# Horticulture 4.0: Adoption of Industry 4.0 Technologies in
## 2 Overview of Horticulture and Industry 4.0
#### Overview of Technologies and TheirFunctions  
IoT is the primary technology that enables the provision of real-time information that is required for other technologies to implement their functions. IoT is an open network of intelligent devices that may self-organize; exchange information, data, and resources; and respond and act according to circumstances and environmental changes [22]. Fundamentally, IoT comprises the following layers in its architecture: perception layer, access layer, network layer, middleware layer, and application layer [23]. The perception layer is a key layer in which sensors, actuators, and identification technologies empower the transmission of real-time information and also enable control of things from remote locations through internet connectivity. The network layer empowers the transmission of packets of data with the assistance of communication protocols that are embedded in the architecture. Wireless fidelity (Wi-Fi), Bluetooth, and Zigbee are widely used communication protocols to establish a wireless sensor network and connect it with the internet to form the IoT [24]. The limitations of these communication protocols are the short transmission range and high-power consumption. In view of the IoT, most IoT devices are resource-constrained (work on battery power), so it demands communication protocols that consume less energy and transmit to a long range. A low-power-wide-area network (LPWAN) enables these challenges to be overcome, as it meets the requirements of the IoT [25]. Long-range (LoRa),  
Figure 1: Horticulture 4.0. Sigfox, and narrowband (NB-IoT) are LPWAN communication technologies. As part of the application layer, a cloud server is suitable for visualization, real-time monitoring, and applying further analytics on the data available in it.AI is the science of enabling computers to accomplish intelligent tasks that could only be completed by humans. AI is a multidisciplinary technology capable of combining machine learning, cognition, human-computer interaction, emotion recognition, data storage, and decision-making [26]. The bottleneck of AI was overcome with the advancement of processing power, and the development of deep learning and enhanced learning based on huge data progressed. With the constant advancement of GPUs has come the successful development of customized processors and increased computer capacity; this has established the groundwork for AI's rapid progress. Artificial neural networks (ANNs), decision-support systems (DSSs), genetic algorithms (Gas), support-vector machines, and computer vision are some of the AI techniques that are widely applied in the field of agriculture for the management of soil, crops, disease, and weeds [27]. Big data is defined as data sets that are too massive or complicated to be acquired, maintained, and processed in a low-latency manner by conventional database systems [28]. Big data has characteristics such as high volume, high velocity, and high variety. Big-data analytics can ultimately enable better and faster decision-making, model, and forecast future outcomes, and improve business intelligence [29]. A distributed, unchangeable database called blockchain makes it simpler to track assets and record transactions in a corporate network [30]. Distributed ledger technology, immutable records, and smart contracts are the key elements of blockchain. Each transaction is logged as a \"block\" of data as it occurs. Each block is linked to the ones that come before and after it. Transactions are linked in an irreversible chain  
Horticulture is utilizing the IoT to collect data from field planting and horticultural facilities for production, management, and service. Robots, drones, remote sensors, and computer imagery are used in horticulture as part of the IoT to monitor crops, survey, and map fields, as well as to provide data to farmers for logical farm-management strategies that will reduce both time and cost [31].