Laser weeding

Killing weeds with high-power lasers aimed by cameras and AI, replacing herbicides or hand-weeding.

• A tractor-pulled unit images the crop bed, identifies each weed, and fires a laser that heats its growing point for a fraction of a second.
• Carbon Robotics' LaserWeeder carries about 30 lasers and the company claims it can kill thousands of weeds per minute.
• It suits organic and high-value vegetable farms, where hand-weeding crews are expensive and hard to hire.
• The machines are costly, cover ground more slowly than sprayers, and work best on small weeds before they establish.