A Roomba for weeds on a farm.
We are building an autonomous robot to precisely eliminate weeds and leave crops untouched. Despite $100 billion being spent annually on weed control, weeds still cost the US economy $46B/year. Weeds steal sunlight and nutrients from crops, forcing farmers to choose between higher costs and lower yields. Moreover, many farms still rely on hand labor to control weed growth. The process is slow, expensive, and increasingly difficult due to constant labor shortages (1 out of every 5 US farm positions go unfilled each year). Our robot nicknamed the Field Hand is able to automate one of the worst jobs on a farm and will help healthily feed the world.