—Why did you choose to pursue platform studies?
Research into smart agriculture aims at sustainable food production and improved productivity. Remote sensing technology that leverages unmanned aerial vehicles (drones) or satellite images has been put to practical use. Another example is yield monitoring technology, enabling us to determine appropriate amounts of water or fertilizer. I am currently researching the robotization of agricultural machinery, but I feel that combining this kind of data regarding cultivated land with autonomous driving technology will lead us to solving new problems. I also feel that mixing with people in the information and communications field will enable me to discover and solve new problems.
—What research themes are you currently working on?
I am carrying out research and development into the automation of agricultural machinery. Japan faces the problem of a shrinking and aging agriculture workforce, and needs to improve labor productivity. While automation currently stops within one field, I am aiming at automation that covers several fields in the future. I am therefore engaged in researching automated driving that is safe on agricultural roads, in order to move between fields.
—What have you gained through the School of Platforms program?
We learn the basics of information and communications technology (ICT) and examples of their application in platform studies lectures. The lectures include exercises relating to the internet of things, where we learn the basics of implementing sensors and collecting data. In the seminar series, we hear about the technology for building platforms, and we also learn about the business side, such as mindset and cost. Looking at examples of actual application in society lets us approach research and development from the perspective of real use.
—What is the platform to you (based on your own research)?
I want to achieve a platform for agriculture robots that is easy for everybody to use. What I am learning from the platform studies lectures is that a platform has no meaning unless it’s used by many people. To that end, when developing a platform for agriculture robots, I hope to construct one that is used by many people, not only to address the lack of skills of new farmers, but also to reduce the agricultural workload of existing farmers.
—If the goal is to improve the world just a little from where it stands today, what do you think is needed, or what would you like to do?
You need the attitude of wanting to study knowledge from other fields. In my case, by acquiring knowledge in the field of ICT, I have been able to discover new problems in the field of agriculture. I also think there will be new discoveries even in everyday life if we accept opinions from other people and consider things from their perspective. I feel that we can improve the world for the better through dialogue and cooperation.
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