JP2017012137A - Pollination method and pollination system - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a pollination method capable of flexibly changing a range where pollination treatment can be performed.SOLUTION: A pollination method according to one embodiment of the present invention is a pollination method of plants, which comprises pollination process of pollinating plants by using a drone capable of stationary flight in which a position of the gravity center in the air is maintained in a virtual sphere having a radius of 30 cm. The pollination process is preferably performed for each flower by stationary flight of the drone in the air. In the pollination process, pollination is preferably performed by giving vibration to flowers. The drone is equipped with an air blowing mechanism, and vibration is preferably given to flowers of plants by applying wind generated by the air blowing mechanism in the pollination process. The drone is equipped with one or a plurality of rotors for flight, and the air blowing mechanism is preferably constituted of the rotors. The air blowing mechanism is preferably further equipped with a cylindrical casing disposed so as to surround the rotor. The air blowing mechanism is preferably further equipped with a meshed protective member which closes at least either one of both open ends of a casing.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

  The present invention relates to a pollination method and a pollination system.

  In cultivation of tomatoes and the like, fruits are produced by pollination of flowers. As this pollination treatment, there are a method of using a bee for pollination and a method of manual labor.

  However, the method of using a bee for pollination has disadvantages that only the flowers visited by the bee at random may not be pollinated depending on the position of the flower, and that the bee may not be active in winter. In addition, the manual method for encouraging pollination is disadvantageous in that the labor cost of the operator is high, leading to an increase in cultivation costs.

  In order to solve such an inconvenience, for example, a land-moving type pollination robot traveling in a cultivation facility is used, and a plurality of flowers are individually shaken by bringing a vibrator at the tip of an arm portion included in the pollination robot into contact with the flower. Thus, a method for pollination has been proposed (see JP 2011-200196 A). By this method, the number of flowers that are not pollinated can be reduced, and the labor cost can be reduced.

  In order to solve the above inconveniences, land-moving type fruit processing robots have been developed that use a three-axis manipulator to spot-spread hormone agents for artificial pollination of flower bunches (Kurosaki, Omori, Takaichi, Iwasaki, “Development of fruit processing robot for tomato low-stage dense planting (1st report)”, Journal of Agricultural Machinery Society, Vol. 74, No. 6 (2012), p. 490-497).

JP 2011-200196 A Kurosaki, Omori, Takaichi, Iwasaki, “Development of fruit processing robot for tomato low-stage dense planting cultivation (1st report)”, Journal of Agricultural Machinery Society, Vol. 74, No. 6 (2012), p. 490-497

  However, in the case of using a land mobile robot as described above, since this robot can move only to a certain fixed position, the range in which pollination can be performed is limited. For this reason, for example, it is difficult to cause pollination to locally long leaves of the flower or to increase the number of plant strains. Thus, when a land mobile robot is used, there is an inconvenience that flexibility in changing a range in which pollination can be performed is low.

  This invention is made | formed based on the above situations, and it aims at providing the pollination method and the pollination system which can change the range which can be pollinated flexibly.

  The pollination method according to one aspect of the present invention made to solve the above-described problem is a plant pollination method, and is capable of unmanned flight in which the position of the center of gravity is maintained in a virtual sphere having a radius of 30 cm in the air. It is a pollination method provided with the pollination process which pollinates a plant using a flying body.

  Another aspect of the present invention is a pollination system in which an unmanned aerial vehicle capable of stopping flight is maintained in a virtual sphere having a center of gravity of 30 cm in the air, and the plant is pollinated by controlling the unmanned aerial vehicle. And a control mechanism for causing pollination.

  The pollination method and the pollination system can flexibly change the range in which pollination can be performed.

It is a schematic diagram which shows the structure of the pollination system which concerns on 1st embodiment of this invention. FIG. 2 is a schematic plan view of the unmanned air vehicle of FIG. 1. It is a typical side view of the unmanned air vehicle of FIG. It is a typical top view which shows the planting arrangement | positioning of a plant. It is a typical side view of the unmanned air vehicle according to the second embodiment of the present invention.

[Description of Embodiment of the Present Invention]
A pollination method according to an embodiment of the present invention is a method of pollinating a plant, and uses an unmanned air vehicle capable of stop flight that is maintained in a virtual sphere with a center of gravity in the air having a radius of 30 cm. This is a pollination method including a pollination process.

