by latitude and longitude (agricultural field map) and the area thereof. The agricultural work data is data that indicates the type of crop (for example, paddy rice, barley, wheat, corn) which is to be planted or which has been planted on the agricultural field, the category of work (for example, cultivating, seeding, rice planting, harvesting), and the period of work (for example, May to June or the like). The estimate data is data that indicates an estimate of a price (wage) to be paid for agricultural work done by the contractor.
[0031] The farmer basic information is inputted via the farmer terminal 20 with the
assistance of the farmer registration unit 11, and is sent to the farmer registration unit 11 via
the public network 5 and the server’s communication unit 15. The farmer registration unit
11 stores, in the farmer database 12, the farmer basic information sent from the farmer
terminal 20.
[0032] (Contractor registration unit)
The contractor basic information includes, but is not limited to, contract worker ID data, agricultural machine data, contract area data, agricultural work data, and desired price data, as illustrated in FIG. 4. Specifically, the contract worker ID data is data that identifies a contractor, and includes, for example, the name of the contractor, the designation of or the
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name of a representative of a contractor group composed of a plurality of contractors (including contractors cooperative, contracting company, and the like), email address, and/or identification data (for example, MAC address) which identifies the contractor terminal 30. The agricultural machine data is data that identifies an agricultural machine owned by the contractor, and indicates, for example, the manufacturer, type, and model of the agricultural machine, a photo of the machine itself, the model of an implement that can be connected to the agricultural machine, and/or the like. The contract area data is data that indicates a region or prefecture in which the contractor can do agricultural work. The agricultural work data is data that indicates the type of crop for which agricultural work is to be done by the contractor, the category of agricultural work, and the period of agricultural work. The desired price data is data that indicates the price the contractor wishes to receive for certain agricultural work.
[0033] The contractor basic information is inputted via the contractor terminal 30 with
the assistance of the contractor registration unit 13, and is sent to the contractor registration
unit 13 via the public network 5 and the server’s communication unit 15. The contractor
registration unit 13 stores, in a contract worker database 14, the contractor basic information
sent from the contractor terminal 30.
[0034] (Matching unit)
The matching unit 17 is configured to assist the farmer with selection of an
appropriate contractor and assist the conclusion of a contract between the farmer and the
contractor. Specifically, the matching unit 17 checks together the farmer basic information
registered in the farmer registration unit 11 and the contractor basic information registered in
the contractor registration unit 13, and causes the farmer terminal 20 to display contractor(s)
which can provide agricultural work especially matching the agricultural work data indicative
of the farmer’s request. With this, the farmer selects an appropriate contractor, and the
conclusion of the contract between the farmer and the contractor is assisted.
[0035] (Work-performance evaluating unit)
The work-performance evaluating unit 18 is configured to evaluate work
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performance of the contractor on the basis of images (aerial images) of the agricultural field
captured from above using the imaging device 41 mounted on the drone 40 before and after
the contractor works. The work performance of the contractor is an indicator which
indicates whether agricultural work has been done properly by the contractor in accordance
with the contract. The work performance of the contractor includes, for example, an
indicator that indicates a harvest loss against the expected amount of harvest (expected yield)
which occurred because, in harvesting work (reaping work), threshing work by the contractor
and/or a threshing machine of the contractor was/were not efficient. The work performance
of the contractor also includes, for example: an indicator that indicates whether or not the
contractor has done the work on the entire agricultural field designated in the contract without
fail; and an indicator that indicates, if the work has not been done on a part of the agricultural
field and there is still an unworked region, the proportion of the unworked region to the entire
agricultural field.
[0036] [Specific configuration of drone]
As illustrated in FIG. 5, the drone 40 includes: a flight device 50 which makes it
possible for the drone 40 to fly; the imaging device 41 which captures an image of the
agricultural field from above; a position detecting device 42 which detects the position thereof
during flight; a memory reading device 43 to be equipped with a memory or the like in which
a flight route and an image capture pattern (described later) have been programmed; an
image/position data memory 44 in which the image captured by the imaging device 41 and the
position at which the image was captured are stored in associated with each other; a
communication device 45 which is capable of communicating with the farmer terminal 20;
and a control device 46 (such as CPU) which controls the devices of the drone 40.
[0037] As illustrated in FIG. 1, the flight device 50 includes: a body 51; a plurality of
arms 52 provided on the body 51; a rotary wing 53 provided on each arm 52, and skid(s) 54 provided on the body 51. The rotary wing 53 is a device that produces lift for flight, and includes: a rotor that gives a turning force; and blades (propeller) which are driven by the rotor to rotate.
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[0038] The imaging device 41 is configured to capture an image of the agricultural field
and/or a crop planted on the agricultural field from vertically above. The imaging device 41 may include, for example, an infrared camera which captures an image by admitting infrared light. The imaging device 41 may include a visible light camera and/or an ultraviolet camera which forms an image by admitting visible light and/or ultraviolet light.
[0039] The position detecting device 42 is configured to detect the position thereof
defined by latitude and longitude using a global positioning system (GPS). Specifically, the position detecting device 42 receives GPS signals (GPS radio waves) transmitted from a plurality of (three or more, preferably four or more) GPS satellites, and, on the basis of the difference between the time of issuance of each GPS signal and the time of receipt of the GPS signal, detects the position (i.e., latitude and longitude) relative to the GPS satellites. The position detecting device 42 may detect, as the position thereof (latitude and longitude), a position corrected with a correction signal from a base station which receives signals from the GPS satellites. The position detecting device 42 may include an inertial measurement unit such as a gyroscope sensor or an acceleration sensor and detect, as the position thereof, a position corrected by the inertial measurement unit.
[0040] The memory reading device 43 is configured to have detachably connected thereto
an electronic storage medium such as a USB memory or an SD card in which a predetermined flight route and/or an image capture pattern is/are stored.
[0041] The control device 46 is capable of: reading the flight route and/or the image
capture pattern pre-stored in the electronic storage medium connected to the memory reading device 43; controlling autonomous flight of the drone 40 (flight device 50); and controlling predetermined image capturing actions of the imaging device 41.
[0042] Furthermore, the control device 46 stores, in the image/position data memory 44, a
plurality of images of the agricultural field and/or crop captured by the imaging device 41 and position data which was obtained by the position detecting device 42 when the images were captured, in a manner such that the images and the position data are associated with each other. The image/position data memory 44 may be configured as a device to which an
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electronic storage medium such as a USB memory or an SD card is detachably connected, similarly to the memory reading device 43. Alternatively, the control device 46 may send, to the farmer terminal 20 in real time, a plurality of images associated with the position data during flight via the communication device 45.
[0043] The communication devices 24 and 45 of the farmer terminal 20 and the drone 40
may perform wireless communication through, for example, wireless fidelity (Wi-Fi) (registered trademark) under the IEEE802.11 series of communication standards, Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) (registered trademark), low-power, wide-area (LPWA), low-power wide-area network (LPWAN), or the like and may perform wireless communication over a mobile communication network, a data communication network, or the like.
[0044] Furthermore, the control device 46 of the drone 40 is capable of controlling the
foregoing rotary wings 53 (rotors), imaging device 41, position detecting device 42, memory
reading device 43, image/position data memory 44, and communication device 45 in
accordance with a command from the farmer terminal 20. That is, the drone 40 according to
the present embodiment is not only capable of capturing a predetermined image while
autonomously flying but also capable of capturing a predetermined image while flying in
accordance with a command from the farmer terminal 20 (by real-time remote control).
[0045] [Specific configuration of agricultural machine]
The agricultural machine 80 is: a tractor 60 or a rice transplanting machine having
attached thereto a working device such as an implement; a combine 70 which performs
harvesting; or the like. First, the tractor 60 is described as an example of the agricultural
machine 80.
[0046] (Tractor)
The tractor 60 is capable of, for example, doing agricultural work such as preparing
seedbed soil, applying soil to furrow, cultivating, seeding, applying fertilizer, planting rice,
puddling of a paddy, grooving, weeding, applying additional fertilizer, harvesting, and/or the
like.
[0047] As illustrated in FIG. 1, the tractor 60 includes: a traveling vehicle (traveling
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body) 62 which has a traveling device 61; a prime mover 63; and a transmission device 64. The traveling device 61 is a tire-type traveling device or a crawler-type traveling device. The prime mover 63 is a diesel engine, an electric motor, or the like. The transmission device 64 is capable of changing driving forces for the traveling device 61 by changing speed stages, and is also capable of switching the state of the traveling device 61 between forward and rearward traveling states. The traveling vehicle 62 is provided with a cabin 65, and the cabin 65 is provided with an operator’s seat 66 therein.
[0048] Furthermore, the traveling vehicle 62 is provided with, at the rear thereof, a
linkage 67 composed of a three-point linkage or the like. The linkage 67 can have a working device 68 attached thereto. By linking the working device 68 to the linkage 67, it is possible to allow the traveling vehicle 62 to tow the working device 68. The working device 68 is, for example, a cultivator for cultivation, a fertilizer applicator for applying fertilizer, a pesticide applicator for applying pesticide, a harvester for harvesting, a mower for mowing grass or the like, a tedder for tedding grass or the like, a rake for raking grass or the like, a baler for baling grass or the like.
[0049] Furthermore, the tractor 60 includes a state detecting device and a control device
(which are not illustrated). The state detecting device is a device to detect the operating state of the tractor 60, and is a sensor such as an accelerator pedal sensor, a shift lever detection sensor, a crank position sensor, a fuel sensor, a water temperature sensor, an engine rotation sensor, a steering angle sensor, an oil temperature sensor, an axle rotation sensor, or an amount-of-operation detection sensor, a switch such as an ignition switch, a parking brake switch, a PTO switch, an operating switch, or the like. The control device of the tractor 60 is a device (such as a CPU) to control the tractor. The control device controls a travelling system and a working system of the tractor 60 on the basis of, for example, a detected value detected by the state detecting device. For example, the control device of the tractor 60 detects, with the amount-of-operation detection sensor, the amount of operation of an operation tool for raising and lowering the linkage 67 and performs control to raise or lower the linkage 67 on the basis of the amount of operation, and controls the speed of rotation of
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the diesel engine on the basis of the amount of operation detected by the accelerator pedal sensor. Note that the control device of the tractor 60 is not limited as to its control method, provided that the control device controls the working system and the travelling system of the tractor 60.
[0050] The tractor 60 may include a position detecting device and a communication
device (which are not illustrated) which are similar to the position detecting device 42 and the
communication device 45 of the drone 40. The tractor 60 may detect the position (latitude
and longitude) thereof using the position detecting device and may send the position data to
the contractor terminal 30 using the communication device. The position detecting device of
the tractor 60 may, similarly to the position detecting device 42 of the drone 40, receive
signals from GPS satellites and detect position information thereof defined by latitude and
longitude. Furthermore, the communication device of the tractor 60 may communicate with
the contractor terminal 30 in accordance with a communication standard similar to that for the
communication device 45 of the drone 40 (Wi-Fi (registered trademark) under the
IEEE802.11 series).
[0051] (Combine)
Next, a combine is described. FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing main constituent
components of the combine 70. As illustrated in FIG. 1, the combine 70 includes a vehicle
body 71, a prime mover 72, a grain tank 73, a reaping device 74, a threshing device 75 (FIG.
6), and a measuring device 76. The prime mover 72, the grain tank 73, and the threshing
device 75 are provided on the vehicle body 71. The reaping device 74 is provided at the
front of the vehicle body 71. The reaping device 74 is a device to reap grain. The
threshing device 75 is a device to thresh the reaped grain. The grain tank 73 is a tank to
store the threshed grain. That is, only the threshed grain is stored in the grain tank 73, and
those other than the grain (for example, rice straw) are left on the agricultural field.
[0052] The measuring device 76 includes: a taste sensor (spectral analyzer) to measure
the moisture content and the protein content of a harvested crop; and a yield sensor to measure the yield (total kernel weight) of the harvested crop. That is, the measuring device
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76 is capable of detecting the moisture content and the protein content of a crop and the yield of the crop.
[0053] The combine 70 includes a position detecting device 77 which receives signals
from GPS satellites and detects position information thereof defined by latitude and longitude, similarly to the position detecting device 42 of the drone 40. Furthermore, as illustrated in FIG. 6, the combine 70 may include a communication device 79 similar to the communication device 45 of the drone 40, and the communication device 79 may communicate with the contractor terminal 30 in accordance with a communication standard (Wi-Fi (registered trademark) under the IEEE802.11 series).
[0054] The combine 70 includes a yield/taste/position memory 78 composed of a
nonvolatile memory or the like. The combine 70 may cause the yield/taste/position memory
78 to store data indicative of the moisture content and protein content of a crop and the yield
of the crop in a manner such that the data is associated with the position data indicative of the
position at which the crop was harvested. Alternatively, the combine 70 may transmit the
data to the contractor terminal 30 in real time using the communication device 79.
[0055] This makes it possible for the contractor terminal 30 to collect and evaluate data
indicative of the moisture content and protein content of a crop and the yield of the crop on a per-agricultural-field basis or on a per-segment basis (a segment is one of the segments into which the agricultural field is divided). Note that it is preferable that the moisture content and protein content of a crop and the yield of the crop, together with the position data indicative of the position at which the crop was harvested, are sent also to the farmer terminal 20 via the public network 5 and/or the server 10.
[0056] In the present embodiment, an object which is reaped by the reaping device 74 and
stored in the grain tank 73 is referred to as a harvested object (including grain), and an object which is left on the agricultural field (for example, rice straw) is referred to as an unharvested object. If grain is contained in the unharvested object, this causes a threshing loss and causes a decrease in yield of grain contained in the harvested object. Therefore, the combine 70 needs to properly perform threshing in order to prevent or minimize threshing loss. In
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other words, if a lot of grain is contained in the unharvested object left on the agricultural
field, it can be evaluated that the work performance of the agricultural work of the contractor
including work performance of the combine 70 is low.
[0057] [Pre-registration in farmer registration unit of agricultural work contract server]
The following description discusses a series of processing steps performed by the agricultural work contract system 1, with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG. 7. In step ST01 in FIG. 7, a farmer pre-registers farmer basic information about themselves in the farmer registration unit 11 of the agricultural work contract server 10 via the farmer terminal 20.
[0058] The farmer prepares a precise map (physical region) of the agricultural field which
is owned by the farmer and which is divided into segments, and determines the area of the
agricultural field. In particular, the area of the agricultural field greatly affects the amount of
harvest and workload and may often result in a dispute between the farmer and the contractor,
and therefore the area of the agricultural field is preferably as precise as possible.
[0059] Specifically, for example, the farmer controls the drone 40 remotely from the
farmer terminal 20 so that the drone 40 flies along ridges of the agricultural field to capture image(s) of the agricultural field, and designates, while viewing the captured image on the output device 22, a plurality of points that define the outline of the agricultural field. The position detecting device 42 of the drone 40 detects position information (longitude and latitude) at the points on the outline of the agricultural field designated by the farmer. Alternatively, for example, the farmer may manually operate the tractor 60 so that the tractor 60 travels along ridges or the like of the agricultural field and may detect position information (longitude and latitude) indicating the outline of the agricultural field detected by the position detecting device of the tractor 60 during travel.
[0060] The control device 46 of the drone 40 controls the communication device 45 of
the drone 40 to send, to the farmer terminal 20, the position information indicating the detected outline of the agricultural field. Alternatively, the control device 81 of the combine 70 controls the communication device 79 of the agricultural machine 80 to send, to the farmer
17

