AI Precision Weeding Robot Swarm WeedBot Deployed on California Organic Farm: Identifying and Laser-Removing Weeds Plant by Plant

Laser Instead of Herbicide—The Robotization of Precision Agriculture

Globally, over 3 million tons of herbicides are used annually, with significant residues remaining in soil and water. Organic farming avoids chemical herbicides but faces extremely high manual weeding costs—up to $3,000 per hectare annually.

AgriLaser's WeedBot offers an entirely new solution. Released on March 19, this weeding robot swarm achieves plant-by-plant precision weeding through AI visual recognition and micro-laser technology—zero pesticides, zero manual labor.

WeedBot is approximately lawnmower-sized, with 4 high-definition cameras and 16 micro-lasers mounted underneath. The robot moves through fields at 2 km/h, with the AI system identifying every plant in its field of view within 10 milliseconds, determining whether it's a crop or weed. For confirmed weeds, a laser fires a 0.5-second pulse, precisely burning the weed's growing point.

"The key is identification precision," explained AgriLaser CTO Dr. Chen Ming. "At the seedling stage, many weeds and crops look very similar. Our AI model, trained on over 5 million annotated images, achieves 99.5% accuracy."

WeedBot supports solar charging, operating autonomously during the day and returning to charging stations at night. A single robot covers 10 hectares daily. In a California Sacramento Valley organic tomato farm trial, a swarm of 20 WeedBots fully replaced manual weeding throughout the growing season, achieving 98% weed removal with crop damage below 0.3%.

Farm owner Patricia Gomez said: "During weeding season I used to hire 20 workers for two straight weeks. Now WeedBot works around the clock, and I just need to check status occasionally."

Technical challenges include complex terrain adaptability (slopes and uneven ground affect laser precision) and adverse weather (rain and fog reduce visual recognition effectiveness). AgriLaser is developing hill-terrain-adapted versions and adding rain-capable operation.

A single WeedBot costs $15,000 with an expected 5-year lifespan. AgriLaser offers leasing at $200 per hectare per season—far below manual weeding costs.

AgriLaser has completed an $80 million Series A round at a $550 million valuation, planning to expand WeedBot to cotton, soybean, and vegetable farming in 2031.