3d Printed Robotic Weed Wacker

[Brian_Krassenstein]

Author and electrical engineer Mike Rigsby has written a book about 3D printing for beginners, with details about how to get started in making 3D printed toys. His ambitions go beyond toymaking, though, as he sought a way to create a real-world-applicable robot to perform a critical task for farmers around the world. His robot is designed to pick weeds. Rigsby's creation, a robot named Nellie (after his author wife, Annelle), was designed to remove the palmer amaranth weed and 3D printed using his two MakerBot 3D printers. Nellie is still being developed, but so far can remove a 'prototype weed' from the Rigsbys' carpet. Read more about Nellie in the full article: http://3dprint.com/49171/3d-printed-weed-picking-robot/


Below is a photo of Nellie:

[jao503]

Author and electrical engineer Mike Rigsby has written a book about 3D printing for beginners, with details about how to get started in making 3D printed toys. His ambitions go beyond toymaking, though, as he sought a way to create a real-world-applicable robot to perform a critical task for farmers around the world. His robot is designed to pick weeds. Rigsby's creation, a robot named Nellie (after his author wife, Annelle), was designed to remove the palmer amaranth weed and 3D printed using his two MakerBot 3D printers. Nellie is still being developed, but so far can remove a 'prototype weed' from the Rigsbys' carpet. Read more about Nellie in the full article: http://3dprint.com/49171/3d-printed-weed-picking-robot/


Below is a photo of Nellie:

For some weeds, it doesn't have to pull them out. It can cut the excess in height to avoid the reproductive organs to form. In due time, the weed will die with no possibility of reproduction.