We developed AgriTalk, a precision agricultural system. With AgriTalk, the data collected by sensors inserted into the soil are sent back to a cloud server for analysis of the soil and water content, and to achieve precise automatic fertilization and watering of “smart farming.” AgriTalk has solved the automatic sensor calibration problems of moisture, light, temperature, pests, diseases and soil fertility, and hence achieved accurate intelligent farming. Traditional agriculture, for example, highly relies on the use of chemical pesticides due to the “rapid” effect of pesticide pest removal. AgriTalk can effectively predict the likelihood of pests and diseases by detecting and analyzing field data with artificial intelligence, avoiding the “fast” demand for pesticides, and predicting the application of safe and non-toxic bio suppressants to achieve pest control. AgriTalk turmeric cultivation technology breaks the conventional agricultural harvest model: “plantation for 1 year and soil fallow for 3 years”. AgriTalk enables land to be cultivated continuously without fallow, as the soil will not be acidified. Moreover, up to 5 times the usual amount of curcumin was generated from the “AI turmeric.” It also passed the SGS tests as no heavy metals, pesticides or toxins were detected, and the harvest was more than that of the general traditional planting method. With smart agriculture, Rodin Smart Farms transforms the experience of older farmers into artificial intelligence predictions, producing AI turmeric. We have opened all of AgriTalk's technologies to the public, hoping to do our best for the agriculture industry and to invite more people to fight for non-toxic organic farming.

Under supervision of the Ministry of Science and Technology, we developed AgriTalk, a precision agricultural system. Supported by Chunghwa Telecom, we have built a “Rodin Smart Farm” in Banqiao, New Taipei City, as there is a statue of Aguste Rodin's Le Penseur in the farm (Figure 1). Le Penseur is a bronze sculpture by Rodin placed in the sculpture garden “La Porte de l'Enfer”, which depicts the great poet Dante Alighieri conceiving his poem in front of the gates of hell. Five years ago, when designing and crafting the AgriTalk IoT device, I was at times suffering like hell just as when Dante was conceiving the verses of his Inferno masterpiece. Originally using Arduino and Raspberry Pi 3, our system was struck by extremely bad weather including thunder and lightning, and had broken down several times in the harsh field. It was not until Quanta Computer Inc., helped to manufacture the field sensor QoFA (Figure 2) using Nuvoton's MCU that could operate properly in inclement weather. Our goal is to enable farmers to operate the system as easily as changing a light bulb. Hence, the “Rodin Smart Farm” aims to teach new generation of farmers organic non-toxic cultivation can be easily achieved with the high-tech product QoFA. Specifically, we showed how the Internet of Things and artificial intelligence can help to grow agricultural production. We have also created a safe and non-toxic crop growth environment and created a new farming-friendly environment for the young farmer-returnees. Besides, we have proved AgriTalk not only can generate profit by promoting the cultivation of non-toxic high-value crops, but also simultaneously ensuring food safety.

 
Figure 1. Rodin Smart Farm

 
Figure 2. Farming sensor QoFA

The data collected by the sensors inserted into the soil are sent back to Chunghwa Telecom's cloud server for analysis of soil and water content, and achieve precise automatic fertilization and watering as “smart farming.” AgriTalk has solved the automatic sensor calibration problems of moisture, light, temperature, pests, diseases and soil fertility, and has hence achieved accurate intelligent farming. Usually, conventional agriculture highly relies on the use of chemical pesticides due to the “rapid” effect of pesticide pest removal; however, AgriTalk can effectively predict the likelihood of pests and diseases by detecting and analyzing field data with artificial intelligence, avoiding the “fast” demand for pesticides. The technology predicts and applies safe and non-toxic bio suppressants to achieve pest control.

Turmeric cultivation technology breaks the original agricultural harvest model: “plantation for 1 year and soil fallow for 3 years.” AgriTalk enables land to be cultivated continuously without fallow, as the soil will not be acidified. Up to 5 times the usual amount of curcumin was generated from the “AI turmeric” (Figure 3). It passed the SGS tests as no heavy metals, pesticides or toxins were detected, and the harvest was greater than that of the traditional planting method. In addition to high economic value, the reasons for choosing turmeric as a crop also include its healthy nutritious properties. As a super natural antioxidant, turmeric is very helpful for enhancing the body's immune system, especially for maintaining the good health of modern busy people. In the Ayurvedic medical system of ancient India, turmeric was often used to treat inflammatory diseases, protect the liver, and treat stomach diseases. In Okinawa, Japan, people also regard turmeric as a sacred tribute to the Emperor. We expect that the production process of “AI turmeric” not only conforms to the dietary habit of both medicine and food, but also takes into account health preservation and food nutriments.

 
Figure 3. AI turmeric product

With smart agriculture, Rodin Smart Farms transforms the experience and wisdom of old farmers into artificial intelligence predictions to produce AI turmeric. The meditation statue silently guards Rodin Smart Farm as a witness to the growth of AI turmeric. We have opened all of AgriTalk's technologies to the public, hoping to do our best for the agriculture industry and to invite more people to fight for non-toxic organic farming. Quoting Rodin: “Nothing is a waste of time if you use the experience wisely.”