Biotech Hackathon

(Solution to Mandatory Case)

Weed destroying Drones

We can take a fundamentally different approach to solve the problem of herbicide-resistant

weed. The solution will involve the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI), machine learning,

robotics, lasers and mobile networks and GPS. In this solution, AI controlled intelligent drones

will fly over the field and destroy only the weeds with laser beams. This approach will totally

bypass the problem of herbicide-resistance as there will be no need of using herbicides. For this

solution, first we will need to design a system using neural networks and deep learning which

will be able to distinguish between weeds and crops. A large amount of data will be fed to the

software to train the neural network properly. The data will include photos of crops and weeds.

Once the software learns to successfully distinguish between crops and weeds, we will upload

the program to a server. Another program will be written for the navigation and controlling of

the drones. The next step will involve setting up the drones. Each drone will contain a camera, a

laser projector, a processing microchip and a sim card for connecting to the internet. Then the

drones will be connected to the server through internet using a cellular network. Once connected,

those drones will only follow the commands of the server and will not need to process data

individually. All the heavy processing will be done within the main server. The drones will

identify weeds individually using the camera and shoot laser beams capable of destroying their

growth center. GPS (Global Positioning System) will enable the drones to stay on a line and

within the area of the field. A smartphone, laptop or tablet that has an internet connection will be

able to control the drones through the server. So, a farmer will be able to command a drone to

destroy weeds sitting This process will also save a lot of time and effort. This may seem a very
 Biotech Hackathon
(Solution to Mandatory Case)

costly solution, but once we start to produce these drones commercially, the price will drop.

Farmers will need to buy our drones. We will also cost for the network and server connection

which will be subscription based. If someone does not want to use our server subscription

services, they will still be able to use the drones by setting up their own local servers to control

the drones.

Figure 1: The mechanism of weed destroying drone. A phone is sending command to the server through
internet, the server is receiving and sending information to the drone through internet and the drone is
destroying weeds according to the command.