Nvidia has revealed a surprising partnership with an agricultural robotics company whose flagship product deals out instant laser death to fields full of weeds. The awe-inspiring Carbon Robotics LaserWeeder G2 packs in 24 high power lasers and 24 Nvidia GPUs to facilitate its claimed “10,000 weeds per minute” zapping performance. That’s equivalent to 600,000 weeds per hour, or 167 weeds per second.
Image 1 of 3
(Image credit: Carbon Robotics )
(Image credit: Carbon Robotics )
(Image credit: Carbon Robotics )Why laser your weeds?
Carbon Robotics is of course very positive about the qualities and performance of an AI and laser-powered weed control system. It highlights the trend of weeds becoming increasingly resistant to herbicides. It touts the sub-millimeter precision and identification accuracy of the Nvidia-accelerated ‘Large Plant Model’ weed identification system, which ensures your crops don’t fall to friendly fire. The robotics device is also a massive labor saver, outperforming “a hand crew of 75 people,” according to the product pages for the G2 600 model.
You may like
Interestingly, Carbon Robotics also aims to address the “global shortage of tractor drivers.” It is an autonomous retrofit for existing tractors, says the Nvidia blog. It can thus work long and ungodly hours. For extra safety, these autonomous tractors are said to be monitored via a remote operations center.
LaserWeeder G2 in Cilantro – YouTube
There are some downsides to devices like the G2, though. Such robotic machinery surely comes with a lofty price tag. Including the Nvidia GPUs and laser tech probably makes this tractor-pulled tech much more expensive than traditional farming machinery.
Also, those with experience of using devices which burn weeds will be aware that if a root survives, it sometimes doesn’t take very long for it to spring right back up. Lastly, there is some added hazard here, due to the laser technology inadvertently injuring someone’s eyes or skin. In arid areas, there may also be concerns about fires propagating from the fields to the surrounding countryside.
Follow Tom’s Hardware on Google News to get our up-to-date news, analysis, and reviews in your feeds. Make sure to click the Follow button.