Pruning technology Remote guidance with AR Real-time advice by sharing video

Mr. Miyabe, wearing smart glasses, cuts off a pear tree branch = Prefectural Horticultural Research Institute Fruit Tree Research Center

On the 15th, a demonstration experiment using augmented reality (AR) to remotely teach fruit tree pruning techniques was conducted at the Prefectural Horticultural Research Institute Fruit Tree Research Center in Uozu City. A veteran instructor sent instructions while watching the video to a young researcher wearing a camera-equipped spectacle-type terminal "smart glasses". If it is introduced in earnest, it is expected that the technology will be effectively passed on to new farmers. Riko Miyabe (27), a third-year researcher at the Prefectural Horticultural Research Institute's Fruit Tree Research Center, put on smart glasses and practiced pruning pear trees in the pear field on the center's premises. Waiting inside the facility, Hideki Sekiguchi, 57, deputy chief of the Prefectural Guidance and Guidance Center, checked the video shot from Miyabe's point of view on a computer screen, and gave advice through a microphone on the condition of the trees and how to determine which branches to cut. . In addition, the video was cut, and a still image showing the cut point was displayed on Mr. Miyabe's terminal with a marker function.

Mr. Sekiguchi confirms the image of Mr. Miyabe's eyes on the computer screen and advises on the branch to prune.

Mr. Miyabe, who has little experience in pear cultivation, looked back, saying, "I was able to understand what kind of perspective the expert was working on by receiving instructions from voice and images." Operation manuals can also be displayed on the terminal. Sekiguchi, who has been involved in research and guidance for many years, said, "The advantage is that we can give advice efficiently even remotely."　The prefecture, which is promoting the digital transformation (DX) of industries and local communities, conducted it with NTT DoCoMo. This fiscal year, we will conduct five demonstration experiments, including an electric scooter at Taikoyama Land and an automatic guide robot at the prefectural art museum, and plan to hold a meeting to report on the results in March. (Masahiro Ishikawa)