  Since the pollination method uses an unmanned air vehicle capable of stopping flight in the air, the position of the center of gravity is maintained in a virtual sphere with a radius of 30 cm. Therefore, by changing the flight path, the range where pollination can be processed is flexibly changed. it can. Thereby, the said pollination method can change the range which can be pollinated easily even when the range of a pollination process fluctuates, for example by the increase in the number of plant strains etc. Here, the “stop flight” means a state including a flight while moving in a narrow range such that the position of the center of gravity of the unmanned air vehicle is maintained within a virtual sphere having a radius of 30 cm or less as described above. It also includes a so-called “hovering” state. The “flight path” during the stop flight indicates the center position of the virtual sphere.

  The pollination process may be performed for each flower by stopping and flying an unmanned air vehicle in the air. In this way, each flower is more easily pollinated by stopping and flying an unmanned air vehicle in the air for each flower.

  In the pollination step, the pollination may be performed by applying vibration to the flower. Thus, since pollination is performed by applying vibration to the flowers, a mechanism for supplying pollen, a hormonal agent, or the like is not necessary, so that the unmanned air vehicle can have a relatively simple configuration.

  The unmanned aerial vehicle preferably includes a blower mechanism, and in the pollination step, the plant flower may be vibrated by applying wind generated by the blower mechanism. Thus, pollination can be performed, suppressing the damage to the flower at the time of a pollination process by applying the wind which generate | occur | produces with a ventilation mechanism to the flower of a plant, and giving a vibration.

  The unmanned air vehicle may include one or more rotor blades for flight, and the air blowing mechanism may include the rotor blades. In this way, by constructing the air blowing mechanism with one or a plurality of rotary wings for flight, there is no need to separately provide a wing or the like for generating the wind for applying the vibration, so that the unmanned air vehicle can be made simple and lightweight. Easy to configure.

  The air blowing mechanism may further include a cylindrical casing disposed so as to surround the rotor blade. Thus, by providing the cylindrical casing surrounding the rotor blade, the rotor blade can be hardly entangled with the plant.

  The air blowing mechanism may further include a mesh-like protective member that closes at least one of both open ends of the casing. Thus, by providing a mesh-like protective member that closes at least one of the two open ends of the casing, the rotor blades can be more difficult to get entangled with plants.

  The minimum distance from the said rotary blade to the both open ends of the casing surrounding this rotary blade is good to be more than the radius of the said rotary blade. In this way, by setting the minimum distance from the rotor blades to both open ends of the casing surrounding the rotor blades to be equal to or greater than the radius of the rotor blades, the rotor blades can be more difficult to get entangled with plants.

  In the pollination step, the unmanned air vehicle may be stopped and flying so that the wind hits the flower from above the main branch. In this way, by stopping the unmanned flying vehicle so that the wind hits the flower from above the main branch, it is possible to efficiently pollinate the flower of the plant that is flowering upward with time.

  The plant is cultivated indoors, and a swirling airflow is preferably generated in the vicinity of the plant by the air blowing mechanism. Thus, by generating the swirl airflow by the blower mechanism in the vicinity of the plant cultivated indoors, the scattering of pollen can be suppressed and the plant can be pollinated more effectively. Here, “the vicinity of the plant” is a region close to the main branch of the plant, for example, a region within 20 cm from the main branch of the plant.

  You may give a vibration to a flower by making a part of said unmanned air vehicle contact a plant. Thus, by giving vibration to the flowers by abutting a part of the plant of the unmanned air vehicle, the flowers can be vibrated more reliably and the flowers are more easily pollinated.

  The unmanned air vehicle may include an injection nozzle, and the pollination may be performed by injecting pollen or a hormonal agent into a pollination portion of the plant with the injection nozzle. Thus, a plant can be pollinated more reliably by inject | pouring pollen or a hormone agent into the pollination part of a plant with the injection nozzle with which an unmanned aerial vehicle is provided.

  The unmanned aerial vehicle may include a photographing mechanism, and in the pollination step, the position of a pollination target flower may be specified from an image obtained by the photographing mechanism. Thus, pollination processing can be performed for each flower of the plant by specifying the position of the flower to be pollinated from the image obtained by the imaging mechanism included in the unmanned aerial vehicle.

  In the pollination step, the unmanned air vehicle may be caused to fly along a predetermined route. In this way, by allowing the unmanned air vehicle to fly along a predetermined route, it is possible to automatically perform pollination processing without monitoring.

  The unmanned air vehicle may include a sensor that acquires plant growth data, and may further include a step of acquiring the growth data using the sensor. In this way, plant growth management can be easily performed by acquiring plant growth data using a sensor included in the unmanned air vehicle.