terminal 20, the position information indicating the detected outline of the agricultural field.
[0061] For the purpose of detecting the position information indicating the outline of the
agricultural field, the agricultural work contract server 10 may acquire graphic data of a map
including the agricultural field from a map provider company or the like via the public
network 5 and cause the output device 22 of the farmer terminal 20 to display the graphic
data. The farmer may acquire the position information of the agricultural field by
designating a plurality of points defining the outline of their own agricultural field on the map
displayed on the output device 22 with use of the input device 21 (such as a pointer).
[0062] The control device 25 of the farmer terminal 20 prepares a map from the position
information indicating the outline of the agricultural field detected by the position detecting device 42 or 77, and calculates the area of the agricultural field. The map of the agricultural field and the area of the agricultural field are collectively referred to as agricultural field data. When the farmer owns a plurality of agricultural fields (for example, agricultural fields A, B,
C, and D), position information indicating the outline of each agricultural field is detected
using the drone 40 or the tractor 60, and the areas of these agricultural fields are calculated
(for example, agricultural field A = 200 ares, agricultural field B = 300 ares, agricultural field
C = 180 ares, and agricultural field D = 120 ares). The map of the agricultural field and the
area of the agricultural field (agricultural field data) are stored in the storage device 23 of the
farmer terminal 20.
[0063] Furthermore, the farmer decides which crop to plant in each agricultural field.
For example, the farmer may decide to plant rice in the agricultural field A, wheat in the agricultural field B, corn in the agricultural field C, and soybeans in the agricultural field D. Note, however, that in the present embodiment, rice is planted in the agricultural fields A to
D, for easy understanding of the present invention.
[0064] Next, the farmer logs in to the agricultural work contract server 10 via the farmer
terminal 20, and pre-registers farmer basic information in the agricultural work contract server 10. Specifically, when the farmer has logged in to the agricultural work contract server 10 and requested pre-registration of farmer basic information, the farmer registration unit 11
18

