AI weed-killing drones are coming for the mega farms

Leveraging robotics and computer technology to assist in agricultural production isn’t a new concept; researchers at the University of Florida explored the possibility of a robotic orange picker as early as the 1980s. But recent technological advancements in AI, combined with worsening labour shortages and growing consumer demand for ethically and ecologically-produced food, have accelerated innovation. — Photo by Diana Măceşanu on Unsplash

For the past three years, Terry Aberhart has watched the spindly, fixed-wing drones zip across the big skies over his farm in Canada’s Saskatchewan province, testing a technology that could be the future of weeding.

Fitted with an artificial intelligence system, the drones are designed by local startup Precision AI to spot, identify and kill the weeds without drenching the entire crop in chemicals.