David Becker
Gear

New Robot Whacks Weeds

Danish engineers are ready to introduce the world to "Hortibot," a weed-killing robot meant to take some of the drudgery out of growing vegetables. The self-propelled, GPS-guided unit can identify 25 different types of weeds and remove them with a variety of methods, including plucking, pinpoint spraying, and torching with flames or laser. That last […]

Danish engineers are ready to introduce the world to "Hortibot," a weed-killing robot meant to take some of the drudgery out of growing vegetables. The self-propelled, GPS-guided unit can identify 25 different types of weeds and remove them with a variety of methods, including plucking, pinpoint spraying, and torching with flames or laser.

That last bit makes the machine a high scorer on the Gadget Lab "What If This Thing Develops Sentience and a Bad Attitude?" danger scale.

Developer Claus Soerensen is shopping around a prototype as he looks for a manufacturer, with the eventual price projected at around $70,000.

Hortibotvision

Robot built to help farmers with weeds [Luddington Daily News (via Slashdot) }