Weed killer robot is already rushing to rescue
2023.01.08 04:34
Weed killer robot is already rushing to rescue
Budrigannews.com – The following task has been assigned to three robots on an English field: before planting seeds in the cleared soil, to locate and zap weeds with electricity.
Small Robot Company created the robots, which go by the names Tom, Dick, and Harry, to get rid of unwanted weeds without using a lot of heavy machinery or chemicals.
Since 2017, the company has been developing autonomous weed killers. In April, it introduced Tom, its first commercial robot, which is currently in use on three farms in the UK. The remaining robots are still being tested as prototypes.
According to Small Robot, the robot Tom can collect data from a daily scan of 20 hectares (49 acres), which Dick, a “crop-care” robot, uses to kill weeds. After that, Harry the robot will plant seeds in the weed-free soil.
According to the company, once the complete system is operational, farmers could reduce their chemical use by up to 95% and their costs by 40%.
Six million metric tons of pesticides, worth $38 billion, were traded worldwide in 2018, according to the UN Food and Agriculture Organization.
Ben Scott-Robinson, the co-founder and chief executive officer of Small Robot, states, “Our system allows farmers to wean their depleted, damaged soils off a diet of chemicals.”
Small Robot claims to have raised $9.9 million, or over £7 million. According to Scott-Robinson, the company intends to offer its complete robot system as a service for approximately £400 ($568) per hectare by 2023. The weeding and planting robots are only delivered when data indicates that they are required, with the monitoring robot being placed first at a farm.
Small Robot collaborated with RootWave, a different UK-based startup, to develop the zapping technology.
According to Scott-Robinson, “it creates a current that goes through the plant’s roots through the soil and then back up, which completely destroys the weed.” We can eliminate each individual plant that poses a threat to crop plants.
He states, “It’s not as quick as it would be if you went out and sprayed the entire field.” However, keep in mind that we must only enter the weed-ridden areas of the field. Plants that are neither harmful to the crops nor neutral are ignored.
This is what Small Robot refers to as “per plant farming,” which is a type of precise agriculture in which each plant is counted and tracked.
Efficiency remains a challenge for Kit Franklin, an agricultural engineering lecturer at Harper Adams University.
He tells CNN Business, “There is no doubt in my mind that the electrical system works.” However, a large-scale sprayer can cover hundreds of hectares per day. If we want to develop this highly precise weed-killing system, we need to be aware of an output reduction that is extremely difficult to overcome.
Franklin, on the other hand, believes that farmers will adopt the technology if they can see a business case for it.
He asserts, “There is a realization that farming in an environmentally friendly manner is also a method of farming efficiently.” We’ll save money and be better for the environment and farmers’ perceptions if we use fewer inputs where and when we need them.
Small Robot intends to enhance biodiversity and soil quality in addition to reducing chemical use.
According to Scott-Robinson, “if you treat a living environment like an industrial process, then you are ignoring the complexity of it.” We must alter farming immediately or there will be nothing to farm.
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