- Location
- Exeter, Devon
The future?Whats the robotic weeder?
The future?Whats the robotic weeder?
Never heard of a Norfolk four course. Seems like the basics of what we already do right enough.Aren't we are just talking around the Norfolk Four Course Rotation? Grass, Cereal, Break, Cereal, Grass? Remember those farmers were up against a Gov determined to drive down food costs for industrial workers, with no subsidy, no well funded trials in place, no agrochemcials, just what they knew and had experienced for themselves. Of course it wasn't perfect, but I'm sure that there is definitely something in what they were doing, and its a good starting point.
was hoping for something more specific! I'm on the farmer advisory for Small Robot Company, and their's is coming, hopefully next autumn. Just wondered what else is out there alreadyThe future?
Tell us more! Intrigued.was hoping for something more specific! I'm on the farmer advisory for Small Robot Company, and their's is coming, hopefully next autumn. Just wondered what else is out there already
SRC are developing 3 robots, Tom Dick and Harry to carry out per plant farming. Tom is the scouting robot. He locates and records the position of every plant in the field. That is run through cental intelligence "Wilma", and the AI can now recognise wheat from weeds, final nut to crack was blackgrass, and it seems this is now done with help from CHAP and Rothamsted. So Wilma will give this data to Dick, the weed zapper robot who is equipped with several Rootwave probes which electrocute weeds. Dick goes to the location of the weeds and kills them.Tell us more! Intrigued.
Any thoughts on using them for veg growing? I’ll have a few acres of organic veg who’d love to meet Tom and Dick this summer!SRC are developing 3 robots, Tom Dick and Harry to carry out per plant farming. Tom is the scouting robot. He locates and records the position of every plant in the field. That is run through cental intelligence "Wilma", and the AI can now recognise wheat from weeds, final nut to crack was blackgrass, and it seems this is now done with help from CHAP and Rothamsted. So Wilma will give this data to Dick, the weed zapper robot who is equipped with several Rootwave probes which electrocute weeds. Dick goes to the location of the weeds and kills them.
Tom and Wilma are running in final prototype before pre series, and Dick early prototype stage. Not sure if Covid has extended timeline, but we were due to see prototypes of Dick working in fields this Autumn.
Other crops will follow.
Harry will be the planting bot, and will come later.
Yes, eventually, but because there are other solutions already at market for veg (Robocrop etc) it was the vision of the founders to create a solution for broad acre crops first, as thats the biggest market, and the biggest environmental gainAny thoughts on using them for veg growing? I’ll have a few acres of organic veg who’d love to meet Tom and Dick this summer!
It'll come. Hopefully quickly now.Robocrop is fine, but what I’d like to see is something self propelled which can be left to get on with it, like the robot mowers.
SRC will work on it. But Saga, Ecorobotix and plenty of others spring to mind.Would be a game changer for us. Do you know of any development work being done by anyone?