A tech company at the International Sugarbeet Institute demonstrated a new approach to weed control. “It has eyes, a brain and two arms with four wheels and will navigate around the farm autonomously and detect the problem areas that farmers have,” said Aigen co-founder Kenny Lee. “Using AI, the machine determines whether the plant that they see is a sugarbeet or a weed; it’ll use its arms to take action.” Aigen is being marketed to farmers as a per-acre service. “It’s not a per-pass type of business model, it is for the entire growing season and we’ll come out and take care of the weeds for you.” Aigen is working with Grand Farm and North Dakota State University on field testing. The company is taking pre-orders with farmers now for the 2024 growing season. Listen to the interview.
