https://edition.cnn.com/2021/06/09/tech/robot-zaps-weeds-spc-intl/
"London (CNN Business)On a field in England, three robots have been given a
mission: to find and zap weeds with electricity before planting seeds in the
cleared soil.
The robots — named Tom, Dick and Harry — were developed by Small Robot Company
to rid land of unwanted weeds with minimal use of chemicals and heavy
machinery.
The startup has been working on its autonomous weed killers since 2017, and
this April launched Tom, its first commercial robot which is now operational on
three UK farms. The other robots are still in the prototype stage, undergoing
testing.
Small Robot says robot Tom can scan 20 hectares (49 acres) a day, collecting
data which is then used by Dick, a "crop-care" robot, to zap weeds. Then it's
robot Harry's turn to plant seeds in the weed-free soil.
Using the full system, once it is up and running, farmers could reduce costs by
40% and chemical usage by up to 95%, the company says.
According to the UN Food and Agriculture Organization six million metric tons
of pesticides were traded globally in 2018, valued at $38 billion.
"Our system allows farmers to wean their depleted, damaged soils off a diet of
chemicals," says Ben Scott-Robinson, Small Robot's co-founder and CEO."
Via Frederick Wilson II.
Share and enjoy,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