causes, in response to such a request, the output device 22 of the farmer terminal 20 to display a farmer basic information/entry screen Q1 (FIG. 8) via which the farmer basic information is to be inputted.
[0065] The farmer basic information displayed on the farmer basic information/entry
screen Q1 of FIG. 8 includes: the name or designation of the farmer (farmer ID); e-mail
address; agricultural field data identifying the agricultural field (field); the type of crop which
the farmer wishes to plant in the agricultural field or which has been planted in the
agricultural field (crop); the category of agricultural work that the farmer wishes to be done
on the agricultural field (agricultural work content); the period of agricultural work
(agricultural work period); and estimate data that indicates an estimate of a price to be paid
for agricultural work done on the agricultural filed by the contractor (estimate).
[0066] The farmer enters the name or designation of the farmer, e-mail address, and
agricultural field data (for example, agricultural field A) in text form using the input device 21
of the farmer terminal 20, and, upon clicking on the “map” button displayed in a right part of
the agricultural field data, information on the map of the agricultural field (including address)
and the area of the agricultural field stored in the storage device 23 of the farmer terminal 20
are read and displayed on the entry screen Q1. It is noted here that the agricultural work
contract server 10 may access a map database such as Google Maps (registered trademark) via
the public network 5 to acquire a wide-area satellite image including the address of the
agricultural field and display the satellite image on the entry screen Q1 in a manner such that
the satellite image and the map of the agricultural field are superimposed together.
[0067] Furthermore, on the entry screen Q1, the farmer can select one of the options from
a pull-down menu by clicking, with use of the input device 21, the “▼” (down-pointing triangle) displayed on the right side of each of the following: the type of crop (crop), the category of agricultural work (agricultural work content), and the period of agricultural work (agricultural work period). In the present embodiment, assume that the farmer has selected, on the entry screen Q1, “rice” as the type of crop and “harvesting (reaping)”as the agricultural work content (category). Furthermore, the farmer enters “October 2, 2019 to October 9,
19

