AgriD, the largest greenhouse in Japan, realised by DENSO and Certhon with Asai Nursery Inc., contributes to smart farming by utilizing robot technology and ICT. In this newly built greenhouse, growers, robots and automated systems work together to manage cultivation 24/7 through cooperation between growers and robots to reduce manual labor. The harvesting in this greenhouse is carried out by harvesting robot “FARO”, which Denso developed and which is used for extensive testing.

Within AgriD, leading greenhouse technology is combined with DENSO’s technology for industrialization, such as environmental control and automation, and applying those capabilities to large-scale tomato cultivation at its greenhouse. Its goal is to make greenhouses better places to work and more profitable.

Japanese agriculture faces severe labor shortages due to the decreasing number of people in the sector and aging of famers. Smart farming, based on robot technology and ICT, holds the potential to help farmers compensate for lost labor while achieving high-quality agricultural production.

AgriD will cultivate high-quality vegetables throughout the year regardless of climate and season, by controlling the temperature and humidity in greenhouses. The greenhouse will also automate the transportation of agricultural products, including crops, and night-time harvesting. These activities will reduce manual labor while enabling 24-hour agricultural activities and achieve optimal human-machine collaboration in farming.