Market Context — Why This Technology, Why Now

The increasing volatility of global weather patterns, including severe droughts and heavy rainfall, necessitates advanced agricultural management. Food security concerns and rising input costs are driving demand for precision agriculture solutions that optimize resource use. This technology aligns with global efforts to reduce environmental footprints and enhance farm resilience, offering a data-driven approach to mitigate climate risks and meet sustainability targets across major agricultural regions.

Key Competitive Advantages
01

Quantifies field drainage evaluation based on soil moisture changes, enabling precise agricultural planning.

02

Optimizes resource input by understanding field-specific drainage, reducing excess water and fertilizer use.

03

Predicts disaster risk by simulating post-rainfall drainage, identifying high-risk fields to minimize damage.

Market Opportunity
Precision Agriculture Solutions
$300M–$400M globally (AI est.)
As data utilization from drones and IoT sensors advances, precise understanding of soil characteristics is crucial for maximizing yields and reducing costs, ensuring market expansion.
Tier 1 AgTech solution providers Smart farming platform developers Agricultural IoT sensor manufacturers
Water Management Systems
$150M–$250M globally (AI est.)
With increasing climate change-induced water resource volatility, efficient water management is vital for agricultural operations. Accurate drainage assessment is a key factor for system adoption.
Agricultural irrigation system providers Water resource management companies Environmental technology firms
Agricultural Consulting Services
$100M–$200M globally (AI est.)
There is growing demand for objective, data-driven agricultural guidance. The detailed field evaluation data provided by this technology enhances the value of consulting services.
Large agricultural consulting firms Farm management software companies Agronomic advisory services
IP Defensibility — Why Competitors Can't Replicate This
What This Patent Covers

This patent successfully navigated examination citing eight prior art documents, indicating a robust and reliable right. It covers methods, apparatus, and programs for field evaluation across eight claims, providing comprehensive protection. This strong intellectual property offers licensees a secure foundation for business development and a powerful defense against competitive imitation.

Competitive White Space

This patent primarily covers the method and system for quantitative drainage evaluation. White space exists in developing automated irrigation systems directly controlled by this drainage data, or integrating these insights into predictive crop health and disease models.

Economic Impact
~$150K/year estimated farming cost reduction per facility (est.)
estimated ROI · USD · AI analysis
ROI Calculation Logic

For a 100-hectare farm, assuming ~$0.7M/year (AI est.) in additional material/labor costs and yield losses due to poor drainage, this technology could improve these inefficiencies by 20%. This projects an annual cost reduction of ~$150K (AI est.), achieved through optimized drainage management, stabilized yields, reduced material waste, and improved operational efficiency.

Speed to Market
6× faster than in-house development
Developing a similar system in-house could take several years to establish data collection/analysis algorithms and validate across diverse fields. This technology's core drainage evaluation algorithm is already established and patented, significantly shortening development time for licensees. It leverages existing soil moisture meters and rain gauges, allowing companies to focus on software implementation and accelerate market entry by approximately 2.5 years.
Competitive Positioning

X: Precision Management Accuracy
Y: Resource Efficiency

Business Models & Applications
☁️ SaaS Data Analytics Service
A subscription-based model offering drainage evaluation reports and improvement suggestions by analyzing field sensor data on a cloud platform.
🚜 Licensing for Precision Agriculture Equipment
A model providing the technology's algorithms as an integrated evaluation function to existing agricultural machinery manufacturers and IoT sensor vendors for a licensing fee.
🧑‍🌾 Agricultural Consulting Services
A consulting service centered on customized farm planning and improvement proposals, utilizing the technology for detailed field diagnostics.
Adjacent Application Opportunities
⛳ Golf Courses & Sports Facilities
Green & Field Drainage Management
For golf greens and sports fields, drainage directly impacts play quality. Implementing this technology could optimize water management, maintain turf health, and potentially reduce maintenance costs by 15-20%.
🌳 Urban Greening & Park Management
Urban Green Space Drainage Monitoring
Managing urban parks and street trees requires effective flood prevention and watering optimization. This technology could continuously monitor urban green space drainage, aiding efficient management planning and reducing flood risks by up to 30% during heavy rainfall.
🏗️ Construction & Civil Engineering
Construction Site Ground Drainage Assessment
Assessing drainage for construction sites significantly impacts structural stability and project timelines. Applying this technology could quantitatively evaluate ground drainage during development phases, improving quality control and potentially shortening project timelines by 5-10%.
Integration Roadmap — Estimated 12-Month Deployment
Phase 1: Technical Compatibility & Requirements Definition
Duration: 3 months
Evaluate compatibility with the licensee's existing infrastructure (sensors, data platforms) and define the system requirements and functional specifications for implementing this technology.
Phase 2: System Development & Field Testing
Duration: 6 months
Integrate the technology's algorithms into the system based on requirements, conduct data collection and evaluation index calculation tests in pilot fields, and verify accuracy.
Phase 3: Production Deployment & Operation Optimization
Duration: 3 months
Deploy the system to the production environment based on test results and commence field operations. Continuously analyze data to improve the evaluation model's accuracy and optimize operations.
Technical Feasibility
This technology relies on data input from common sensors like soil moisture meters and rain gauges, allowing licensees to maximize existing IoT infrastructure and sensor assets while minimizing new capital investment. The patented process for data acquisition, relationship calculation, and evaluation index generation is primarily software-based, making integration into existing agricultural data platforms and farm management systems relatively straightforward.
Success Scenario
Implementing this technology could enable licensees to visualize field-specific drainage characteristics as numerical data, facilitating objective decision-making without relying on experience or intuition. This may optimize water management and fertilizer application timing after rainfall events, reducing crop growth failure risks. Consequently, annual yields could improve by an average of 5-10%, and fertilizer and water consumption may be reduced by 10-15%, supporting both sustainable agricultural management and enhanced profitability.
Patent Record
APPLICATION NO.
特願2021-010744
REGISTRATION NO.
7513268
FILING DATE
2021/01/27
GRANT DATE
2024/07/01
EXPIRATION DATE
2041/01/27
PATENT HOLDER
国立研究開発法人農業・食品産業技術総合研究機構
Examination History
2023年11月28日
出願審査請求書
2024年06月18日
特許査定