  A pollination system according to another aspect of the present invention includes an unmanned aerial vehicle capable of a stop flight in which the position of the center of gravity is maintained in a virtual sphere having a radius of 30 cm in the air, and the plant is pollinated by controlling the unmanned aerial vehicle. And a control mechanism for causing pollination.

  In the pollination system, the control mechanism can flexibly change the range in which pollination can be performed by controlling the flight path of the unmanned air vehicle. Thereby, the said pollination system can change the range which can be pollinated easily even when the range of a pollination process fluctuates, for example by the increase in the number of plant stocks.

[Details of the embodiment of the present invention]
Hereinafter, the pollination system and the pollination method according to the embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

[First embodiment]
[Pollination system]
The pollination system shown in FIG. 1 is an unmanned aerial vehicle 1 capable of stop flight in which the position of the center of gravity is maintained in a virtual sphere having a radius of 30 cm in the air, and a control for controlling the unmanned air vehicle 1 to pollinate a plant. It mainly includes a pollination processing control unit 2 as a mechanism. The pollination system causes the unmanned air vehicle 1 to fly around the plant P, blows air from the unmanned air vehicle 1 to the plant P, vibrates the flowers, and pollinates the plant P.

  Here, the “plant” targeted by the pollination system and the pollination method described later is a seed plant from which seeds are produced by pollination, and examples thereof include vegetables, fruit trees, grains, flower buds, and craft crops. Examples of vegetables include fruit vegetables such as tomato, eggplant, cucumber, strawberry and watermelon, leaf stem vegetables such as Chinese cabbage, cabbage and green onion, and root vegetables such as daikon, carrot and sweet potato. Examples of fruit trees include mandarin oranges, apples, grapes, oysters, and none. Examples of grains include rice, wheat, corn, soybeans, and peas. Examples of flower buds include ornamental flowers, roses, carnations, and lilies. Examples of craft crops include rapeseed, fresh tea, sugar cane, and hops.

<Control mechanism>
The pollination processing control unit 2 performs control for pollinating the plant P. That is, the pollination processing control unit 2 instructs, for example, the flight control unit that controls the flight of the unmanned air vehicle 1 to stop the unmanned air vehicle 1 in a region where the pollination processing is performed.

  The pollination processing control unit 2 according to the present embodiment is stored in the unmanned air vehicle 1 as shown in FIG. However, the pollination process control part 2 should just be able to control for the pollination process with respect to the unmanned air vehicle 1, and may be a separate body from the unmanned air vehicle 1. For example, the pollination processing control unit 2 disposed at a place other than the unmanned air vehicle 1 and the unmanned air vehicle 1 are connected by radio, and the pollination processing control unit 2 performs radio pollination processing on the unmanned air vehicle 1 by radio. Control may be performed.

<Unmanned flying vehicle>
The unmanned air vehicle 1 is an air vehicle that can stop flying in the air. As shown in FIGS. 2A and 2B, the unmanned air vehicle 1 includes a main body 3 and a plurality of flying wings 4 connected to the main body 3. The unmanned air vehicle 1 includes a blower mechanism 5.

  The maximum length of the unmanned air vehicle 1 in plan view from above during horizontal flight is preferably, for example, about 5 cm to 60 cm. If the maximum length of the unmanned air vehicle 1 is less than the lower limit, the size of the unmanned air vehicle 1 becomes too small, so that the amount of air that can be blown becomes too small, and there is a possibility that sufficient vibration cannot be given to the flowers. . On the contrary, when the maximum length of the unmanned air vehicle 1 exceeds the upper limit, the size of the unmanned air vehicle 1 becomes too large and it becomes difficult to pollinate a plant having a narrow planting interval. May decrease. The “maximum length of the unmanned air vehicle in plan view from above during horizontal flight” means the diameter of the smallest circle in which the unmanned air vehicle during horizontal flight is inscribed in plan view from above.

(Body)
The main body 3 stores a pollination processing control unit 2, a flight control unit, a motor that rotationally drives the rotor blade 4, a battery (not shown), and the like.

(Rotating blade)
The plurality of rotary wings 4 are wings for flying the unmanned air vehicle 1. The flight of the unmanned air vehicle 1 is controlled by controlling the rotation speed of each rotor blade 4 by the flight control unit.

(Blower mechanism)
As shown in FIGS. 2A and 2B, the blower mechanism 5 according to the present embodiment includes a rotary blade 4 and a cylindrical casing 6 disposed so as to surround each rotary blade 4. The blower mechanism 5 also includes a protective member 7 that closes the upper open end of the casing 6.

