RFK Jr. Praises Carbon Robotics Weed-Zappers

🔑 Enhanced Key Takeaways

• •Carbon Robotics was founded in 2018 in Seattle and unveiled its first autonomous LaserWeeder in April 2021, targeting specialty crop growers on the West Coast.[1][2]
• •The company has sold over 80 LaserWeeder units worldwide by mid-2024, with some customers operating them 24/7 across more than 40 crop types and selling about one $1.4 million unit per week.[6]
• •LaserWeeder G2, building on the original, offers sub-millimeter accuracy, new sizes from 8 ft to 40 ft, increased speed, and lighter weights starting at 3,600 lb, powered by a Large Plant Model (LPM) trained on over 150 million labeled plants.[3]

🛠️ Technical Deep Dive

• •Uses high-resolution cameras and AI computer vision (deep learning, Large Plant Model trained on 150M+ labeled plants across three continents) for real-time weed identification with sub-millimeter accuracy at the meristem.[2][3][5]
• •Equipped with multiple high-powered CO2 lasers (e.g., row of 150-watt lasers or 30+ lasers) that explode weed plant cells, leaving dead matter to decompose without soil disturbance; 3mm accuracy in earlier model.[2][3][6]
• •Autonomous self-driving machine, 80 inches wide originally, G2 variants from 8-40 ft wide, 3,600 lb minimum weight, operates day/night on specialty crops.[2][3][6]

🔮 Future ImplicationsAI analysis grounded in cited sources

⏳ Timeline