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Man Finally Makes the Weed-Removing Robot

Posted by samzenpus on from the it-only-listens-to-reggae dept.

Roland Piquepaille writes "According to the Ludington Daily News, Michigan, Danish agricultural engineers have built a robot to help farmers with weeds. The Hortibot is about 3-foot-by-3-foot, is self-propelled, and uses global positioning system (GPS). It can recognize 25 different kinds of weeds and eliminate them by using its weed-removing attachments. It's also very environmentally friendly because it can reduce herbicide usage by 75 percent. But so far, it's only a prototype and the Danish engineers need to find a manufacturer for distribution."

19 of 258 comments (clear)

  1. Well it's about time by blool · · Score: 5, Funny

    I for one, welcome our weed killing friends... As long as we remain friends.

  2. My mortal enemy by wawannem · · Score: 5, Funny

    I am going to hunt this thing down and destroy every last ounce of it's evil metal body...

    Right after I get up off the couch

  3. What does this thing look like? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Insightful

    I'm just curious as to how it works. Anyone have pictures?

    They say it identifies 25 types of weeds but at what accuracy? I would think accuracy is more important than total number of detectable weeds. If it misidentified your crop as weed you might lose a lot. Imagine coming home one day and it has pulled out or burned your entire crop and it just sits there with a grin.

  4. Hello, We'd Like to Buy You Out by g8orade · · Score: 5, Insightful

    This is Monsanto...

  5. Ho Hum, call me when they perfect the by Ellis+D.+Tripp · · Score: 4, Funny

    weed GROWING robot, or even the weed SMOKING robot..

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  6. This is great, but by cfvgcfvg · · Score: 4, Insightful

    We want more weed, not less. Oh, wait..

  7. Hmm.... lasers... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Funny
    From the article: (emphasis mine)

    It can manually pick weeds, spray, or remove them using flames or a laser.
    Now all we need are the sharks...

    (Sorry, I couldn't resist.)
  8. Why has it taken so long? by eggfoolr · · Score: 5, Funny

    Why has it taken so long for man to make one? Woman worked out how to do it long ago!

  9. Re:Weed-removing attachments? by dabraun · · Score: 4, Informative

    By "weed-removing attachments" they better mean lasers, or I'm going to be mighty disappointed.

    If you RTFA you will notice that lasers are in fact one of the "weed-removing attachments" they have.
  10. Obligatory Joke by Enderandrew · · Score: 4, Funny

    "Man Finally Makes the Weed-Removing Robot"

    In other news, Bush announces a major victory in the war on drugs.

    --
    http://blindscribblings.com - Tasty pop-culture in conceptual fashion.
  11. Re:Weed-removing attachments? by Frosty+Piss · · Score: 4, Funny

    If you RTFA you will notice that lasers are in fact one of the "weed-removing attachments" they have.

    So, in other words, it smokes the weed...

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  12. Link to Hortibot project by drgould · · Score: 4, Informative

    HortiBot - A Plant Nursing Robot

    Doesn't look like they've gone too far yet, but interesting nevertheless.

  13. What would be even cooler by transporter_ii · · Score: 5, Funny

    What would be even cooler, would be a weed growing robot. And if they come up with this, I think a fitting name would be Bender.

    Transporter_ii

    --
    Doctors destroy health, lawyers destroy justice, universities destroy knowledge, religion destroys spirituality
    1. Re:What would be even cooler by MillionthMonkey · · Score: 5, Funny

      What would be even cooler, would be a weed growing robot.

      That would be awesome... if the cops catch your robot tending to the weed it can be programmed to say uhh I forgot who I'm growing this hash for man I have only so much RAM to devote to remembering things and I just can't remember who programmed me to grow all this sticky bud and there's nothing the pigs can do because your robot will be programmed to enjoy prison and be willing to spend years there in standby mode to conserve battery life but if the grower is some guy you'd have to promise him that you'll commute his sentence so he can perjure himself all he wants for you knowing you'll eventually bail him out... but under the existing system you can't do that unless you're the president who must have access to a mean supply of weed because you can see how worried he's been looking lately.

    2. Re:What would be even cooler by Evil+Cretin · · Score: 4, Funny

      Looks like someone has a punctuation-removing robot...

      --
      "A deadlock has been reached. One task must die. We must now choose between murder and suicide."
  14. When aliens land... by AndroidCat · · Score: 5, Funny

    "Take me to your weeder!"

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  15. Congratulations... by Dunbal · · Score: 5, Funny

    I'm going to get shit for this but:

          So the Danes finally managed to clone "Mexicans"?

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    Seven puppies were harmed during the making of this post.
  16. Just get a herd of goats instead by ross.w · · Score: 4, Informative

    You may think goats eat anything, but they are actually particularly choosy. Depending on what your weed problem is, they will actually eat the weeds preferentially and keep them under control. They find things like blackberry, etc especially tasty. Very important to keep them out of your garden though, because they also like roses and other flowers.

    Of course if your problem is bracken, bring on the Robot. Nothing eats that stuff.

    --
    If my call is important, why am I talking to a recording?
  17. Re:It recognizes weeds? Excellent. What else? by ozmanjusri · · Score: 5, Funny
    Slow drivers! Stupid people! Luddites! Conservatives!

    Sarah Connor?

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