Nov 18, 2015
Bosch-funded start-up company Deepfield Robotics is the latest company to develop a field vehicle that can distinguish weeds from crops.
The technology, named Bonirob, claims that it will make plant breeding more efficient and reduce the environmental impact of crop farming.
Bonirob, which is the size of a small car, can monitor how well new crop varieties grow, whether they are resistant to pests and how much fertiliser and water they need.
It can distinguish between crops and weeds according to the shape of their leaves and then fish out weeds mechanically, rather than with herbicides.
Unwanted plants are, apparently, simply rammed into the ground with a rod.