October• 2018 | 131READER’S DIGESTRobots to Root Out Weeds
C
urrent farming methods
mean large amounts of
weed killer are sprayed
indiscriminately over fields of crops
that have been genetically modified
toresistthechemicals.It’san
expensive and wasteful process.
But the new science of artificial
intelligence could change that.
Robots are now being designed
thatcanrollthroughfields,
identifying and targeting individual
weedsastheygo.Swisscompany
EcoRobitix claims its autonomous,
solar-powered robot will use
20 times less herbicide than
conventional methods and is 95 per
cent accurate. Other companies are
also working on similar projects.
“Alotofthetechnologyis
already available. It’s just a
question of packaging it together
at the right cost for the farmers,”
says Richard Lightbound of
robotics research company Robo.Honest Taxi Driver
Returns Excessive ‘Tip’Z
hang Peng is one honest
taxi driver. When the
Chinese cabbie checked
his taxi phone app, he realised a
recent fare had paid 100 times
what the fare actually cost. The
conscientious cabbie figured out
the excessive over-tippers were a
group of four he had recently
picked up from the train station
and taken to a nearby hotel.
A Chinese-American tourist,
who wasn’t familiar with how to
pay online, had accidentally paid
6500 yuan instead of 65 yuan
(equivalent to paying more than
US$950 instead of US$9.50).
So, Peng drove to the hotel and
explained the situation to the
staf before connecting with the
over-tipper to refund the excess
fare. The tourist was beyond
delighted with the honesty of the
trustworthy cabbie who would
not accept a reward. Not
surprisingly, he received a five-
star review on the app.
COURTESY OF ECOROBITIX