  The air blowing mechanism 5 is a mechanism that blows air toward the flower in order to give vibration to the flower. The air blowing mechanism 5 applies wind to the flower of the plant P to vibrate the flower to pollinate the plant P. Thus, since the ventilation mechanism 5 can give a vibration, without contacting a flower directly, it can pollinate, suppressing the damage to the flower at the time of a pollination process.

  As described above, the air blowing mechanism 5 of the present embodiment sends the wind generated by the flying rotor blade 4 to the plant P. That is, the blower mechanism 5 uses the rotary blade 4 as a blower blade. In this way, by configuring the blower mechanism 5 with the flying rotor blades 4, it is not necessary to separately provide a wing or the like for generating wind to be sent to the plant P, and thus it is easy to make the unmanned air vehicle simple and lightweight.

  In addition, the air blowing mechanism 5 may be configured to include a fan blade for blowing separately from the rotor blade 4 for flight. In this way, by providing the air blowing rotor separately from the flying rotor 4, the air blowing wing can easily have a structure suitable for air blowing to the plant P, and the plant P can be easily pollinated.

<casing>
The casing 6 has a cylindrical shape, and in the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 2B, the casing 6 is disposed so as to surround the rotary blade 4 and downward wind generated by the rotary blade 4 circulates in the cylinder. In addition, when the ventilation mechanism 5 is equipped with the rotary blade for ventilation separately from the rotary blade 4 for flight, it is good to arrange | position the casing 6 so that the rotary blade for ventilation may be enclosed. In this case, the casing 6 may be disposed so as to surround the rotor blades 4 for each rotor blade 4. By disposing the casing 6 in this manner, the flying rotor blades 4 and the air blowing rotor blades can be prevented from being entangled with the plant P.

  The average distance between the tip of the blower blade (rotary blade 4 in FIG. 2A) and the inner peripheral surface of the casing 6 is preferably, for example, about 0.5 mm to 3 cm. If the average distance is less than the lower limit, high assembly accuracy of the blower blades and the casing 6 is required, which may increase the product cost. On the contrary, when the average distance exceeds the upper limit, the utilization efficiency of the wind generated by the blower blades may be reduced.

  The lower limit of the minimum distance between the rotary blade 4 and the lower open end of the casing 6 is preferably 1 times the radius of the rotary blade 4 and more preferably 1.5 times. On the other hand, the upper limit of the minimum distance is preferably 2.5 times the radius of the rotary blade 4 and more preferably 2 times. If the minimum distance is less than the lower limit, the rotor blade 4 may be easily entangled with the leaves of the plant P or the like. On the contrary, if the minimum distance exceeds the upper limit, the height of the unmanned air vehicle 1 becomes too large and the unmanned air vehicle 1 is likely to come into contact with the plant P, so that the flight control of the unmanned air vehicle 1 becomes difficult. There is a fear. When the protective member 7 is not provided, that is, when the upper open end of the casing 6 is not closed, the minimum distance between the rotor blade 4 and the upper open end of the casing 6 is preferably within the above range. Further, a protective member for closing the open end may be attached to the lower side of the casing 6. In addition, when attaching the protection member which obstruct | occludes the lower open end of the casing 6, the said minimum distance may not be in the said range, In this case, the minimum distance of the rotary blade 4 and a protection member is in the range mentioned later. It is good to be.

  The shape of the casing 6 is not limited to a cylindrical shape having a constant inner peripheral cross-sectional area as shown in FIG. 2B, but may be a shape in which the inner peripheral cross-sectional area decreases or expands downward.

<Protective member>
The protection member 7 is a mesh-like member as shown in FIG. 2A and closes the upper open end of the casing 6. This protective member 7 makes it difficult for the rotor blade 4 to be entangled with the plant P.

  The protection member 7 can be formed, for example, by arranging a plurality of thread-like members arranged in parallel so as to intersect each other. As such a thread-like member, for example, a thread formed of natural fiber or chemical fiber, or a thread formed of metal such as a wire can be used. Among these, a wire is preferable because it is easy to suppress the entrainment of the leaves of the plant P at a low cost. Therefore, a wire mesh in which a wire is formed in a mesh shape can be suitably used as the protective member 7.

  The mesh size of the mesh-like protective member 7 is preferably about 1 cm to 2 cm, for example. If the opening of the protective member 7 is less than the lower limit, the wind force generated by the rotor blade 4 may be reduced. On the contrary, if the opening of the protective member 7 exceeds the upper limit, the entrainment of the leaves of the plant P into the rotor blade 4 may not be sufficiently suppressed.

