Carbon Robotics built an AI model that detects and identifies plants

Farmers have long relied on their expertise to identify and eliminate unwanted weeds, but a cutting-edge AI model from Carbon Robotics is changing the game. Based in Seattle, Carbon Robotics has introduced the Large Plant Model (LPM), which empowers its LaserWeeder fleet to accurately recognize plant species in real time. This innovative model is a leap forward in agricultural technology, allowing farmers to target new weed species without the need for extensive retraining of the robots. The LPM has been developed using a staggering dataset of over 150 million images and data points gathered from more than 100 farms across 15 countries, where Carbon's robots are already in operation. According to CEO Paul Mikesell, the previous method of training the robots required up to 24 hours for every new weed type or variation encountered on a farm. With the introduction of the LPM, this process has been streamlined, enabling instantaneous learning of new weeds, even those the model has never encountered before. "Farmers can now interact with the system in real time, instructing it to eliminate specific weeds as they appear," Mikesell stated. "This level of adaptability is unprecedented in agricultural technology." The development of the LPM began shortly after Carbon Robotics launched its first machines in 2022. Mikesell, who has a wealth of experience in neural network development from his time at Uber and working on Meta’s Oculus projects, leads the charge in enhancing the company’s AI capabilities. This new AI model will be incorporated into existing systems through a simple software update, allowing farmers to guide the robots on which plants to protect or eliminate by selecting images from the robot's interface. With over $185 million in venture capital funding from notable investors like Nvidia NVentures, Bond, and Anthos Capital, Carbon Robotics is poised to refine the model further as it garners more data from its operational robots. Mikesell concluded, "With our extensive dataset, our AI can analyze any image to determine the species and characteristics of a plant, even if it has never seen that particular plant before. We are at the forefront of a new era in agricultural technology."