a letter to Nantoka re: robotic crop management

Dear Nantoka,

How difficult would it be to create a robot that could zap weeds in agricultural fields?

Sincerely,
Claudia in Knoxville

Dear Claudia,

I'm not sure how difficult this would be, since I have never made a robot. It sounds like an interesting idea, though, especially since it could tie in pretty nicely with some of the conservation tillage and organic farming practices that are gaining wider acceptance in industrial agriculture.

A robot with an optical sensor would probably be able to "read" color differences in plants pretty easily. I am guessing that the price tag would be the biggest problem. This would be a good question for Ask Slashdot, since they know a lot more about robots than I do.

Thanks for writing, Claudia. Stay curious!

--Nantoka