Carbon Robotics’ LaserWeeder wins award for best AI ag solution

Carbon Robotics' LaserWeeder has been named “Best AI-based Solution for Agriculture," the artificial intelligence-powered robotic company said in a news release.

The award was part of the sixth annual AI Breakthrough Awards program conducted by AI Breakthrough, according to the release. The market intelligence organization recognizes today’s top companies, technologies and products in the global Ai market, the release said.

Carbon Robotics says its LaserWeeder is the first and only commercially available laser-weeding robot and has eliminated over one billion weeds to date. The machine leverages sophisticated AI deep-learning technology, computer vision, robotics and lasers to deliver high precision weed control, the release said.

The LaserWeeder can kill up to 99% of weeds, weed up to two acres per hour and eliminate up to 5,000 weeds per minute, according to the release.

The technology detects and eliminates weeds much sooner than possible with the human eye, killing them earlier in their life cycle without harming the crop or soil. It can operate on over 40 crops and create and deploy new deep-learning crop models within 24 to 48 hours, the release said. Growers using the LaserWeeder have reduced weed control costs by up to 80% and see a return on investment in one to three years, company leaders say.

“Recognizing the challenges farmers face in weed control, we created an AI and deep-learning technology that saves growers time and money on an extremely expensive and challenging task,” Paul Mikesell, CEO and founder of Carbon Robotics, said in the release. “We are honored to receive this recognition from AI Breakthrough and are proud to equip farmers with a reliable and sustainable tool.”

The AI Breakthrough Awards’ mission is to honor excellence and recognize the innovation, hard work and success in various AI and machine learning-related categories, the release said. This year’s program attracted more than 3,200 nominations from over 20 countries worldwide.

“We’re thrilled to award Carbon Robotics’ groundbreaking LaserWeeder ‘Best AI-based Solution for Agriculture.’ The LaserWeeder’s complex computer vision technology enables farmers to manage weed control efficiently,” James Johnson, managing director for AI Breakthrough, said in the release. “In today’s climate of scarce available labor and low supply of herbicides, growers need solutions that enable them to weed large-scale crops effectively. Carbon Robotics is providing that solution through its technology.”

Earlier this year, Carbon Robotics introduced a new capability of the LaserWeeder — the industry’s first LaserThinning technology, which targets areas where vegetable crops are purposefully overseeded and then thinned for optimal crop spacing, growth and yield, the release said.

The company was also named to Fast Company’s annual list of Most Innovative Companies and raised $35 million in Series C funding to expand sales, optimize and scale manufacturing, develop new products and launch into international markets.