Voice Control of a Battery Cart Equipped a Spot Air-conditioner in a Greenhouse for Tomato Cultivation

A voice-control battery cart equipped a spot air-conditioner that can be operated by a worker's voice was developed for the purpose of the improvement of tomato management work in a high-eaves-type greenhouse. The basic performance experiments were conducted in a laboratory and a greenhouse where tomatoes were planted. The following conclusions were obtained from the study: 1) By phonated command, a worker can control the cart's back and forth motion, acceleration and deceleration, the lifter's up and down motion, and the operation of the compressor or fun in the spot air-conditioner. A worker can execute tomato management work without touching the operational panel. 2) When a wired microphone was used in the laboratory, the detection rate and response time of the voice-control battery cart were 85-100% and approximately 1 second, respectively. Moreover, when a wireless microphone was used within an area of 17.0×7.2m in the greenhouse, the detection rate and response time were 90-100% and approximately 1 second, respectively. 3) The cart could be controlled remotely within an area of 17.0×7.2m in the greenhouse. Although some problems, such as delayed response and erroneous recognition of conversation words, remain for improvement, the study showed that use of the voice-control battery cart in a large-scale greenhouse is feasible.