Could robots/drones replace chemical weedkillers?

>a team of bright yellow robots churn up and down the rows, tirelessly slicing away any weeds that stand in their way while avoiding the growing crops.

>pick their way through the fields with precision, without any human hand to guide them.

>critical tools to help farmers reduce their reliance on chemicals and be more protective of their health and the environment.

>It is common for farmers to spray or otherwise apply several weedkilling chemicals on to their fields in a single season.

>Weedkilling chemicals have also been found to be harmful to the environment, with negative impacts on soil health and on pollinators and other important species.

>The investment arm of Chipotle Mexican Grill, the global restaurant chain, is among Greenfield’s investors. Christian Gammill, who leads Chipotle’s venture fund, said Greenfield’s work was “important and impactful”. Greenfield has raised about $12m in capital

>Aigen Robotics has raised $19m to date. Its compact robots are powered by solar panels fixed to the top of each machine and are designed to work autonomously, sleeping and waking up on farm fields.

>Ball is a longtime user of many of the leading weedkilling herbicides and knows first-hand how expensive and how ineffective some products have become as weeds have developed resistance to the widely used chemicals