2019” as the agricultural work period on the entry screen Q1 in text form, and enters, for example, “18,000” JPY (per 10 ares) in text form as the estimate (estimate) of a price to be paid to the contractor if the contractor does the work of harvesting rice planted on the agricultural field A in October 2, 2019 to October 9, 2019.
[0068] After the farmer has inputted all the farmer basic information, upon clicking on
the “Register” button displayed in a lower right part of the entry screen Q1, the farmer
terminal 20 sends all the farmer basic information to the agricultural work contract server 10.
[0069] After receipt of the farmer basic information, the agricultural work contract server
10 automatically assigns a unique farmer registration number to the farmer basic information, and registers the farmer basic information accompanying the farmer registration number in the farmer database 12. The agricultural work contract server 10 also sends, to the e-mail address of the farmer, an e-mail indicating that the registration has been completed and including the farmer registration number and the farmer basic information for farmer’s confirmation of the completed registration.
[0070] The entry screen Q1 displayed on the output device 22 of the farmer terminal 20
may be maintained until the “Back” button is pressed. With regard to another agricultural
field (agricultural field B), the farmer may enter the above-described farmer basic information
on the entry screen Q1 with regard to the same crop (rice) and the same agricultural work
content (harvesting (reaping)) and send, to the agricultural work contract server 10 by clicking
on the “Register” button, the farmer basic information newly entered with regard to the
agricultural field B. Furthermore, with regard to other agricultural fields (agricultural fields
C and D), the farmer may enter the above-described farmer basic information on the entry
screen Q1, and send, to the agricultural work contract server 10 by clicking on the “Register”
button, the farmer basic information newly entered with regard to the agricultural field B. In
this way, the agricultural work contract server 10 collects farmer basic information regarding
the plurality of agricultural fields A to D owned by the farmer and stores the farmer basic
information in the farmer database 12 of the agricultural work contract server 10.
[0071] The farmer basic information stored in the farmer database 12 of the agricultural
20

work contract server 10 is exposed to contractors. Specifically, each contractor can see the
farmer basic information about each of the agricultural fields A to D on the output device 32
of the contractor terminal 30 via communication between the agricultural work contract server
10 and the contractor terminal 30.
[0072] [Pre-registration in contractor registration unit of agricultural work contract
server]
Next, in step ST02 of FIG. 7, a contractor pre-registers contractor basic information about themselves in the contractor registration unit 13 of the agricultural work contract server 10 using the contractor terminal 30. Specifically, when the contractor has logged in to the agricultural work contract server 10 and requested pre-registration of contractor basic information, the contractor registration unit 13 causes, in response to such a request, the output device 32 of the contractor terminal 30 to display a contractor basic information/entry screen Q2 (FIG. 9) via which the contractor basic information is to be inputted. [0073] The contractor basic information displayed on the contractor basic information/entry screen Q2 in FIG. 9 includes: the name or designation of the contractor (contract worker ID); e-mail address; agricultural machine owned by the contractor (manufacturer, type, and model); area in which the contractor can do agricultural work (contract area); type of crop for which agricultural work is done (crop); the category of the agricultural work done by the contractor (agricultural work content) and the period of agricultural work (agricultural work period); a desired price the contractor wishes to receive for doing agricultural work in the agricultural field per 10 ares; and a photo of the agricultural machine itself which is to be actually used for the agricultural work.
[0074] The contractor enters the name or designation of the contractor and e-mail address in text form using the input device 31 of the contractor terminal 30. Furthermore, on the entry screen Q2, the contractor can select one of the options from a pull-down menu by clicking, with use of the input device 31, the “▼” (down-pointing triangle) displayed on the right side of each of the following: the manufacturer, type, and model of the agricultural machine owned by the contractor; the range of a region in which the contractor can do
21

agricultural work (contract area); type of crop (crop); the category of the agricultural work
(agricultural work content); and the period of agricultural work (period). Furthermore, upon
pressing the “photo” button on the entry screen Q2 using the input device 31, a list of one or
more photos of agricultural machine(s) itself pre-stored in the storage device 33 of the
contractor terminal 30 is displayed, and the contractor can select, from the list, a photo of the
agricultural machine itself which is to be actually used for the agricultural work.
[0075] In the present embodiment, assume that the contractor has selected, on the entry
screen Q2, “Kubota” as the manufacturer of the agricultural machine, “Combine” as type, and “WR470N” as model, and selected “Osaka prefecture” as contract area, “rice” as the type of crop, “Harvesting (reaping)” as the agricultural work content, and “October 1, 2019 to October 10, 2019” as the agricultural work period. Furthermore, the contractor enters, for example, “16,500” JPY in text form as the desired price (desired price) to be paid for the work of harvesting rice planted in an agricultural field per 10 ares. Moreover, the contractor causes a photo of the agricultural machine itself, which is to be actually used for the agricultural work, to be read from the storage device 33 of the contractor terminal 30 and displayed on the entry screen Q2.
[0076] After the contractor has inputted all the contractor basic information, upon
clicking on the “Register” button displayed in a lower right part of the entry screen Q2, the contractor terminal 30 sends all the contractor basic information to the agricultural work contract server 10.
[0077] After receipt of the farmer basic information, the agricultural work contract server
10 automatically assigns a unique contractor registration number to the contractor basic
information, and registers the contractor basic information accompanying the contractor
registration number in the contract worker database 14. The agricultural work contract
server 10 also sends, to the e-mail address of the contractor, an e-mail indicating that the
registration has been completed and including the contractor registration number and the
contractor basic information for contractor’s confirmation of the completed registration.
[0078] The entry screen Q2 displayed on the output device 32 of the contractor terminal
22

