I hear you. But I am not trying to replace labour in BigAg. I am trying to replace labour with machines in smaller farms that can’t afford hired labour. In most parts of the world, their food comes from 2-3 hectares. That’s the average size.

Also. I doubt if there is any infrastructure or support in central California. UC Davis might have some ways to collaborate with small farms but in my limited and personal experience, I find that they prefer to work with their own..alumni and school network. I am an immigrant and didn’t obtain my education here. I get it, but I don’t have to like how the system works.

That’s why YC selection process bummed me big time. I have a reasonable network that I built since I started farming four years ago. But it WAS hard and it’s never enough because I don’t ‘belong’ here or the networked university system.

Lest it seems like I am whining, I want to say that I am just being realistic. I also know when to cut loose from a sinking dream. I guess I will keep trying but I am not emotionally or passionately invested anymore. My time is precious and I can’t waste it trying to impress people who see things differently.

I am still a good writer. I will write instead. I am hoping that it will fulfill me. But sometimes..from time to time, I got to roll my eyes when I see wheels that will never roll being reinvented with so much $$$!

With the OP, I don’t have a dog in this fight as it’s Indoor Ag, but I have learned a lot about automation and data collection by understanding indoor systems and philosophy. Iron Ox is like Amazon’s Kiva or Fetch Bots. I don’t get it.

It's happening. Here are some automated weeding systems in use in central California.[1] "All these machines use a camera to detect the crop, a computer to make decisions on which plants to keep/remove, and then activate a kill mechanism." Most of these things are implements towed behind a tractor, not robots. These implements seem to be built up from a row of detector/computer/actuator modules, so if a module fails in the field, you should be able to unbolt it and bolt in a spare, then take the broken one in for repair. Electronics for a module is probably cell phone level.

So far, they're not as flexible about weed/plant detection as they could be. But there will probably be a training system where you go out with a cell phone pointed down at the field, swiping left for weeds and right for plants, until the machine learning system is trained.

There's a lot that can be done, and is being done, by hooking up inexpensive vision systems to actuators on agricultural implements. Here's a nice example - a cultivator which is stirring the soil around each plant while not touching the plants.[2]

The main problem with automated vegetable harvesting is not that it can't be done, but that for some crops the infrequently used machinery isn't cost effective compared to hiring large numbers of people for short periods.

[1] https://www.growingproduce.com/vegetables/automated-weeders-... [2] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DhqNmRuBPsw

If this is something you are passionate about, perhaps a non-profit structure is something to look at. It may be easier to get grant funding than VC funding. Although not as sexy as YC, Fresno (CA's 5th largest city) does have some supporting infrastructure for tech like the Bitwise Hive and Fresno State.

Thanks, I will look into it. I was also thinking of looking into CDFA grants this winter during farm downtime. But many federal grants require university participation and I didn’t go to school in the US. This somewhat restricts how I can gain access many of these grants and opportunities even though I am a citizen. It’s just time consuming even though I am sure it’s possible.