Weeder (weed killing robot)

2021: Announcement Weeder - an agricultural robot that destroys weeds with a laser

At the end of April 2021, the company Startup Carbon Robotics introduced, agricultural robot which combines the advantages computer sight of powerful lasers to destroy many thousand weeds per hour.

Carbon Robotics engineers built a four-wheeled Weeder robot weighing 9,500 pounds (4300 kg), which uses GPS and computer vision to move through crops in search of weeds. The on-board supercomputer and high-resolution cameras allow it to detect undesirable plants in crops, eight simultaneously operating lasers with a power of 150 W destroy them with thermal energy, affecting the area of ​ ​ active growth. Thus, the Weeder robot can steal fields, destroying weeds at a rate of more than 100,000 plants per hour.

Weeder Agricultural Robot

The fully autonomous device runs on diesel fuel and can sweep fields around the clock, treating from 15 to 20 acres (from 6 to 8 hectares) per day. At the same time, Weeder lasers do not harm the surrounding soil, preserving its microbiological diversity. The company states that Weeder is a cost-effective solution to improve crop yields, particularly useful for organic producers and those who apply regenerative farming techniques to ensure the long-term health of their soil.

Farmers and other participants in the global food supply chain now need more technology than ever to feed the entire global population, "said Paul Mikesell, CEO and founder of Carbon Robotics. - Artificial intelligence and deep learning technologies increase the efficiency of work in a wide variety of industries, and we are happy to find them applications in agriculture.[1]

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