  As an average diameter of the filamentous member which comprises the protection member 7, about 0.2 mm or more and 1 mm or less are preferable, for example. If the average diameter of the thread-like member is less than the lower limit, the thread-like member may be easily broken by contact with the plant P. Conversely, if the average diameter of the filamentous member exceeds the above upper limit, the wind force generated by the rotary blade 4 may be reduced.

  The minimum distance between the rotary blade 4 and the protection member 7 is preferably about 2 cm to 3 cm, for example. Although the mesh-like protective member 7 prevents the plant P from entering the casing 6, if the minimum distance between the rotor blades 4 and the protective member 7 does not satisfy the lower limit, the plant P that has entered between the meshes is retained. There is a possibility that the tip of the leaf comes into contact with the rotary blade 4, and there is a possibility that the entrainment of the leaf of the plant P in the rotary blade 4 cannot be sufficiently suppressed. On the other hand, if the minimum distance between the rotor blade 4 and the protection member 7 exceeds the upper limit, the height of the unmanned air vehicle 1 increases and the unmanned air vehicle 1 may easily come into contact with the plant P. A protective member that closes the open end may be attached to the lower side of the casing 6, and in this case, the minimum distance between the rotating blade 4 and the protective member attached to the lower side of the casing 6 may be within the above range. .

  Further, the air blowing mechanism 5 may be configured to generate a swirling airflow. Or it is good to make the unmanned air vehicle 1 fly so that a whirling airflow may generate | occur | produce. By generating the swirling airflow in the vicinity of the plant P, the scattering of pollen can be suppressed and the plant P can be pollinated more effectively. The swirling airflow is preferably one that circulates and flows so that the downwardly generated wind returns upward.

  The pollination system can be used both outdoors and indoors. However, when generating a swirling airflow as described above, pollen scattering by the swirling airflow is less likely to be affected by the surrounding natural wind when used indoors. It is easy to obtain a suppression effect.

  Further, the unmanned air vehicle 1 may include a photographing mechanism. When the unmanned aerial vehicle 1 includes a photographing mechanism, the position of the flower can be specified by identifying the color from an image obtained by the photographing mechanism. Therefore, when the unmanned aerial vehicle 1 includes a photographing mechanism, for example, the pollination processing control unit 2 specifies the position of the flower from the image obtained by the photographing mechanism, and the unmanned flying object 1 is caused to stop flying in the air for each identified flower. Can be controlled. Thus, when the unmanned aerial vehicle 1 includes an imaging mechanism, the pollination system can perform pollination processing for each flower of the plant P without setting the flight path of the unmanned aircraft 1 in advance.

  Since the pollination system controls the flight path of the unmanned air vehicle 1 so that the pollination process control unit 2 can perform the pollination process, the range in which the pollination process can be performed can be flexibly changed. Thereby, the said pollination system can change the range which can be pollinated easily even when the range of a pollination process fluctuates, for example by the increase in the number of plant stocks.

[Pollination method]
The pollination method is a plant pollination method, and includes a pollination step of pollinating the plant P using the unmanned air vehicle 1 capable of stopping flight in the air. In the pollination method, the unmanned air vehicle 1 is caused to fly around the plant P, and air is blown from the unmanned air vehicle 1 to the plant P, so that the flowers are vibrated and the plant P is pollinated.

<Pollination process>
In the pollination process, the pollination processing control unit 2 controls the unmanned air vehicle 1 to stop and fly in the air for each flower of the plant P, and the wind generated by the rotor blades 4 included in the blowing mechanism 5 is applied to the flower of the plant P. Hit it. This wind gives the flower a vibration, which pollinates the flower.

(Plant planting position)
In FIG. 3, the example of the planting position of the plant P which performs a pollination process with the said pollination method is shown. As shown in FIG. 3, by arranging a plurality of vertically long strips F in which plants P are planted in a straight line at regular intervals and arranged in parallel at predetermined intervals, it is easy to manage the plants P and to the cultivation area It is easy to improve the yield of fruits. In addition, FIG. 3 is a figure which shows the arrangement | positioning relationship of two adjacent stripes F among the some stripes arrange | positioned in parallel.