30 may be maintained until the “Back” button is pressed. Then, with regard to another
agricultural machine, another contract area, another crop (such as wheat), another agricultural
work period, and/or another agricultural work (such as rice planting), the contractor may enter
the above-described contractor basic information on the entry screen Q2 and send, to the
agricultural work contract server 10 by clicking on the “Register” button, the contractor basic
information newly entered with regard to the other agricultural machine, the other contract
area, the other crop, the other agricultural work period, and the other agricultural work. In
this way, the agricultural work contract server 10 collects contractor basic information
including the agricultural machine owned by the contractor and stores the contractor basic
information in the contract worker database 14 of the agricultural work contract server 10.
[0079] Note that the work-performance evaluating unit 18 of the agricultural work
contract server 10 according to the present embodiment evaluates work performance (for example, the degree of properness of agricultural work, harvest loss against the expected yield, and/or the like) regarding agricultural work which was done by each contractor in the past (described later in detail). The work-performance evaluating unit 18 evaluates, using evaluation points (for example, on a ten-point scale), work performance regarding agricultural work which was done by each contractor in the past, and, for example, with regard to a single type of agricultural work, ranks each contractor registered in the contract worker database 14 (assigns a work performance rank) according to the evaluation point.
[0080] Work performance ranking histories, accompanying the agricultural works of the
contractors, are stored in the contract worker database 14 of the agricultural work contract server 10. Note that the grounds for the evaluation of the work performance regarding agricultural work, performed by the work-performance evaluating unit 18, are based on images of the agricultural field captured from above by the imaging device 41 mounted on the drone 40 before and after the agricultural work is done by the contractor, and therefore are highly objective and verifiable.
[0081] Furthermore, the farmer terminal 20 and the agricultural work contract server 10
communicate with each other, and thereby not only the contractor basic information stored in
23

the contract worker database 14 of the agricultural work contract server 10 but also the work
performance rank (evaluation point) is exposed to the farmer. That is, the farmer terminal 20
and the agricultural work contract server 10 communicate with each other, thereby allowing
the farmer to see the contractor basic information and the work performance rank (evaluation
point) of each contractor on the output device 22 of the farmer terminal 20.
[0082] (Matching between farmer and contractor)
The agricultural work contract system 1 according to the present invention can also be used as a matching system which is used in order for a farmer to select an appropriate contractor in terms of a specific agricultural field, agricultural work, and/or period. Specifically, as illustrated in FIG. 4, the agricultural work contract server 10 includes a matching unit 17 to assist the farmer with selection of an appropriate contractor and assist the conclusion of a contract between the farmer and the contractor.
[0083] After the foregoing pre-registration in the farmer registration unit 11 and the
contractor registration unit 13 of the agricultural work contract server 10 is completed, in step ST03 of FIG. 7, when the farmer terminal 20 has logged in to the agricultural work contract server 10 again and sent the farmer registration number, the output device 22 of the farmer terminal 20 again displays the entry screen Q1 of FIG. 8 in accordance with the farmer registration number. The entry screen Q1 is provided with the “Search” button. When the farmer has clicked on the “Search” button, the matching unit 17 of the agricultural work contract server 10 compares the farmer basic information accompanying the farmer registration number and all contractor basic information, and causes the output device 22 of the farmer terminal 20 to display a plurality of contractors which match the farmer basic information. As illustrated in a matching screen Q3 in FIG. 10, the matching unit 17 causes the output device 22 of the farmer terminal 20 to display a plurality of pieces of contractor basic information which match the farmer basic information of the farmer. Furthermore, by clicking on the “photo” button in each farmer basic information on the matching screen Q3, the farmer can cause the output device 22 of the farmer terminal 20 to display a photo of the agricultural machine itself registered in the contract worker database 14.
24

[0084] Specifically, the matching unit 17 searches the contract worker database 14
according to the following matching conditions: the agricultural field A of the farmer is included in the contract area of the contractor; the type of crop (rice) and the category of agricultural work (harvesting, reaping) are the same between the farmer and the contractor; at least part of the agricultural work period (October 2 to October 9) of the farmer is included in the agricultural work period (October 1 to October 10) of the contractor; and the desired price for agricultural work per 10 ares is equal to or less than the estimate (JPY 18,000) of the farmer.
[0085] Furthermore, as illustrated in the matching screen Q3 in FIG. 10, the matching
unit 17 causes the output device 22 of the farmer terminal 20 to display the number of contractors which match the matching conditions (the number of matched contractors), contractor basic information of each contractor, and the work performance rank (evaluation point) of each contractor.
[0086] It is noted here that the farmer makes a decision to select which contractor they
wish to make a contract with particularly in consideration of the desired prices of the
contractors, the work performance ranks (evaluation points) of the contractors, and/or the like
and, on the matching screen Q3, clicks on the “Choose (make a contract)” button provided
below the selected contractor ID (for example, ICHIRO Kubota). With this, a contract
between the farmer and the contractor is made. Then, the matching unit 17 sends, to the
contractor terminal 30, an e-mail which indicates that the contract has been made and which
includes next procedures, the process of the agricultural work, and the like, and registers the
content of the e-mail in the farmer database 12 and/or the contract worker database 14.
[0087] Note that, if the number of matched contract workers is zero, the “Edit farmer
basic information” button provided below the farmer ID may be clicked on the matching screen Q3 to go back to the farmer basic information/entry screen Q1, and the farmer basic information may be changed so that many contractors would match the farmer basic information by, for example, reducing the price estimate (estimate) or changing (widening) the agricultural work period.
25

[0088] On the contrary, if the number of matched contract workers is too large, similarly,
the “Edit farmer basic information” button may be clicked on the matching screen Q3 to go
back to the farmer basic information/entry screen Q1 and, for example, the price estimate
(estimate) may be increased or the agricultural work period may be narrowed to reduce the
number of matched contract workers.
[0089] As such, the matching unit 17 of the agricultural work contract server 10
according to the present embodiment makes it possible to assist the farmer with selection of
an appropriate contractor and assist the conclusion of a contract between the farmer and the
contractor.
[0090] [Capture aerial image of agricultural field before agricultural work]
After the conclusion of the contract but before the contractor does agricultural work (in step ST04 of FIG. 7), the farmer operates the farmer terminal 20 to operate the drone 40 to capture an image of a crop (rice) planted on the agricultural field A from above.
Specifically, the farmer sets a flight route of the drone 40 using the farmer terminal 20. The flight route is set to entirely cover the agricultural field A including the outline of the agricultural field A. In cases of flight routes at lower altitudes, clearer images can be obtained but the field of view that can be captured is narrower and the number of image frames is larger, although it depends on the resolution of the imaging device 41. Note that, according to drone aviation law, the flight altitude of the drone 40 needs be less than 150 meters if there is no permission or approval to fly the drone 40.
[0091] The image captured by the imaging device 41 of the drone 40 may be a moving
image captured continuously during the flight, and may be a plurality of discrete still images
captured while the drone 40 is hovering at different positions horizontally spaced apart at
predetermined intervals along the flight route. That is, the farmer may set the flight route of
the drone 40 and set an image capture pattern in which the imaging device 41 captures
image(s) (for example, a continuous moving image captured during flight or a plurality of
discrete still images captured during hovering) using the farmer terminal 20.
[0092] The farmer, after setting the flight route of the drone 40 and setting the image
26

