The nutrient content of our vegetables is down 40% over the last two decades and our soil health is suffering due to increasingly harsh herbicide use, according to Carbon Robotics founder Paul Mikesell. And farmers are increasingly concerned about the long-term health impacts of continually spraying chemicals on their fields. But not weeding will cost half your crop, killing profitability. A self-driving farm robot that kills 100,000 weeds an hour ... by laser. "We wanted [to] figure out if there's a better way we could do this."

Robots! Whether you love them or fear them, you can't deny they are pretty useful. One such robot is the autonomous weeder by Carbon Robotics. According to its website page, the robot " leverages robotics, artificial intelligence (AI), and laser technology to safely and effectively drive through crop fields to identify, target and eliminate weeds." "Unlike other weeding technologies, the robots utilize high-power lasers to eradicate weeds through thermal energy, without disturbing the soil. The automated robots allow farmers to use fewer herbicides and reduce labor to remove unwanted plants while improving the reliability and predictability of costs, crop yield, and more."