AI in Agriculture

Lasers, tractors, and reduced costs for farmers.

Author

Josh Cadorette
September 07, 2023

Howdy from Raleigh,

Everyone is talking about AI and how it’ll change everything.

Sometimes, it’s hard to imagine something so seemingly abstract.

That’s why, today, we’re jumping into a tangible AI use case: farming.

We’re putting lasers on tractors to kill weeds.

I bet that’s a sentence that you haven’t heard before.

Seattle-based startup Carbon Robotics is establishing “laserweeding.”

It’s precision weed control for commercial farms.

They arm a tractor with computer vision (same tech that powers self-driving cars) to spot out any vegetation that isn’t the crop.

It then automatically fires a precise laser, killing off weeds that would have taken away resources (water, minerals) from the crop.

But wait - there’s more. The laser also shoots down the crop itself too.

“Why would the laser shoot down the crop? Isn’t the laser supposed to support our veggies?” - you (probably)

Sometimes, farmers accidentally over-seed their fields.

Two crops competing for a single crop’s sustenance is bad, and it’s better to have one healthy crop than two dead ones.

As a result, the computer picks a crop to take out and hits it with the laser.

AI determining which veggies will and won’t live - pretty wild.

Here’s the Carbon Robotics tractor. That bright light is the laser going to work.

Alright, but will this actually have an impact on farming?

The short answer is maybe.

Here’s the case that Carbon Robotics makes:

  • Weed control is the #1 expense for farmers

  • The laser reportedly kills weeds 80x faster than humans

  • This mitigates the use of herbicides, leading to a higher quality yield and more nutrient rich soil for future farming

The value proposition: lower costs. Faster weed removal. Less herbicides. Higher quality crop. Higher quality soil.

Shoot, I’m all for it if it means we can put more affordable organic produce on the shelves.

This is an actual image of a weed getting hit by a laser. The crop remains unharmed despite being so close to impact.

What I’m paying attention to:

This 15-second video of the laser tractor in motion

Thanks for reading

More info on my new role coming next week,

Josh

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