capture pattern of the imaging device 41 using the farmer terminal 20, for example, inserts a USB memory into a USB port of the farmer terminal 20 and causes the USB memory to store the flight route and the image capture pattern. Next, the farmer inserts, into the memory reading device 43 of the drone 40, the USB memory which stores therein the flight route and the image capture pattern.
Before the agricultural work is done by the contractor but after the farmer has
operated the farmer terminal 20 to activate the drone 40, the drone 40 autonomously flies
along the preset flight route and the imaging device 41 captures image(s) of the agricultural
field A from above in the predetermined image capture pattern.
[0093] [Agricultural work by contractor]
In step ST05 of FIG. 7, the contractor does the work of harvesting (reaping) rice in the agricultural field A with use of their own combine 70, in accordance with the contract. The combine 70 detects the moisture content and protein content of the crop and the yield of the crop with use of the measuring device 76, and sends the moisture content and protein content of the crop and the yield of the crop not only to the contractor terminal 30 but also to the farmer terminal 20.
[0094] [Capture aerial image of agricultural field after agricultural work (evaluate
agricultural work done by contractor)]
After the agricultural work has been done by the contractor, the farmer first measures the weight of the harvested object stored in the grain tank 73 as a net yield (N). With regard to harvesting work, if the threshing work and/or threshing machine of the contractor is/are not efficient, the weight of grain contained in an unharvested object left on the agricultural field (harvest loss) increases. The harvest loss (L) is the weight of grain which was supposed to be harvested; therefore, work performance, i.e., yield rate (Y), can be defined by the following equation:
Y = N / (N + L) ... (1).
[0095] Next, in step ST06 of FIG. 7, the farmer sets a flight route and an image capture
pattern of the drone 40 with use of the farmer terminal 20. The flight route and the image
27

capture pattern for use in capturing an aerial image of the agricultural field after the
agricultural work may be the same as or different from the flight route and the image capture
pattern used in capturing an aerial image of the agricultural field before the agricultural work.
[0096] FIG. 11 illustrates a specific example showing a flight route R and an image
capture pattern of the imaging device 41 for use in capturing an aerial image of the
agricultural field after the agricultural work. The flight route R of the drone 40 is, as
indicated by a solid line in FIG. 11, a zigzag flight route which runs from a start point S to an
end point E and in which the drone 41 covers the entire agricultural field A by flying the
shortest possible distance, and the flight altitude is relatively low (for example, 3 meters).
The image capture pattern is composed of a plurality of discrete still images captured at points
(points P represented by filled circles in FIG. 11) at which the drone 40 hovers and which are
horizontally spaced apart at predetermined intervals (for example, 5 meters).
[0097] After the flight route R and the image capture pattern are set, the drone 40
autonomously flies along the pre-set flight route R, and the imaging device 41 captures still images of the agricultural field A from vertically above in the predetermined image capture pattern.
[0098] When the drone 40 is hovering low, the following occurs: downwash (strong
downward airstream) is produced by rotation of the rotary wings 53 of the drone 40, the
downward airflow blows against the unharvested object left on the agricultural field below the
rotary wings 53, and rice straw which is more lightweight than grain (unhulled rice) is blown
away greatly. This makes it possible for the imaging device 41 to easily capture an image of
grain (unhulled rice) contained in the unharvested object left on the agricultural field A.
[0099] FIG. 12(a) and FIG. 12(b) are each an enlarged view of a still image of the
agricultural field A captured by the imaging device 41 from vertically above in a region 90 enclosed by a dashed line in FIG. 11. In the enlarged view, pieces of grain C (unhulled rice) are depicted with emphasis. The region 90, which is enclosed by a dot-dash line in FIG. 12(a) and FIG. 12(b), is an evaluation region 90 in which rice straw has been blown away greatly by downwash and which is for evaluation of the harvest loss (L). The image of the
28

evaluation region 90, together with its corresponding position information, is sent to the image acquiring unit 16 of the agricultural work contract server 10 via the farmer terminal 20 and the public network 5.
[0100] The image acquiring unit 16 performs image recognition on grain (unhulled rice)
contained in the unharvested object in a plurality of the evaluation regions 90, and measures the number of pieces of grain C (unhulled rice). FIG. 12(a) shows pieces of grain (unhulled rice) in the evaluation region 90 in the case where the harvest loss (L) is large, and FIG. 12(b) shows pieces of grain (unhulled rice) in the evaluation region 90 in the case where the harvest loss (L) is small.
[0101] The work-performance evaluating unit 18 evaluates the harvest loss (L) as being,
for example, 3% based on the image of FIG. 12(a), and evaluates the harvest loss (L) as being,
for example, 0.5% based on the image of FIG. 12(b). Furthermore, the work-performance
evaluating unit 18 determines an average harvest loss (La) over the entire agricultural field A
from the harvest losses (L) of the respective plurality of evaluation regions 90.
[0102] The pieces of grain C (unhulled rice) have a unique shape different from rice
straw and the like, and therefore the work-performance evaluating unit 18 can employ an
artificial intelligence (AI) technique to accurately estimate the harvest loss (L) from the image
of each evaluation region 90. Specifically, a large number of images with training data
associated with harvest losses (L) are prepared, and a trained model is made in advance via
machine learning using the images with training data. The work-performance evaluating
unit 18 is capable of estimating the harvest loss (L) with high reliability by applying the
trained model on an image of each evaluation region 90 captured by the imaging device 41.
[0103] Furthermore, water molecules have light absorption characteristics in which near
infrared light (wavelength is, for example, 970 nm) is likely to be absorbed, and the moisture content of grain (unhulled rice) is greater than that of rice straw; therefore, capturing an image using a near-infrared camera clarifies the difference between the grain (unhulled rice) and rice straw and the like and makes it easier to make a clear distinction between the grain (unhulled rice) and rice straw and the like.
29

