Smart farm equipment reduces use of chemicals

江蘇鹽城市射陽縣陳洋中學 于玲娟

Nowadays，companies areexperimenting withhigh-tech tools that can help farmers save time and money，while reducing environmentharming chemicals.

One of the companies is ecoRobotix of Switzerland.It created a robot equipped with AI and cameras toidentifyall plants on a farm.The robot has four wheels to carry it through the fieldsin search ofweeds.Computer-controlled arms then lower and spray the weeds with small amounts of herbicide.

The robot can fully operate on its own for up to 12 hours a day while being powered by the sun.It uses the same kind of sensor and positioning technology used to guide driverless vehicles.A farmer can also control the equipment through a smartphone.

The co-founder of ecoRobotix，Aurelien Demaurex，says the farm robot can kill weeds with 20 times less herbicide than traditional methods.This is because the system uses exactly the right amount of chemical in the exact place required to kill the weeds.The company is planning to bring its robot to the market by early next year.

Another company developing farm robotics is California-based Blue River Technology.The company has a system called “See&Spray”，the world's first smart sprayer.The system，which connects to the back of a tractor，is equipped withAI to identify and chemically kill only the weeds.It can also spray chemicals on wanted plants to help them grow.

“The first time we saw a pigweed，the machine didn't know what kind of plant it was.But we taught it by giving it tens of thousands of examples of that pigweed.Now it's an expert in pigweed,”said Ben Chostner， the vice president of Blue River Technology.The technology can kill the same number of weeds with just 10 percent of the amount of herbicidecurrentlyused to spray whole fields.

Last year，major American tractor company bought Blue River for$305 million.The dealdemonstrateda commitment to develop machinelearning technology in future products.

Reading Check

1.What kind of energy does the robot use? （no more than 4 words）

2.Why can the robot save the amount of herbicide in the exact place when removing weeds?（no more than 15 words）_

3.What do you think of the smart farm?_

Language Study

I.Important vocabulary

1.experiment with進行實驗；試用

2.identify v.識別；辨認出

3.in search of尋找；搜尋

4.be equipped with配備有；裝備有

5.currently adv.當前；目前

6.demonstrate v.表明；證明

Ⅱ.Sentences for writing

1.this is because...這是因為……

這是因為這個系統能夠在確切的位置使用除草所需的適量的化學藥品。

___________the system uses exactly the right amount of chemical in the exact place required to kill the weeds.

【句式仿寫】他不愿意去看電影，這是因為他對這部電影不感興趣。___

2.the first time第一次

我們第一次看到豬草時，這臺機器不知道它是一種什么植物。

___________we saw a pigweed，the machine didn't know what kind of plant it was.

【句式仿寫】第一次看到長城時，我被它雄偉的景象深深地吸引了。