  As the strip F, for example, a tray-shaped frame filled with soil can be used. The length L in the longitudinal direction of the strip F is preferably about 15 m or more and 50 m or less, for example. If the length L of the strip F is less than the lower limit, the yield of fruits and the like for the land area may be too small. Conversely, when the length L of the stripe F exceeds the above upper limit, for example, when cultivating the plant P in the greenhouse, the distance between the opposing walls of the greenhouse becomes too large, and the strength required for the ceiling portion increases. Therefore, the construction cost of the greenhouse may increase.

  The width W of the stripe F is preferably about 5 cm to 100 cm, for example. If the width W of the streak F is less than the above lower limit, the streak F tends to become unstable as the plant P grows, and the plant P may fall easily. On the other hand, when the width W of the stripe F exceeds the upper limit, the amount of use of soil and the like becomes excessive, and the cultivation cost may increase.

As the average distance _{D 1} of the planted plant planting position Q is linearly to Article F, for example, preferably to or more than 25cm or less 15cm. When the average spacing D ₁ of the plant planting position Q is less than the above lower limit, since too many contact portions between adjacent plant P, there is likely possibility it becomes growth of plants P is poor. Conversely, when the average spacing D ₁ of the attached plant planting position Q exceeds the upper limit, there is a possibility that the yield of such fruit is too small for the growing area.

The average distance _{D 2} between the strip of plants P, preferably for example, about 60cm or more 200cm less. When the average distance D ₂ between the strip of plant P is less than the above lower limit, it may become difficult to manage plants P. Conversely, when the average distance D ₂ between the strip of plants P exceeds the upper limit, there is a possibility that the yield of fruits such as for land area becomes too small.

  In the said pollination process, it is good to control the unmanned air vehicle 1 so that every flower of the plant P stops and flies in the air above the flower. Thereby, since the wind generated by the rotation of the rotary blade 4 efficiently hits the flower of the plant P, the flower easily vibrates, and as a result, the flower can be easily pollinated.

  Moreover, in the said pollination process, it is good to control so that the unmanned air vehicle 1 stops flight in the position where the wind generated by rotation of the rotary blade 4 hits the flower from above the main branch of the plant P. Here, depending on the type of plant P, for example, a tomato flower will flower over the main branch over time. As described above, the pollination processing control unit 2 controls the unmanned air vehicle 1 so that the wind hits the plant P from above the main branch of the plant P as described above. Therefore, since the wind can be efficiently applied to the flower and vibrated, the plant P can be efficiently pollinated.

  Moreover, in the said pollination process, it is good to generate | occur | produce a swirl airflow in the vicinity of the plant P by the ventilation mechanism 5. In addition, when generating a swirl airflow, the pollen dispersion | distribution suppression effect is easy to be acquired by performing a pollination process indoors, such as a greenhouse, as mentioned above.

  Moreover, in the said pollination process, it is good to control the unmanned air vehicle 1 so that it may fly on the predetermined path | route. In this pollination method, by controlling the unmanned air vehicle 1 in this way, it is possible to cause the pollination process to be performed automatically even if the person is not monitoring, and to reduce the labor involved in the pollination process.

  Moreover, when the unmanned air vehicle 1 includes a photographing mechanism as described above, the position of the pollination target flower may be specified from the image obtained by the photographing mechanism in the pollination step, and the unmanned air vehicle 1 may be caused to fly. .

  Since the pollination method uses the unmanned air vehicle 1 that can stop and fly in the air as described above, the range in which pollination can be performed can be flexibly changed by changing the flight path. Thereby, the said pollination method can change the range which can be pollinated easily even when the range of a pollination process fluctuates, for example by the increase in the number of strains of the plant P etc.

[Second Embodiment]
[Pollination system]
The pollination system is an unmanned air vehicle 11 shown in FIG. 4 capable of stop flight in which a position of the center of gravity is maintained in a virtual sphere having a radius of 30 cm in the air, and a control for controlling the unmanned air vehicle 11 to pollinate a plant. It mainly includes a pollination processing control unit 12 as a mechanism. The pollination system causes the unmanned flying object 11 to fly around the plant P, and the plant P is pollinated by supplying pollen or a hormonal agent from the unmanned flying object 11 to a pollination portion of the plant P, for example, a flower.

<Control mechanism>
The pollination processing control unit 12 performs control for pollinating the plant P. That is, the pollination processing control unit 12 instructs, for example, the flight control unit that controls the flight of the unmanned air vehicle 11 to stop the unmanned air vehicle 11 in a region where the pollination processing is performed. Moreover, the pollination process control part 12 controls the injection | emission of the suspension of the pollen from the below-mentioned injection nozzle 18, or the diluted solution of a hormone agent.

