Project Overview

Team 11’s Robo-Weeder senior design project is sponsored by Jeff Phipps, the owner of Orchard Pond Organics. Orchard Pond Organics as well as all organic farms worldwide have a pressing need for assistance in weed control. Due to the conventional, labor intensive methods of weed removal, the cost of highly nutritious crops is high rendering it inaccessible to low income families. The purpose of the Robo-Weeder is to design and create a robotic system that will satisfy this need by using an auger style shearing mechanism to remove weeds on the seedbeds of planted vegetables. After many iterations, and guidance from the sponsor and faculty advisors Dr Gupta and Dr Hooker, the final design has been approved and the Robo-Weeder has been built. Controlled testing of each subsystem has been completed and the Robo-Weeder is working as intended.

Needs Statement

"Organic farming techniques rely heavily on labor intensive methods which create large production costs for organic produce."

Goal Statement

"Our goal is to develop a 'proof of concept' robotic machine that will enhance the production of organic crops."