European stakeholders’ perspectives on implementation potential of precision weed control: the case of autonomous vehicles with laser treatment

Abstract

Weed control is a basic agricultural practice, typically achieved through herbicides and mechanical weeders. Because of the negative environmental impacts of these tools, alternative solutions are being developed and adopted worldwide. Following recent technical developments, an autonomous laser-based weeding system (ALWS) now offers a possible solution for sustainable weed control. However, beyond recent proof of performance, little is known about the adoption potential of such a system. This study assesses the adoption potential of ALWS, using a mixed-method approach. First, six macro-environmental factors regarding the adoption of ALWS were determined. This assessment is referred to as a Political, Economic, Social, Technological, Legal, Environmental (PESTLE) analysis and is conducted in a form of a literature review initiated by expert consultations. Second, a range of European stakeholders’ perceptions of ALWS was evaluated in four focus-group discussions (n = 55), using a strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats (SWOT) analysis. The factors identified in the PESTLE and SWOT analyses were subsequently merged to provide a comprehensive overview of the adoption potential of ALWS. Labour reduction, precision treatment and environmental sustainability were found to be the most important advantages of ALWS. High costs and performance uncertainty were identified as the main weaknesses. To promote the adoption of ALWS, this study recommends the following: (1) Concrete performance results, both technical and economic, should be communicated to farmers. (2) Farmers’ knowledge of precision agriculture should be improved. (3) Advantage should be taken of policies that are favourable towards non-chemical methods and the high demand for organic products. This article also extensively discusses regulatory barriers, the risks posed to the safety of both humans and the machines involved, technological challenges and requirements, and policy recommendations related to ALWS adoption.

The importance of innovative technologies in creating sustainable agriculture in the European Union

“…Among them, we should mention the safety of the technology, its reliability, the cost-effectiveness of its use by individual farms, and the selection of the energy source powering the autonomous vehicle with sustainable energy in mind. It should be noted that studies on assessing the social impact of the agricultural application of autonomous vehicles using artificial intelligence and laser technology are currently sparsely represented in the literature due to the innovative nature of the solutions studied (Tran et al, 2023). Hence, there is a need to address this topic in new research and to deepen and continue the studies presented in this article.…”

Social Life Cycle Assessment of Laser Weed Control System: A Case Study

“…The FGI workshops consisted of two parts: (1) structured discussion and (2) SWOT analysis. The results of the SWOT analysis are presented and analyzed in Tran et al [56].…”

Deep Learning-Based Weed–Crop Recognition for Smart Agricultural Equipment: A Review

“…In the early days of precision agriculture, most image data from fields were collected using ground cameras either mounted on unmanned ground vehicles (UGVs) or fixed next to vegetation patches [21]. Through image recognition, agricultural robots can perform laser weeding [124][125][126], spraying pesticides for weed control [13], spot picking [127,128], fertilizer application and other tasks. Figure 7 shows some of the agricultural robots used in smart agriculture.…”

“…This will require more advanced weeding systems and automated control technologies. Although laser mowing is currently very advantageous, there are still issues to consider, such as whether mowing is safe and whether it can cause fires [124,125].…”