AI-Powered Drones to Treat Giant Hogweed in Hard-to-Reach Areas
Two AI-powered drones have been proposed as a way to combat giant hogweed in areas inaccessible to people or conventional equipment.
The technology was presented at the Agroprom Ural exhibition at the Yekaterinburg-Expo exhibition center.
The first drone surveys the area and maps patches of giant hogweed, while the second sprays the plants with herbicide. AI identifies the hogweed and plots a route that avoids trees and shrubs.
“Repeating this procedure can go a long way toward addressing the problem. This is especially important because public-use land is often unsuitable for agriculture and contains ravines and many other features that make it difficult for people to access directly,” said Artem Sorokin, a researcher at Ural Federal University.
A single treatment, however, is not enough. Giant hogweed seeds can germinate even after five years, while untreated neighboring areas can become sources of new infestations. Controlling the plant will therefore require repeated treatments over several growing seasons, along with monitoring for new seedlings.
