Translation. Region: Russian Federal
Source: People’s Republic of China in Russian – People’s Republic of China in Russian –
Source: People’s Republic of China – State Council News
WUHAN, June 29 (Xinhua) — A Chinese company has launched an intelligent laser weeding robot that works 24 hours a day, which it says may be the first of its kind in the country.
The robot, code-named Hg LaserWeeder, was unveiled Saturday at an event hosted by Huagong Technology Industry Co., Ltd. (Hgtech), one of the robot’s developers, in Wuhan, capital of central China’s Hubei Province.
Equipped with data models covering thousands of crop and weed varieties and an artificial intelligence (AI)-powered computer vision system, the robot can dynamically and precisely adjust the laser intensity to kill weeds without damaging crops, said Xiong Bian, head of the AI algorithms department at the company’s research institute.
“The robot is expected to replace chemical herbicides, known as the ‘number one soil killer,’” Xiong Bian said.
The technology, which removes weeds with an efficiency of over 95 percent, not only completely eliminates the threat of crop damage from traditional chemical herbicides by stopping their use, but also blocks the penetration of toxic chemicals into soil and water bodies, significantly reducing pollution of the agricultural environment.
According to Hgtech, the highest-performance weeding configuration for the robot is equipped with 32 laser heads, which allows it to kill up to 320,000 weeds per hour, which is five to nine times more effective than traditional methods that combine manual labor and herbicides.
The recognition and targeting process takes less than five milliseconds – from the moment the image is captured to the elimination of the weed.
Hgtech Chairman Ma Xinqiang noted that forming a new development architecture and promoting high-quality development requires strengthening innovation as the core driving force more than ever.
He added that their company will continue to increase investments in innovation, increase the number of talented specialists and expand the network of like-minded friends in the field of innovation.
According to Hgtech, the weeding robot has already completed algorithm validation in experimental fields in Yunnan and Heilongjiang provinces, and global pre-orders for the device are now open.
Mass production of the Hg LaserWeeder is planned for 2026, Hgtech added. -0-