https://www.zerohedge.com/tech...00-weeds-hour-lasers

By combining artificial intelligence with precision laser technology, companies like Carbon Robotics are reshaping the way farmers tackle one of agriculture’s most labor-intensive tasks. These futuristic machines offer a glimpse into the potential of sustainable farming, where innovation meets efficiency, paving the way for a healthier and more productive future for agriculture.

The Weed Problem in Agriculture

Weeds have been a persistent challenge for farmers, creating a constant battle for resources in the field. These invasive plants not only compete with crops for vital sunlight, nutrients, and water but also provide a safe haven for pests that can wreak havoc on harvests. The presence of weeds significantly reduces crop yields and quality, making effective weed management essential for agricultural success. For centuries, farmers have relied on labor-intensive methods and chemical herbicides to combat this problem, but these approaches are not without their flaws.

The use of chemical herbicides, while convenient and effective in the short term, poses serious environmental concerns. These chemicals can seep into water supplies, harming aquatic ecosystems and affecting soil health. Over time, their overuse may lead to the development of herbicide-resistant weeds, further complicating the issue. Meanwhile, manual weeding, though free of chemical drawbacks, is both backbreaking and time-consuming. The agriculture industry’s labor shortages have made this method increasingly impractical, leaving farmers with few viable options.

The urgency for a sustainable, efficient solution to weed control cannot be overstated. Modern farming demands innovation that not only solves immediate issues but also protects the environment for future generations. This is where technological advancements, such as farming robots equipped with cutting-edge weed management systems, come into play. By addressing the limitations of traditional methods, these innovations offer a promising alternative to tackle one of agriculture’s oldest dilemmas.

The Rise of Farming Robots
In the face of persistent agricultural challenges, technology has emerged as a transformative force, with farming robots leading the way. Carbon Robotics’ Autonomous Weeder is a standout example of how innovation can revolutionize agriculture. This remarkable machine is designed to address the dual problems of labor shortages and environmental damage caused by conventional weed management practices. By combining artificial intelligence with advanced laser technology, the Autonomous Weeder delivers an unprecedented level of precision and efficiency.



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quote:

Originally posted by wcb6092:
cutting-edge weed management systems

Doubly nice wordplay in the article, as this beastie doesn't use edges.

Being serious though, this seems very cool.

While I'm not sure of the cost-effectiveness as we sit here, automation is how the modern world deals with labor shortages as well as high labor costs, and it's not unforeseeable that folks willing to go into fields to weed by hand may become scarcer and scarcer.

John Deere has had their "See & Spray" system available since 2023. When one of the cameras on the spray boom sees a weed, they turn on whatever nozzle is necessary to spray just the weed. And you can travel at speeds of up to 12 mph, which is pretty fast for field work. Amazing technology. My neighbor is an engineer for Deere who works on camera technology.

See & Spray

I don't know as I've ever seen anybody weeding a field by hand. I do that in my garden, but on the scale that the commercial ag folks grow stuff around here I don't see that being a viable solution at all. They do bring in migrant workers to detassle corn, but all the weed management is chemical. And those chemicals run off and cause algae blooms in the lakes and contaminate the streams. If something like this could be made viable, it would be a huge improvement over the chemical approach.

Is that a SkyNet logo?

How much CO2 do the burning weeds produce? Will that CO2 again be blamed on vehicles and cows?

Here in high yield corn country, the fields that are used to produce hybrid seeds for next years' crops are very often hand weeded to make sure of maximum yield. In some cases female corn tops are even bagged and hand fertilized to guarantee that only the proper pollen is introduced to the plants to make sure the cross is not diluted. These are extremely high value seed crops that are worth the extra efforts. Years ago I saw one small bag of seeds that a breeder brought into a bar and said it was ten years of work and worth $10,000 in those days prices. Possibly would be millions today. To keep purity in the strain they would grow corn in greenhouses for early crosses to get the trait they were trying to replicate and end up with a handful of seeds. I suspect with gene splicing and other techniques that more of that type of work is done in labs today but eventually to get usable quantity of seed crops it eventually has to go to the fields.
Even today, Pioneer Seed Corn has a remote island in the Hawaiian chain that is used to grow fields of seed corn to prevent cross polination. A brother of an uncle of mine worked for Pioneer and lived on that island. My aunt and uncle and my father and mother visited them years ago.

On another track in this thread, that laser weeder would be very practical for weeding on organic farms to allow for higher crop yields without using chemicals. If I recall to be certified organic a farm must not use any chemical weed control for at least three years, maybe longer. There can also not have been any petroleum based fertilizers applied during that time. To obtain organic certification the farm is inspected and tested throughout this time for adherence to the standards and any violation resets the certification process to day one.

I wonder how well it works if it dusty ??

That is pretty cool.

Dang - put one in my shopping cart now. Getting to old to weed the yard each year.

Need a home owner version, robot vacuum size to just wander the yard for a few hours.

quote:

Originally posted by konata88:
Dang - put one in my shopping cart now. Getting to old to weed the yard each year.

Need a home owner version, robot vacuum size to just wander the yard for a few hours.

Yep. I did my mulch beds by hand a few months ago and the weeds are all back again. Getting too old for this shit so bring on the robot version!

quote:

Originally posted by Vgex:
How much CO2 do the burning weeds produce? Will that CO2 again be blamed on vehicles and cows?

If we're going to measure that, we should measure against the industrial complex and transport systems that bring millions of pounds of pesticide to all four corners of the earth. I'm all for anything that displaces complex chemicals.

quote:

How much CO2 do the burning weeds produce?

Probably about the same as a methane farting vegan produces after a legume meal.

Wow! Thirty 150 watt CO2 lasers per system!

CO2 lasers perform very well in dirty environments. As far as keeping the optics clean, the system will most likely have an output window that can be replaced while keeping the internal optics clean. It wouldn't be that hard to rig a windshield wiper-type of system or an air knife that would remove contaminants for each output window. The internal optics will most likely have an air purging system that blows in clean air while forcing contaminants out of the air cracks in the system.

UV, green, red and small wavelength IR need clean optics to perform.

Tony.

My nephew runs a regional distribution warehouse for Helena agricultural chemicals. I asked him if this would put him out of business. His response:

“Absolutely not. 238 million acres in production in the US alone and 1 machine can weed 48 acres at best in 24 hours? Not to mention timeliness that is required. It may be feasible on high value crops like the tulips in the article and strawberries, but not on an industrial scale.”

Just told him not yet anyway.

I hope it quickly becomes cost efficient (the JD smart herbicide applicator too). Somehow, we need to maintain agricultural productivity without poring millions of tons of herbicides on our food.

quote:

Originally posted by Vgex:
How much CO2 do the burning weeds produce? Will that CO2 again be blamed on vehicles and cows?

I don't know, but I can't imagine that it's not healthier than nuking everything with round up, and genetically modifying desirable crops to be round up resistant. It may not be economical yet, but this is awesome! Heck, if they come out with a consumer version for Dallis grass, I may go ahead and splurge even if it's not economical!

I was being tongue in cheek with regard to my comment. It seems as if any change in farming unless it's selling off/abandoning the property is perceived to destroy the environment further.