LaserWeeder fleet has eliminated 10B weeds worldwide, says Carbon Robotics

Last week, Carbon Autonomous Robotic Systems Inc. announced that its LaserWeeder fleet has eliminated more than 10 billion weeds across North America, Australia, and Europe since 2022. The robot can help growers reduce costs and increase predictability for over 100 crops, including lettuce, leafy greens, onions, carrots, broccoli, and herbs, said the company, which does business as Carbon Robotics.

“It would take 100 people 10 years of continuous hand-weeding to eliminate 10 billion weeds,” said Paul Mikesell, founder and CEO of Carbon Robotics. “The LaserWeeder has achieved this milestone in just 24 months without using chemical herbicides or hand-pulling, enabling growers to allocate available labor to higher-value tasks that move the needle for their business.”

The Seattle-based company claimed that its precision-agriculture systems can help farmers increase production and profits. The award-winning LaserWeeder combines computer vision, deep-learning technology, robotics, and lasers to identify and eliminate weeds with millimeter accuracy, cutting weed-control costs by 80% and increasing crop yield and quality, it said.

Case study confirms LaserWeeder effectiveness

Western Growers Center of Innovation and Technology recently published an independent case study quantifying the results and economic benefits of laser weeding using production data from commercial growers.

The case study found that Triangle Farms, a California-based conventional and specialty crop farm, saw up to a 50% crop yield increase after one year of using the LaserWeeder.

Carbon Robotics raised $30 million in Series C funding last year. In May 2024, the company said it received an investment from NVentures, NVIDIA’s venture capital arm.

The global market for weeding robots could exhibit a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 18.7%, from $1.5 billion in 2022 to $4.7 billion by 2029, predicted Business Research Insights. It noted that North America dominates the market.

“The agricultural weeding robot market is poised for significant growth in various regions across the globe,” said MarketsCAGR, which agreed that North American farmers are increasingly adopting automation.