Robot treats 500k plants per hour with 95% less chemicals [video] • Hacker News Board

battery_glasses wrote: post #70

When I see stuff like this sometimes I get depressed that I'm building apps that just move little bits of information around the web and don't have any real demonstrable value to the world. How hard is the jump into the realm of computer vision/AI/robotics for someone with strong skills and experience building web applications? Is the coding much different? Is a company like this employing math/theroy-heavy people to…

good engineers and good companies both know good engineering skills transcend technology and domain. switching is very much possible.

Re: Robot treats 500k plants per hour with 95% less chemicals [video]

#126

Post by karmaMeansCool » Thu, Nov 17, 2022, 1:55 AM UTC

iio7 wrote: post #62

While we're at it, let's get rid of the chemicals. There is no situation in which the toxic chemicals doesn't create a whole new set of problems.

Please don't have opinion that are different from everyone else.

Re: Robot treats 500k plants per hour with 95% less chemicals [video]

#127

Post by askvictor » Thu, Nov 17, 2022, 1:58 AM UTC

mastazi wrote: post #60

This is an improvement within the current paradigm of "big ag", but IMHO tech is opening the possibility of a completely different way of doing things. For example, this comment which is below the linked video imagines a robot-maintained food forest, I think it's on point because I, too, believe that the future is swarms of small robots rather than a few big tractors: > Imagine, a few years down the line, applying th…

I wonder how long it will take weeds to evolve to being 'invisible' to the robots' eyes.

Re: Robot treats 500k plants per hour with 95% less chemicals [video]

#128

Post by JoeAltmaier » Thu, Nov 17, 2022, 2:00 AM UTC

askvictor wrote: post #127

mastazi wrote: post #60

This is an improvement within the current paradigm of "big ag", but IMHO tech is opening the possibility of a completely different way of doing things. For example, this comment which is below the linked video imagines a robot-maintained food forest, I think it's on point because I, too, believe that the future is swarms of small robots rather than a few big tractors: > Imagine, a few years down the line, applying th…

I wonder how long it will take weeds to evolve to being 'invisible' to the robots' eyes.

Well, the invisible ones will thrive immediately. So, 1 generation.

Re: Robot treats 500k plants per hour with 95% less chemicals [video]

#129

Post by JoeAltmaier » Thu, Nov 17, 2022, 2:01 AM UTC

Chemicals are maybe the smallest cost of agriculture. Used to be >

So saving even 95% is maybe not a compelling economical argument to use this.

Re: Robot treats 500k plants per hour with 95% less chemicals [video]

#130

Post by propogandist » Thu, Nov 17, 2022, 2:13 AM UTC

mfiguiere wrote: post #35

Mindblowing that it geo-locates and stores the centimeter scale position of the 4M plants of a farm!

this is likely the SaaS part of the operation, in addition to the large CapEx to get the equipment setup.