FarmWise and Roush make stand-alone vegetable weeders

Weeding robots could be a major help for Michigan farmers. Autonomous vehicles will be designed for precision weeding and thinning and will be able to operate 24 hours a day, saving farmers from tedious tasks. The robots will also be designed to adapt perfectly to different crops as they progress on the farm.

While the partnership between FarmWise Labs and Roush can create an important new tool for farmers, farm automation is not a new idea. Many farms use robots to perform tasks such as seeding, fertilizing and applying chemicals. In 2017, English researchers even managed to sow and harvest a barley field using only robots. In the United States and other countries, farms have run out of production when there is not enough manpower to perform the necessary tasks. Autonomous bots could perhaps once again bridge the gap between supply and demand.