[ExI] lettuce bot

spike spike66 at att.net
Thu Sep 20 02:45:30 UTC 2012


 

Cool I have envisioned something like this for some time now, at least since
becoming part owner of a farm.  It seems to me like this could be programmed
to recognize harmful bugs and differentiate from harmless or beneficial
bugs.  Then zap the bad guys with a laser or something.  What I don't know,
but Keith does, is if an effective laser could be run off of batteries,
rather than internal combustion.  Reasoning: neither the weed recognition,
nor the bug recognition, nor the laser control system would work right with
reciprocating machinery aboard, I would think.

 

spike

 

If food was a superhero (called, I don't know.Captain Nutrient), one of its
most dangerous archenemies would be The Vile Weed.

Against this invasive enemy, we have but one weapon - herbicides. According
to a recent report from Transparency Market Research
<http://www.cbs19.tv/story/19338558/global-crop-protection-chemicals-industr
y-is-expected-to-reach-usd-713-billion-in-2018-transparency-market-research?
clienttype=printable> , the global herbicide market was estimated to be
about $20 billion in 2011 and expected to grow around 6 percent over the
next six years. But spraying chemicals seems like a sloppy, old school
method for dealing with weeds, especially when they inevitably develop
chemical resistance in their drive for self-preservation. Perhaps what crops
need to be free of this nemesis is a humble sidekick, one that can tip the
balance in the war playing out amongst rows of tiny trenches splayed across
farmer's fields everywhere.

Today, that sidekick has arrived.at least on battlefields growing lettuce,
hence its nickname: "Lettuce Bot."

 

 

 

 

http://singularityhub.com/2012/09/19/lettuce-bot-rolls-through-crops-termina
tes-weeds-it-visually-identifies/?utm_source=The+Harvest+Is+Bountiful
<http://singularityhub.com/2012/09/19/lettuce-bot-rolls-through-crops-termin
ates-weeds-it-visually-identifies/?utm_source=The+Harvest+Is+Bountiful&utm_m
edium=email&utm_campaign=23b96ebc53-RSS_EMAIL_CAMPAIGN>
&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=23b96ebc53-RSS_EMAIL_CAMPAIGN

 

 

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