Artificial intelligence technology is being used to reduce the use of harmful chemicals to control weeds in a number of successful prototypes.
Weeds are estimated to cost New Zealand’s economy more than $1.7 billion per year through the cost of chemicals and human labour to keep large areas and farmland maintained.
A new laser-weeding system called Map and Zap, which uses artificial intelligence to identify unwanted weeds and kill them instantly, has been successfully trialled in New Zealand with hopes to expand into the overseas market.
Map and Zap founder Kioumars Ghamkar said the technology uses the principles of AI to differentiate between weeds and crops “at a species level”.
“So, clover from rye grass, or any other grass… or wild carrot. Then, the laser is lead to it, going directly to the point where it kills the weed in a fraction of a second.”
Ghamkar said the weed would be heated from the inside by the laser, killing it instantaneously with more than 90% accuracy and efficiency.
“It’s very clear that what we’ve tried to do here is reducing the footprint of agriculture which is using chemicals.”
He said the lasers can detect weeds when they are very small much more efficiently than the human eye.
“That’s the beauty of it. When [they are] two or three leaves stage only, not big weeds, not when they are 30cm or 40cm. And no one wants to pick those weeds, we can do that using lasers.
“And that reduces the use of chemicals, so not only sustainability is the core purpose here, it also increases productivity because these weeds basically compete with crops for water and nutrition etc.”
Asked whether this technology could contribute to a drop in the price of fruit and veggies, Ghamkar said that was the ultimate goal, but it was “not going to happen overnight”.
“Well, you know we’re going to increase the quality of [vegetables], for sure.
“People can have more confidence in what they’re eating, I’d hope.”
He said the use of chemicals was not going to disappear, but the technology would offer an economically viable alternative.
The system is designed to be used in different agricultural settings, and AgResearch is now looking for potential investors to take this technology to New Zealand and overseas markets.
The method is being praised by industry leaders for its use of “clean technologies”.
Eitan Dan, Australasia’s managing director for agritech firm CropX, said he was impressed by what he saw in person at a vineyard demonstration.
“I think this is the exact thing when you are saying ‘precision agriculture’. You are dealing precisely with a problem without harming everything around it.”