Direct herbicide application with an autonomous robot for weed control

An agricultural robot for weed control was developed and tested. The robot consisted of a digital video camera, two robotic arms, four wheels, a computer and a radio controller. The chemical experiments were done in both the fields and the greenhouses. The results showed that only a small amount of regular spraying dosage was needed if chemicals were applied onto cut weeds directly. Velvetleaf, water hemp, foxtail and crabgrass were tested in the chemical experiments. Since chemicals were mopped onto the weed's surface, there was no chemical droplet drift at all. There are also a lot of benefits for the environment from these techniques. The long-term objectives of this project are to develop an agricultural robot for weed control with automatic navigation capability and higher efficiency.