To introduce this timeGreen ContinentalStart up solving plant problems with the power of IoT. I heard about rooting digging (only on plants) what is an app that can order what only plants × IoT can do, service development, only the plant best suited for the environment. (Interview date: September 13, 2017)

Find and raise plants suitable for the environment with IoT

Living with plants. It is fashionable. Not only is it fashionable, but I also know that placing plants in rooms and offices has various benefits for humans. For example, if there are too many people in the office, there is a problem that the CO2 concentration gets higher, it becomes sleepy and productivity drops. There are also rooms without windows, and sometimes you can not open windows if you are a high floor. In such cases, you can prevent drowsiness by placing plants in the office and adjusting the CO2 concentration.

There are also research results that there is a relaxing effect when there is a certain amount of green in the field of view, green and plants are effective for jet lag, insomnia, interpersonal stress. In this way, having plants in offices and workplaces seems to have more effect than healing.

But plants are hard to raise at home or office. In the shop the flowers that were blooming beautifully quickly die, do not know how much water should be raised, do not know what kind of plants to choose in the first place ...

To introduce this timeGreen ContinentalIs a startup that solves such problems with the power of IoT.

Collaborate with IoT for uncovering IoT for knowing plant condition

Green Continental deals with houseplants used for interior and so on, and IoT for knowing the state of plants.

Not limited to foliage, plants generally have many variables such as illuminance (light), moisture (humidity), CO2 concentration, etc., and handling differs depending on plants. It seems a bit difficult for amateurs to handle.

Although the condition of plants has been measured in the past, the measurement method was indirect, said Nakamura, president of Green Continental. The method so far measured the environment such as illuminance and humidity, and it seems to have estimated the state of the plant from there.

President of Green Continental Co., Ltd. Masahiro Nakamura

Born in Osaka Prefecture in 1981. Born between the piano tuner's father and the soprano singer's mother, raised under the piano. While earning tuition as a club DJ, while studying at Doshisha University, he is engaged in launching new business as a student intern at a foreign-affiliated computer company and encounters the splendor of technology. Joined a new graduate to Toyota Tsusho Corporation in 2004. He is responsible for every new business in the senior business field at the Living Industry Materials Headquarters. After the world's first sensor disposable diapers (large failure w), development of design nursing care products, support for nursing care robots for Toyota Motor, and head of joint venture launch in China (Shanghai, Shenyang, Chengdu), 2012 Moon Green Continental Co., Ltd. established. I saw soil, flowers and plants fatefully while I was in China, and since then I am captivated by the charm of beauty and functional beauty. Seed specimens all over the world and soil sample collection personal hobby.

Green Continental developed IoT capable of measuring plant condition jointly with Saitama University. By measuring the state of plants directly, more accurate information can be obtained.

Plants usually do photosynthesis, and air bubbles are bursting in the body. If you analyze it with ultrasound, you can analyze whether the plant is fatigued. I use this as an IoT to help foster plants. IoT of the Green Continent made it possible to investigate the state of plants directly rather than estimate the state of plants from the environment. (Mr. Nakamura, hereinafter the same)

Introduced to interior shops and beauty salons

Green Continental is not only making IoT, but also dealing plants in shops, interior decoration and handling plants themselves. That is why IoT is combined.

For example, a hairdresser. The customer has to stay for a long time of 1-2 hours in the hairdresser and still have to stay still. Although it can not be helped, the beauty salon is a space to relax originally. It is a place I want to avoid like being stressed. There seems to be many beauty shops trying to introduce plants aimed at relaxing effect. However, the beauty salon has all the conditions that are not good for plants such as medicine, nail, and dryer's heat.

So there is the IoT of Green Continental. It is possible for IoT to grasp the state of plants, give moisture when the plant wishes to act. By steadily observing plants with IoT, you can always maintain a nice environment.

A state that plants are introduced in the beauty salon. (credit by Green Continental)

In addition, it seems that inquiries are coming to Green Continental from everything that requires plants and green, such as interior shops, clinics, training gyms.

Developed an application to place orders for "only" plants that match the environment

Green Continental says it is also making an application for ordering plants. It works in conjunction with IoT to order only plants that match the environment.

Since IoT measures CO2 concentration and illuminance, it can choose only plants that match the environment. For example, one interior shop is used to purchase plants for sale. I assume that the shop's illuminance is low. Then you can not purchase plants that need light, and so on.

The environment of farmers raising plants is perfect environment with sufficient illumination and automatic watering machine as well. But the interior shop and the user's home are not. So, it happens that the plants you bought are withered soon. So, Green Continental developed this application and created a mechanism that will not spread the plants that do not match each environment.

As of September 2017, it is deployment only for BtoB, but in the future we would like to distribute IoT sensors to each household and to allow anyone to order plants that match the environment at home. A future that understands plants that are perfect for home. I am looking forward to it.

As a result of the sale of soil to develop the plant IoT

Green Continental has not been developing plants' IoT from the beginning, it seems that its roots were sales of soil.

Originally I worked at a trading company and in some overseas work there was a case that the price was paid by land rather than cash. Although I am trying to cash by somehow even if I have land, I managed to find out that this soil is very suitable for the production of plants.

Currently in Japan it seems to use soil of mountain or using leaf soil to raise plants, but it seems that it is not the optimum soil for plants that nutrients are small and ammonia is generated.

The soil that Mr. Nakamura received was the best soil to raise plants, and starting to grow plants from here is the foundation of the current business.

Green Continental will also be at the pitch event as representative of the Kansai Venture

At first, we grew plants by borrowing some of the farmers' green continental. It seems that experience at this time triggered development of IoT. Because, at the beginning, I grew plants with a small number of people, so I had to manage a lot of plants with a small number of people. It seems that we had contracted wifi for farmers, Mr. Nakamura made everything to make simple sensor by hand making, attaching to plants, making production more efficient.

This is a success, know-how to produce plants accumulates in the company, delivering plants to shops and commercial facilities with fullness. However, it seems that plants withered quickly.

It is natural that I think about it, but at the time of production we grow plants with light and temperature, etc. everything is perfect. However, in ordinary shops, there is no automatic watering machine, no air conditioner is hit, and the sun does not hit. The plant growing environment was completely different.

So Mr. Nakamura thought about using IoT that our company was using for production at shops. I made it possible for outside people to use a system to measure light and temperature. In this way, Green Continent evolved into a company that develops Plant IoT.

Office, hairdresser, gym, hospital ... Plants in every places

Well, if you talk about plants, you are worried about insects. It seems that green Continental plants are being introduced even at hospitals and clinics, but what about measures against insects?

When importing plants from overseas, careful disinfection will be given so that infectious diseases and alien species will not enter. Green Continental's "Doctor Green" product is almost organic, it is disinfecting the level according to imported plants. In addition, we combine plants such as herbs that insects do not like.

Although this seems adequate, I heard that IoT is used here as well. When an insect occurs, the plant seems to respond to a specific reaction, IoT catches the reaction immediately, and it seems that it becomes a mechanism which can cope immediately as soon as insects are likely to occur.

It seems to be an example of a hospital, but by using IoT successfully, it has become possible to place plants in all kinds of places such as hairdressing room, gym, interior shop. I think that it would be possible to ride any consultation on plants. Please contact me.

We are also looking for people who want to work. Those who like plants, as well as those who like art, building space, interior, please also try to hit the gate.

From Osaka, Green Continental handling a rare field called Plant × IoT. But the demand is definitely there. We would like to continue growing from now on and we would like to create a future where plants perfect for each household are distributed!

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