| Developers: | Ground Control Robotics |
| Date of the premiere of the system: | May 2025 |
| Branches: | Agriculture and Fisheries, Electrical and Microelectronics |
| Technology: | Robotics |
Content |
History
2025: Product Announcement
In May 2025, Ground Control Robotics (GCR) announced the launch of millipede robots to automate crop weeding. New devices, the cost of which will not exceed $1000 per unit, can significantly reduce the costs of farmers for processing plots.
According to IeeeSpectrum, the development belongs to a company founded by Professor Dan Goldman of the Georgia Institute of Technology. Robots inspired by biological systems combine many segments with motors, allowing them to adapt to a complex landscape. Professor Goldman characterizes the principle of movement of devices as "robotic swimming" - robot legs overcome obstacles, and sidelined drives provide stability even on uneven surfaces.
The new robots focus on areas where traditional agricultural machinery is inefficient: vineyards, blueberry plantations or strawberries with dense vegetation. Unlike experimental prototypes, these devices were originally designed for use in the real field.
The economic feasibility of introducing robotic weeding is confirmed by specific figures. According to research, the manual weeding of one acre of blueberries in California costs farmers $300, and for strawberries this figure exceeds $1000. Against the background of a shortage of workers and tightening environmental regulations restricting the use of pesticides, GCR robots, capable of working around the clock, offer an economically viable solution.
A key advantage of the new development is the multi-legged design. While quadrupedal or wheeled counterparts often damage plants or get stuck in soil, 12-20 legs of the GCR robot evenly distribute the load, minimizing contact with crops. It also simplifies control: Instead of complex trajectory prediction algorithms, the system relies on leg redundancy, making the robot's movement predictable even in chaotic environments.[1]
Notes
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