An Autonomous Robotic Weeding Platform for Organic and Regenerative Agriculture

Weeds are one of the biggest challenges farmers face today, especially organic growers who cannot rely on herbicides. While all farmers struggle with weed management, small and mid-sized farms are hit hardest because they often cannot find enough workers for hand-weeding crews or afford the high cost of specialized tractor equipment. This raises the cost of healthy, affordable food and makes it harder for organic and regenerative farming to expand. Our work is dedicated to developing a practical, affordable way to manage weeds--one that improves farmers' bottom lines while also protecting the soil, water, and resources that benefit everyone.To address this problem, we will develop and test a low-cost autonomous robotic weeding system. The system will use cameras and software to distinguish between crops and weeds, then remove the weeds with simple mechanical tools. We will test our solution on real farms in Washington, train the system to recognize common crops and weeds, and compare different strategies for how often weeding should occur. By the end of this project, we expect to demonstrate that a robotic weeding system can reliably reduce weed pressure affordably, without chemicals, and without harming crops. The ultimate goal is to make organic and regenerative farming more affordable and reliable, benefiting farmers, consumers, and society through healthier soils, reduced environmental impact, and more resilient food production.