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Farming robot kills 100k weeds per hour with lasers

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Re: Farming robot kills 100k weeds per hour with lasers

#221

Post by chasd00 »

Balgair wrote: post #131
motohagiography wrote: post #56

Given where ML and CV are today, I'd bet on open source models trained on weeds within 3-5 years. This company can scale, but their unit price is going to plummet. Also, it sounds like they're using cameras, where it's concievable that other future sensors could be more efficient. An iteration of this with higher resolution cameras and small flying drones seems like an intuitive next step. This is a super interesting…

> Also, it sounds like they're using cameras, where it's concievable that other future sensors could be more efficient. Bit of a pedantic note: What other sensor could you use? I'm grasping at straws (pun not intended) to figure out any other modality that could work as well in a giant field of psuedo-randomly mixed plants with the wind blowing chemical signatures all about.

i'm sure i'm oversimplifying but if you can reliably identify your crop then everything else is a weed. Maybe put some kind of GMO marker that makes what you want to keep stick out like a sore thumb then you just nuke everything else.

Re: Farming robot kills 100k weeds per hour with lasers

#222

Post by xxpor »

SamBam wrote: post #173
the_mitsuhiko wrote: post #44

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Farming equipment is typically fuel based. And this appears to be the case for this robot as well: it uses Diesel.

At that point, is this more environmental than applying Round-Up to the field? Each of these lumbering beasts goes 5 MPH, burning diesel the entire time. How many gallons of gas is going to be spent weeding a hundred acres of farmland?

How do you think the roundup is applied in the first place?

Re: Farming robot kills 100k weeds per hour with lasers

#223

Post by gdubs »

CoastalCoder wrote: post #211
gdubs wrote: post #183

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It depends on the weed. Overall you’re going to put pressure on it. With conventional fields like the ones pictured in this article, there’s often no ground cover. If you have a ground cover (say, clover) and you’re defoliating the weeds all the time, then you have a chance. But some weeds, like invasive blackberries here in the Pacific Northwest, are extremely resilient and will shrug off defoliation.

Thanks for the info! > But some weeds, like invasive blackberries here in the Pacific Northwest, are extremely resilient and will shrug off defoliation. How does that work? I thought all plants (by definition?) need photosynthesis to stay alive in non-dormant states. Do blackberry plants have some way of getting energy other than photosynthesis in their leaves?

I’m not a botanist but my understanding is that the root balls hold a ton of energy and the plant can just keep sending out shoots, and spread underground for fairly long distances. So, eventually that energy source will run out, but they’re invasive because of how resilient they are at finding sneaky ways to hide and appear.

Re: Farming robot kills 100k weeds per hour with lasers

#224

Post by Frenchgeek »

chasd00 wrote: post #221
Balgair wrote: post #131

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Also, it sounds like they're using cameras, where it's concievable that other future sensors could be more efficient. Bit of a pedantic note: What other sensor could you use? I'm grasping at straws (pun not intended) to figure out any other modality that could work as well in a giant field of psuedo-randomly mixed plants with the wind blowing chemical signatures all about.

i'm sure i'm oversimplifying but if you can reliably identify your crop then everything else is a weed. Maybe put some kind of GMO marker that makes what you want to keep stick out like a sore thumb then you just nuke everything else.

If you know where your crops are, everything else is a weed.

Re: Farming robot kills 100k weeds per hour with lasers

#225

Post by delfinom »

Arrath wrote: post #217
piyh wrote: post #81

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Drones do not seem like a logical step for me. I'm not a laser expert, but seems like the energy storage needed to kill hundreds to thousands of something with light is heavier than flying would realistically allow. Wheels and tracks are what farming is built around, no need to literally reinvent the wheel here.

I would see the drones being used to help map weed concentration and optimize the route/efficiency of the weed killing robot, not using drones to kill the weeds. There are already solutions that use drone photogrammetry to map crop health, ground coverage and so on. It feels like a logical next step to use a drone to assist mapping the best route/find problem areas to target for the weed-roomba.

>I would see the drones being used to help map weed concentration and optimize the route/efficiency of the weed killing robot, not using drones to kill the weeds.

That's a ridiculous solution to a non-existent problem. The robot literally has no rush to go to the weeds. It can crawl along the field by itself 24/7. Throw in a solar panel charging station and you literally have free energy for it to piss away.

Instead you want to add complexity to the setup, increase maintenance costs and potentially shorten the lifespan of the system.

Re: Farming robot kills 100k weeds per hour with lasers

#226

Post by chasd00 »

titzer wrote: post #153
gdubs wrote: post #148

Earlier quoted context omitted.

We have an upland prairie which is a vanishing ecosystem which we are conserving. It’s fairly steep. We don’t have sheep but maybe someday we’ll get some. Until then, mowing is a way to keep it healthy and free of invasive plants.

Is mowing really any less work than pulling weeds by hand? Keep in mind that insects need habitat, too, and tall grasses are key for them. Mowing obliterates insects.

when i was in HS i worked on one of those crews you see mowing highways and state parks (super good money for a teen but man it was hard work). Mowing on a slope with a large tractor can be very dangerous because you can tip over. Automating away the danger to a human may be worth the effort in its own right.

Re: Farming robot kills 100k weeds per hour with lasers

#227

Post by delfinom »

Retric wrote: post #164
riskable wrote: post #147

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> This makes it easy to identify crops ...until they evolve to emit the same spectrum of light as the crops being harvested! Cuz you know that's going to happen.

That’s a slow process, further you can always rotate between crops with different spectra.

It sounds like a slow process but plant life cycles are yearly compared to 20+ years for human generations to spawn, it will happen faster than you think. There are already round up resistant weeds and it's only been 50 years.

Re: Farming robot kills 100k weeds per hour with lasers

#228

Post by NullPrefix »

SamBam wrote: post #173
the_mitsuhiko wrote: post #44

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Farming equipment is typically fuel based. And this appears to be the case for this robot as well: it uses Diesel.

At that point, is this more environmental than applying Round-Up to the field? Each of these lumbering beasts goes 5 MPH, burning diesel the entire time. How many gallons of gas is going to be spent weeding a hundred acres of farmland?

Diesel engines can be eventually replaced with overhead wires

Re: Farming robot kills 100k weeds per hour with lasers

#229

Post by delfinom »

chasd00 wrote: post #226
titzer wrote: post #153

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Is mowing really any less work than pulling weeds by hand? Keep in mind that insects need habitat, too, and tall grasses are key for them. Mowing obliterates insects.

when i was in HS i worked on one of those crews you see mowing highways and state parks (super good money for a teen but man it was hard work). Mowing on a slope with a large tractor can be very dangerous because you can tip over. Automating away the danger to a human may be worth the effort in its own right.

The real problem is tractors aren't designed correctly for slopes, you don't need quite automation as much as a vehicle with lower center of gravity.

Re: Farming robot kills 100k weeds per hour with lasers

#230

Post by ogre_codes »

nemo44x wrote: post #146
piyh wrote: post #81

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Drones do not seem like a logical step for me. I'm not a laser expert, but seems like the energy storage needed to kill hundreds to thousands of something with light is heavier than flying would realistically allow. Wheels and tracks are what farming is built around, no need to literally reinvent the wheel here.

What about putting them on an electrified wire? String a grid of them over the fields for motion and for power. Power the grid with solar.

Any kind of wired setup would interfere with other tractors they use in the field. Fertilization, and eventually harvesting.

I’m not sure why people are inventing more complicated solutions when this robot seems to handle the job quite well without them. It covers 20 acres in a day, you can likely keep 100+ acres weed free continuously without any other special gimmicks.

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