[0104] The work-performance evaluating unit 18 transmits the position data of each of
the plurality of evaluation regions 90 and the harvest loss (L) of each of the plurality of evaluation regions 90 to the farmer terminal 20 and the contractor terminal 30.
[0105] Note that a reason why harvest loss (L) occurs is inferred to be that, for example,
the threshing device 75 of the combine 70 has inferior threshing performance or that the
combine 70 did not receive proper maintenance or the like and therefore was often clogged
with unthreshed rice straw and the contractor left the combine 70 on the agricultural field
without properly removing the rice straw. In the former case, substantially equal amounts of
grain (unhulled rice) are recognized by image recognition in still images of a plurality of
evaluation regions 90 (points P represented by filled circles in FIG. 11), whereas, in the latter
case, a great number of pieces of grain (unhulled rice) are recognized by image recognition in
a still image of a specific evaluation region 90.
[0106] [Add work performance rank of contractor to contractor registration unit]
In step ST07 of FIG. 7, the work-performance evaluating unit 18 registers a work performance rank of the contractor in the contract worker database 14 of the agricultural work contract server 10. Specifically, the work-performance evaluating unit 18 calculates the yield rate (Y) in the entire agricultural field A based on the position data of each of the plurality of evaluation regions 90 and the harvest loss (L) of each of the plurality of evaluation regions 90 (or based on the average harvest loss (La)) using the foregoing equation (1). Furthermore, after the agricultural work is done by the contractor, the work-performance evaluating unit 18 evaluates, using evaluation points (for example, on a ten-point scale), the productivity of the contractor based on the yield rate (Y) or the harvest loss (L) in the entire agricultural field A, ranks (adds work performance ranks to) all contractors, and registers the ranks in the contract worker database 14. Information (work performance rank and evaluation point) about the productivity of each contractor, registered in the contract worker database 14, is stored as historical information of the productivity of the contractor. In the future, the farmer can make use of the historical information of the productivity of each contractor as information based on which the farmer selects a contractor.
30

[0107] The farmer may request the contractor to reduce the wage (price) depending on
the harvest loss (L) of the contractor. For example, if the average harvest loss (La) is 3%,
the farmer may request the contractor to reduce the wage (price) by, for example, 3%. The
contract may previously include a clause stipulating that the wage (price) will be reduced if
the average harvest loss (La) greater than a predetermined level occurs.
[0108] (Variation 1)
The agricultural work contract server 10 according to the above-described embodiment is configured such that, after the harvesting work is done by the contractor, grain (unhulled rice) contained in the unharvested object is subjected to image recognition and the number of pieces of the grain (unhulled rice) is measured, thereby determining the harvest loss (L) and the yield rate (Y) in the entire agricultural field A. However, the present invention is not limited as such.
[0109] A work-performance evaluating unit 18 according to Variation 1 of the above-
described embodiment compares an image of an agricultural field in which harvesting work is to be done according to the contract, i.e., an image of an agricultural field before harvesting work is done by the contractor (such an image is a first agricultural field image), and an image of the agricultural field after the harvesting work is done by the contractor (such an image is a second agricultural field image), and, if the harvesting work has not been done in a region of the agricultural field in which the harvesting was supposed to be performed, the work-performance evaluating unit 18 determines that there is an unreaped crop.
[0110] Specifically, if the work-performance evaluating unit 18 has determined that there
is an unreaped crop, the work-performance evaluating unit 18 evaluates, as work performance (unreaped rate), the proportion of the area of the agricultural field in which the harvesting work has not been done to the total area of the agricultural field in which the harvesting was supposed to be performed. If there is an unreaped crop in, for example, 5% of the total area of the agricultural field based on the images of the agricultural field before and after the harvesting work is done by the contractor, the work-performance evaluating unit 18 evaluates the unreaped rate as being 5% and calculates the work performance to be 95% (= 100% - 5%).
31

[0111] Furthermore, after the agricultural work is done by the contractor, the work-
performance evaluating unit 18 evaluates, using evaluation points (for example, on a ten-point scale), the productivity of the contractor based on the unreaped rate of the entire agricultural field A, ranks (adds work performance ranks to) all contractors, and registers the ranks in the contract worker database 14.
[0112] A reason why some crop is left unreaped is inferred to be that, for example, the
combine 70 operated by the contractor did not travel a proper route, that the contractor could not finish the harvesting work within the agricultural work period agreed upon in the contract, or that the contractor did not correctly understand the range of the agricultural field A agreed upon in the contract.
[0113] Similarly, the farmer may request the contractor to reduce the wage (price)
depending on the unreaped rate. If the unreaped rate is 5%, the farmer may request the
contractor to reduce the wage (price) by, for example, 5%. The contract may previously
include a clause stipulating that, if there is an unreaped crop, the wage (price) will be reduced
accordingly.
[0114] (Variation 2)
A work-performance evaluating unit 18 according to Variation 2 of the above-
described embodiment compares an image of an agricultural field before rice planting work is
done by the contractor (such an image is a first agricultural field image) and an image of the
agricultural field after the rice planting work is done by the contractor (such an image is a
second agricultural field image), and, if the rice planting work has not been done in a region
of the agricultural field in which the rice planting work was supposed to be done, the work-
performance evaluating unit 18 determines that there is a region with no rice planted.
[0115] Specifically, if the work-performance evaluating unit 18 has determined that there
is a region with no rice planted, the work-performance evaluating unit 18 evaluates, as work performance (non-planted rate), the proportion of the area of the agricultural field left with no rice planted to the total area of the agricultural field in which rice was supposed to be planted. As the non-planted rate increases, the estimated yield rate in the agricultural field A (the total
32

