Laser weeding robot

An agricultural service robot for row weeding and precision cutting with a high-power laser array. A four-wheel mobile base carries a laser beam that tilts on a single axis. An operator drives it remotely and aims through live video, and multi-channel safety interlocks guard the lasers. The system runs on ROS for mobility, control and teleoperation.

White four-wheel robot outdoors at night on paving beside grass, four laser modules on a beam above it firing blue beams into the sky, green status lights
Laser array firing outdoors at night.

Tech stack

Mobile base
4-wheel differential drive platform, fabricated body and protective enclosure
Laser system
High-power laser modules in groups, on a mounting beam with a single-axis pitch mechanism
Controller
Embedded controller with onboard control and safety logic; power distribution system
Camera & link
Camera with live 4G video transmission; wireless video link
Software
ROS-based mobility and teleoperation framework; chassis and pitch-axis control; laser enable, selection and firing logic
Safety
Multi-channel safety interlocks, dual-enable firing, fault handling and logging
Operator station
Remote control station for teleoperation and monitoring

What we built

  • Mechanical design, fabrication and assembly of the base, enclosure, laser beam and pitch mechanism
  • Hardware integration and power architecture, including laser grouping/switching and safety interlock circuitry
  • Embedded device-side software: motion, pitch-axis and laser firing logic, status monitoring and logging
  • Remote control station and video link
  • ROS-based system integration and teleoperation framework

Development time

1 month

Photos and design files

Three white laser weeding robots lined up on a tiled floor, each with an aluminium laser beam on top and a remote controller and video monitor station beside it, a school crest sticker on each body
Three units with their operator stations.
Closer view of two laser weeding robots on a tiled floor with a handheld transmitter and a video-monitor control box in front
Robot with transmitter and video monitor.
Blurry video frame from above of the white robot on asphalt, the laser beam pointing forward
Driving on asphalt (video frame).
Blurry video frame of the white robot on grey ground with the laser beam turned sideways
Beam turned sideways (video frame).
Video frame from above of the white robot on dark asphalt, laser beam angled across the body
Beam angle adjustment (video frame).

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