No one likes the idea that vegetables contain herbicides, but hiring workers to manually pluck weeds can be prohibitively expensive for farmers. Provides an alternative as it automatically finds and pulls out weeds while leaving the crops unattended.
Developed by FarmWise, an agricultural technology company spun off from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), the Vulcan is a wheeled device pulled across a field by a human-driven tractor.
Depending on the model, it consists of one or three “beds”, each of which can cover from 1 to 8 rows of plants (depending on the species). The bed incorporates a series of motorized weeding blades along with an intelligent plant scanner module that includes multiple cameras, LED spotlights and a microprocessor.
As that module moves over the row, it uses a custom machine-learning-based algorithm to first determine which plants are weeds, then mechanically steer the blades in the direction of pulling. of those weeds.I know the system no Crop pulling – Reportedly, you can visually recognize 20 different varieties.
farmwise
FarmWise says the Vulcan can be used day or night, on wet or dry fields. Its electronics he IP69 waterproof and can withstand being washed down with pressures up to 100 bar (1,450 psi). The single bed model is claimed to weigh less than 3,500 pounds (1,588 kg).
Vulcan is currently accepting pre-orders, with first deliveries expected to begin in October. Pricing has not been announced at this time.
Other systems such as Greeneye, Solix Sprayer and herbicide GUSS can autonomously locate weeds and apply herbicide.
Source: Farmwise