amount of harvested grain) decreases. If the area of the region with no rice planted is, for example, 2% of the total area of the agricultural field based on the images of the agricultural field before and after the rice planting work is done by the contractor, the work-performance evaluating unit 18 evaluates the non-planted rate as being 2% and calculates the work performance to be 98% (=100% - 2%).
[0116] A reason why some region is left with no rice planted is inferred to be that, for
example, the tractor 60 operated by the contractor did not travel a proper route, that the contractor could not finish the rice planting work within the agricultural work period agreed upon in the contract, or that the contractor did not correctly understand the range of the agricultural field A agreed upon in the contract.
[0117] Similarly, the farmer may request the contractor to reduce the wage (price)
depending on the non-planted rate. If the unreaped rate is 2%, the farmer may request the
contractor to reduce the wage (price) by, for example, 2%.
[0118] (Variation 3)
A work-performance evaluating unit 18 according to Variation 3 of the above-
described embodiment compares an image of an agricultural field before rice planting work is
done by the contractor (such an image is a first agricultural field image) and an image of the
agricultural field after the rice planting work is done by the contractor (such an image is a
second agricultural field image), and, if interrow spacing (distance between rice plants along a
direction of travel of the tractor 60) and/or intrarow spacing (distance between rice plants
along a direction perpendicular to that of the interrow spacing) is/are improper, the work-
performance evaluating unit 18 determines that there is improper interrow spacing and/or
intrarow spacing. If there is improper interrow spacing and/or intrarow spacing, the
estimated yield rate in the agricultural field A (the total amount of harvested grain) decreases.
[0119] Specifically, for example, if the work-performance evaluating unit 18 has
determined, based on the images of the agricultural field A before and after the rice planting work, that the contractor has done the rice planting work with interrow spacing of 36 cm although the interrow spacing agreed upon in the contract is 30 cm, the work-performance
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evaluating unit 18 determines that there is improper interrow spacing. In such a case, the
estimated yield rate in the agricultural field A (the total amount of harvest) decreases, and
therefore, for example, the work-performance evaluating unit 18 evaluates improper interrow
spacing rate as being 10% and calculates the work performance to be 90% (= 100% - 10%).
[0120] Similarly, for example, if the work-performance evaluating unit 18 has
determined, based on the images of the agricultural field A before and after the rice planting
work, that the contractor has done the rice planting work with intrarow spacing of 20 cm
although the intrarow spacing agreed upon in the contract is 15 cm, the work-performance
evaluating unit 18 determines that there is improper intrarow spacing. In such a case, the
estimated yield rate in the agricultural field A (the total amount of harvest) decreases, and
therefore, for example, the work-performance evaluating unit 18 evaluates improper intrarow
spacing rate as being 7% and calculates the work performance to be 93% (= 100% - 7%).
[0121] A reason why improper interrow spacing and improper intrarow spacing occur is
inferred to be that, for example, the tractor 60 operated by the contractor was not set properly
as to the interrow spacing and intrarow spacing or that the contractor did not correctly
understand the interrow spacing and intrarow spacing agreed upon in the contract.
[0122] Similarly, the farmer may request the contractor to reduce the wage (price)
depending on the improper interrow spacing rate and/or improper intrarow spacing rate. For example, if the improper interrow spacing rate is 10%, the farmer may request the contractor to reduce the wage (price) by, for example, 10%.
[0123] As has been described, the agricultural work contract system according to the
present embodiment makes it possible to clarify work performance including yield rate (Y) or harvest loss (L) in the following manner: the imaging device 41 mounted on the drone 40 captures a first agricultural field image of an agricultural field before the contractor works (before the work of harvesting crop is done) and captures a second agricultural field image of the agricultural field after the contractor works (after the work of harvesting crop is done); and the work-performance evaluating unit 18 compares the first agricultural field image and the second agricultural field image captured before and after the contractor works. That is,
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the agricultural work contract system according to the present embodiment makes it possible to clarify work performance including yield rate (Y) or harvest loss (L) based on images (objective evidence) of the agricultural field captured before and after the contractor works. This makes it possible to reliably prevent or settle a dispute between the farmer and the contractor and to build mutual trust between the two. [DESCRIPTION OF THE REFERENCE NUMERAL]
[0124]
I Agricultural work contract system
10 Agricultural work contract server
II Farmer registration unit
13 Contractor registration unit
16 Image acquiring unit
18 Work-performance evaluating unit 20 Farmer terminal 30 Contractor terminal 40 Imaging apparatus

WE CLAIMS

An agricultural work contract system comprising: a farmer registration unit to register a farmer; a contractor registration unit to register a contractor who works using an agricultural
machine on an agricultural field owned by the farmer registered in the farmer registration
unit;
an imaging device to capture a first agricultural field image and a second agricultural
field image of the agricultural field on which the contractor registered in the contractor
registration unit works, the first agricultural field image being captured before the contractor
works, the second agricultural field image being captured after the contractor works; and
a work-performance evaluating unit to evaluate work performance of the contractor
by comparing the first agricultural field image and the second agricultural field image.
2. The agricultural work contract system according to claim 1, wherein the imaging device captures the first agricultural field image before crop reaping and captures the second agricultural field image after the crop reaping.
3. The agricultural work contract system according to claim 2, wherein the work-performance evaluating unit evaluates the work performance on the basis of the first agricultural field image and the second agricultural field image, the work performance being a yield rate of a crop planted on the agricultural field or an amount of an unreaped crop on the agricultural field.
4. The agricultural work contract system according to claim 3, wherein:
the imaging device is provided on an aerial vehicle which captures the agricultural field images of the agricultural field from above,
the aerial vehicle flies above a crop area of the agricultural field so that the imaging device captures the first agricultural field image of the crop area and the second agricultural
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field image of the post-reaped crop area after the crop reaping, and
the work-performance evaluating unit determines the yield rate or the amount of the unreaped crop on the basis of a first agricultural field image of the crop area and a second agricultural field image of the post-reaped crop area.
5. The agricultural work contract system according to claim 4, wherein
the aerial vehicle includes a main body, an arm provided on the main body, and a rotary wing provided on the arm, and
the imaging device captures the second agricultural field image of the crop area after the crop reaping, from above in a direction of downwash caused by the rotary wing.
6. The agricultural work contract system according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the work-performance evaluating unit evaluates and ranks the work performance of each of a plurality of the contractors.
7. The agricultural work contract system according to any one of claims 1 to 6, further comprising:
a farmer terminal to receive farmer basic information from a client of the farmer and to communicate with the farming entity registration unit; and
a contractor terminal to receive contractor basic information from the contractor who works using the agricultural machine and to communicate with the contractor registration unit, wherein
the farmer registration unit registers the farmer basic information, and
the contractor registration unit registers the contractor basic information.
8. The agricultural work contract system according to any one of claims 1 to 7,
wherein
the imaging device is provided on an aerial vehicle which captures the agricultural
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field images of the agricultural field from above,
the aerial vehicle captures, as the second agricultural field image, an image of a crop area after crop reaping,
the agricultural work contract system includes:
an image acquiring unit to measure, as a harvest loss (L), the number of pieces of an unreaped crop from the second agricultural field image captured after the crop reaping; and
a measuring device provided on the agricultural machine and configured to detect a yield (N) of a crop,
wherein the work-performance evaluating unit is configured to determine, as a yield rate (Y), the work performance of the contractor using the following equation:
Y = N / (N + L) ... (1).
9. An agricultural work contract server comprising:
a farmer registration unit to register a farmer by receiving farmer basic information on the farmer from a farmer terminal operated by a client of the farmer;
a contractor registration unit to register contractor basic information on a contractor who works using an agricultural machine from a contractor terminal operated by the contractor;
an image acquiring unit to acquire, via an imaging device, a first agricultural field image and a second agricultural field image of the agricultural field on which the contractor registered in the contractor registration unit works, the first agricultural field image being captured before the contractor works, the second agricultural field image being captured after the contractor works;
a work-performance evaluating unit to evaluate work performance of the contractor by comparing the first agricultural field image and the second agricultural field image.