Inside the development of FarmWise’s weeding robot

FarmWise is an agtech company pushing the boundaries of automation in agriculture by harnessing the power of computer vision and artificial intelligence (AI). Its flagship product, the Vulcan precision weeding implement, is designed to optimize weed control management on vegetable farms in California, which have been slow to automate due to the complex and versatile nature of specialty crop farming.

By combining cutting-edge technology with custom-built components, FarmWise enhances efficiency, increases crop yields, and addresses labor shortages with a high-accuracy and fully mechanized process to remove weeds.

FarmWise won an RBR50 Robotics Innovation Award for the weeding system in 2021 and will be speaking at RoboBusiness, which runs Oct. 16-17 in Santa Clara, Calif.

Vulcan Automated Weeding System

The Vulcan intra-row weeding implement is FarmWise’s answer to the challenges posed by weed competition in vegetable farms. Weeds can adversely impact crop yield by competing for essential resources such as water, light, and nutrients. Traditional cultivation methods, combined with hand weeding, are labor-intensive and costly, especially in regions like California where labor shortages and rising wages are prevalent.

FarmWise’s Vulcan Automated Weeding System is a pull-behind solution focused on in-season weed control management. The system leverages computer vision and AI to address three key challenges associated with weed removal:

• Precision
• Labor
• Herbicides

Traditional cultivation is imprecise. It either leaves some weeds or only partially removes weeds in between rows of plants. Such cultivators are also cumbersome and error-prone due to a lack of automation and precision control that can lead to mistakes such as crop kills.

Hand weeding is more precise, but it requires time-consuming, physically challenging, and repetitive manual labor that is also expensive for producers. Chemically suppressing weeds has been the most common, efficient, and cost-effective method for controlling weeds in row crops. Using herbicides is becoming less attractive for two major reasons: a shortage of herbicides on the market and the environmental call for farmers to use more sustainable weed control methods.

The Vulcan intra-row weeding implement accurately detects and differentiates crops from weeds, allowing for precision weed removal without damaging crops. This level of precision saves farmers up to $250 per acre, maximizes yield potential, and minimizes the need for expensive manual labor.

Key challenges and customization with PBC linear slides

One of the major challenges FarmWise faced was developing a system capable of adapting to the variety of crops, bed spacings, row spacings, and soil morphologies found on vegetable farms. Compared to corn farming in the Midwest, which has undergone significant automation, vegetable farming in California remains labor-intensive due to its complexity.

To meet this need, FarmWise leveraged advancements in deep learning and precision control software to develop Vulcan, which features a perception module combined with an actuator to perform consistent intra- and inter-row weeding at row level across a diverse portfolio of crops.

The weeder module has two translation axes, including a hydraulic z-axis actuator, allowing it to move up to a dozen inches or so vertically. A feeler wheel arrangement locates the weeder module relative to the crop surface and informs it of changes in the bed’s topology. The balance between automation and user control, however, was critical to the success of this application, according to FarmWise senior mechanical engineer David Olivero.

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“While the goal is to maximize automation, we acknowledge the farmers’ expertise,” Olivero explains. “Farmers understand the optimal depth for weeder blades to effectively remove weeds while avoiding root damage, and we wanted to empower farmers by allowing them to adjust blade depth according to their preference for deeper, more effective weeding or shallower weeding to protect crop roots.

To achieve this flexibility and reach in the z-axis, FarmWise specified UGA Low Profile Uni-Guide with a custom-positioned hand brake from PBC Linear. Up to 18 of these slides, located at the back of the implement, add a few inches of vertical travel. This addition extends bed capabilities and accommodates varying soil types. The slides offer a robust and customizable solution to adjust the system’s height, enabling it to cater to various farm configurations and terrains.

“We appreciated PBC Linear’s customization platform, which allowed them to create a slide with a specific mount offset tailored to our unique requirements,” says Olivero. “The low-profile design of the slides was vital to reduce the cantilever length of the weeder module, mitigating the risk of transport shock during field-to-field movement. PBC Linear’s reputation for quality products and ease of customization made them a preferred choice.”

Role of computer vision and AI

Central to the Vulcan precision weeding implement’s success is the computer vision and AI in the FarmWise Intelligent Plant System (IPS) Scanner. The IPS Scanner integrates lighting with the camera sensor via a custom LED board. This package enables the capturing of consistent, high-resolution images at a high frame-per-second rate. The data immediately flows through the IPS pipeline, detecting and localizing each plant in real time.

Sophisticated detection models were developed by gathering a vast number of images and annotating them to accurately distinguish between individual crops and weeds. Using these detection models, the system determines the position of crops and the location of every crop stem and makes precise decisions on blade openings and adjustments.

As the system traverses the field, it makes micro-adjustments to ensure the highest quality weed removal. The actuation engine, controlled by the software, opens and closes the weeding blades as needed to clean the intra-row, or in between the crops located on the same line. In addition to the weeding blades that are connected to the actuator, the precision weeding implement includes a set of top knives that simultaneously clean the inter-row surface area between the rows of crops.

Operator interface and user control

FarmWise provides an operator interface mounted in the cab of the equipment. This touch screen–based interface enables the operator to set up and verify the system’s configuration for specific crop and field conditions. The operator can adjust precision, blade widths, and other parameters to achieve the desired results. The interface also offers diagnostics and feedback to fine-tune the system’s performance.

FarmWise’s Vulcan intra-row weeding implement represents a significant step forward in precision agriculture. By providing a tailored solution to weed control management, the system optimizes yield potential, reduces labor costs, and minimizes the need for harmful herbicides.

Through ongoing advancements in computer vision technology and machine learning algorithms, FarmWise continues to push the boundaries of automation in agriculture, offering farmers innovative tools to meet the challenges of modern farming. The collaboration with PBC Linear illustrates the importance of partnerships in developing tailored solutions that drive progress in the agricultural sector.

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