Gadgets

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Gadget (noun): a small mechanical / electrical device or tool, especially an ingenious or novel one.

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Mother plucker: Steel fingers guided by AI pluck weeds rapidly and autonomously (arstechnica.com)

submitted 1 year ago by diacewrb@alien.top to c/gadgets@hardware.watch

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[–] FriendsCallMeAsshole@alien.top 1 points 1 year ago (1 children)

I'm pretty sure a version of this that just burns the weeds using lasers already exists. Having some contraption to rip out the weeds to me seems a lot more complicated and therefore expensive, with also more moving parts that likely need repair more often. Would ripping out the weeds offer that much more benefit over just burning them to justify that additional cost? I assume ripped out weeds would stay away longer, since the roots are removed or damaged, but I don't really know the economic impact of weeds on the harvest. Do we have any farmers in the room who could share some insight on this?

[–] _RADIANTSUN_@alien.top 1 points 1 year ago

Actually ripping them out is simpler and more effective. Plants contain quite a lot of water and lasers are really not very efficient and effective in that use case.