  The pollination processing control part 12 of this embodiment is stored in the unmanned air vehicle 11 as shown in FIG. The pollination processing control unit 12 may be a unit separate from the unmanned air vehicle 11 as long as it can control the unmanned air vehicle 11 for the pollination processing.

<Unmanned flying vehicle>
The unmanned aerial vehicle 11 is a flying object capable of stopping in the air. As shown in FIG. 4, the unmanned air vehicle 11 includes a plurality of flying rotor blades 14, a solution storage unit 17, and an injection nozzle 18.

(Rotating blade)
The plurality of rotor blades 14 are wings for flying the unmanned air vehicle 11. The flight of the unmanned air vehicle 11 is controlled by controlling the number of rotations of each rotor 14 by the flight control unit of the unmanned air vehicle 11.

(Solution reservoir)
The solution storage unit 17 stores a pollen suspension or a diluted solution of a hormonal agent. When using pollen, the pollen of the target plant P is used, and when using a hormonal agent, a hormonal agent suitable for promoting fruit set of the target plant P is used. Specifically, when using a hormonal agent, for example, 4-chlorophenoxyacetic acid may be used for tomatoes, eggplants, etc., and forchlorfenuron may be used for melons, watermelons, pumpkins, etc.

(Injection nozzle)
One end of the spray nozzle 18 is connected to the other end of a tube 19 disposed in a suspension of pollen or a diluted solution of a hormonal agent in the solution reservoir 17. Under the control of the pollination processing control unit 12, a suspension of pollen in the solution storage unit 17 or a diluted solution of a hormonal agent flows through the pipe 19 and is injected from the injection nozzle 18.

  In the pollination system, for example, for each flower of the plant P, the pollination processing control unit 12 stops and flies at a position where a pollen suspension or a diluted solution of a hormonal agent ejected from the ejection nozzle 18 is supplied to the flower. The unmanned air vehicle 11 is controlled. Furthermore, the pollination processing control unit 12 is a spray nozzle 18 so that a suspension of pollen or a diluted solution of a hormonal agent stored in the solution storage unit 17 is injected from the tip at a position where the unmanned aerial vehicle 11 is stopped flying. To control. In this way, the pollination system supplies pollen or a hormonal agent to the flower that is the pollination part of the plant P to pollinate the plant P.

[Other Embodiments]
The embodiment disclosed this time should be considered as illustrative in all points and not restrictive. The scope of the present invention is not limited to the configuration of the embodiment described above, but is defined by the scope of the claims, and is intended to include all modifications within the meaning and scope equivalent to the scope of the claims. The

  For example, the unmanned air vehicle may further include a sensor that acquires the training data. When the unmanned air vehicle includes such a sensor, for example, information such as the number of flowers and the plant height can be acquired. More effective pollination processing can be performed by determining the pollination processing time, the flight path of the unmanned air vehicle, and the like based on these pieces of information.

  The unmanned air vehicle may further include a sensor that acquires environmental data. Here, “environment data” is data such as temperature, humidity, sunshine information, carbon dioxide concentration, and the like. Since the unmanned air vehicle includes such a sensor, it is possible to acquire environmental data while performing pollination processing.

  The unmanned air vehicle may further include a mechanism for detecting the flight height. For example, when cultivating a plant that is flowering upward with time, it is preferable to set the flying height of the unmanned aerial vehicle according to the growth process of the plant. As described above, the unmanned aerial vehicle includes the flight height detection mechanism, so that the unmanned aerial vehicle can be caused to fly at a precisely set height. As the flight height detection mechanism, for example, a distance sensor using light or ultrasonic waves provided on an unmanned air vehicle, a guide installed at a certain height on the ground, and a sensor provided on the unmanned air vehicle for detecting this guide And a mechanism for determining a change in flight height from the atmospheric pressure detected by a barometer provided on the unmanned air vehicle.

  In the first embodiment, the flower is vibrated by applying wind, but the flower may be vibrated by other methods. For example, if a plant that does not affect growth even if vibration other than flowers is to be pollinated, the flowers are vibrated by controlling the flight so that a part of the unmanned flying body comes into contact with the leaves and branches of the plant. Also good. Also, if plants that should not vibrate other than flowers are pollination targets, for example, attach a projection such as an arm to the unmanned flying vehicle and control the unmanned flying vehicle so that the tip of this projection is in contact with the flower. By doing so, you may give a vibration to a flower. Examples of the pattern in which the tip of the protrusion comes into contact with the flower include a pattern of hitting a flower with the tip of the protrusion and a pattern of grasping. In addition, examples of the method of bringing the tip of the protrusion into contact with the flower include a method of controlling the flight of the unmanned air vehicle by the pollination processing control unit and a method of directly moving the protrusion. Moreover, you may attach a vibrator to the front-end | tip of the said protrusion.

