New Autonomous Technology Claims It Can Eliminate 100,000 Weeds Per Hour

With ongoing issues with herbicides, including bans on certain products and increasing numbers of superweeds, a Seattle company is trying to solve farmer’s headaches by turning to technology to get the job done. Carbon Robotics recently introduced their 10,000-pound weed management system, roughly the size of a mid-range tractor, known as the Autonomous LaserWeeder. The system relies on 20 high-resolution cameras that scan fields in real time and then feeds the information to an onboard computer system to target and eliminate weeds with high-powered lasers. It is said to kill weeds at the meristem without harming the crop or soil conditions; up to 100,000 in an hour.

Carbon Robotics representatives say machines are already sold out for 2021 and only two remain available for delivery in late 2022. They plan to do additional testing on corn, soybeans and wheat in 2022.

Read more on Carbon Robotics and the Autonomous LaserWeeder.