  In the first embodiment, the unmanned aerial vehicle in which the protective member is disposed only at the upper open end of the casing has been described. However, the unmanned air vehicle in which the lower open end of the casing is also closed by the protective member is used. Alternatively, an unmanned air vehicle in which only the lower open end of the casing is closed with a protective member may be used.

  Further, the unmanned air vehicle may automatically perform flight and pollination processing at a preset time. Further, the unmanned air vehicle may be automatically charged. For example, it is preferable to set the unmanned air vehicle to land at the position of the charger when the remaining charge amount of the unmanned air vehicle becomes a predetermined value or less. By doing in this way, even if it is not monitoring by a person, pollination processing can be performed reliably, for example, nighttime pollination processing can also be performed easily.

  Further, in each of the above embodiments, a flying body having a plurality of rotor blades has been described as an unmanned flying body. However, as long as stop flight is possible, a flying body having only one rotor blade or a flight without a rotor blade is used. The body may be used. For example, a radio controlled helicopter or a balloon may be used as such an unmanned air vehicle.

  The pollination method and the pollination system of the present invention can flexibly change the range that can be pollinated, so that labor can be reduced and high-quality fruits and vegetables can be cultivated.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1,11 Unmanned aerial vehicle 2,12 Pollination process control part 3 Main body 4,14 Rotor blade 5 Blower mechanism 6 Casing 7 Protection member 17 Solution storage part 18 Injection nozzle 19 Pipe F Article P Plant Q Plant planting position

Claims (16)

A method for pollination of plants,
A pollination method comprising a pollination step of pollinating a plant using an unmanned aerial vehicle capable of stop flight in which a position of the center of gravity is maintained in a virtual sphere having a radius of 30 cm in the air.   The pollination method according to claim 1, wherein the pollination process is performed for each flower by stopping and flying an unmanned air vehicle in the air.   The pollination method according to claim 1 or 2, wherein, in the pollination step, the pollination is performed by applying vibration to a flower. The unmanned air vehicle has a blower mechanism,
4. The pollination method according to claim 3, wherein in the pollination step, vibration is applied to the flowers of the plant by applying wind generated by the air blowing mechanism.   The pollination method according to claim 4, wherein the unmanned air vehicle includes one or more rotor blades for flight, and the air blowing mechanism includes the rotor blades.   The pollination method according to claim 5, wherein the blower mechanism further includes a cylindrical casing disposed so as to surround the rotor blades.   The pollination method according to claim 6, wherein the blower mechanism further includes a mesh-like protective member that closes at least one of both open ends of the casing.   The pollination method according to claim 6, wherein a minimum distance from the rotary blade to both open ends of a casing surrounding the rotary blade is equal to or larger than a radius of the rotary blade.   The pollination method according to any one of claims 4 to 8, wherein, in the pollination step, the unmanned aerial vehicle stops and flies so that the wind hits a flower from above the main branch.   The pollination method according to any one of claims 4 to 9, wherein the plant is cultivated indoors and a swirling airflow is generated in the vicinity of the plant by the blower mechanism.   The pollination method according to claim 3, wherein the flower is vibrated by bringing a part of the unmanned air vehicle into contact with a plant. The unmanned air vehicle includes an injection nozzle,
The pollination method of Claim 1 or Claim 2 which performs the said pollination by inject | pouring pollen or a hormonal agent into the pollination part of a plant with the said injection nozzle. The unmanned air vehicle is equipped with a shooting mechanism,
The pollination method according to any one of claims 1 to 12, wherein, in the pollination step, a position of a flower to be pollinated is specified from an image obtained by the photographing mechanism.   The pollination method according to any one of claims 1 to 12, wherein, in the pollination step, the unmanned air vehicle flies along a predetermined route. The unmanned air vehicle includes a sensor for acquiring plant growth data,
The pollination method according to any one of claims 1 to 14, further comprising a step of acquiring growth data by the sensor. An unmanned air vehicle capable of stop flight in which the position of the center of gravity is maintained in a virtual sphere with a radius of 30 cm in the air;
A pollination system comprising: a control mechanism for controlling the unmanned air vehicle to pollinate a plant.

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